The Supremacy of the Constitution as a Basis of the Constitutional Legal Order in Russia

Abstract

The article deals with theoretical issues related to the core of the rule of law – the constitutional legal order. The author views the latter as the result of implementation of constitutional legality, that is, the implementation of the provisions of the Constitution by all subjects of law, the exercise of their actions on the basis and in pursuit of the Constitution. The following criteria of the constitutional law and order are defined: the supremacy and direct effect of the Constitution; effective work of state bodies with a view to creating favorable conditions for the development of society and the realization of the rights and freedoms of citizens and their associations and the performance of their legal duties; ensuring inevitable bringing of offenders to justice. Special attention is paid to the fact that the principle of the supremacy of the Constitution that provides constitutional order can be understood in two aspects – material and formal, and their content is disclosed. It is concluded that even an ideal text of the Constitution cannot guarantee its supremacy without its embodiment in the actual constitutional law and order. Proceeding from the fact that the supremacy of the Constitution implies inadmissibility of distortion of the constitutional norms’ essence by current legislation, as well as their different understanding and application, the author justifies the assertion about the special role and responsibility of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation for the actual state of constitutional law and order. Claiming that the Constitutional Court has the right to apply any means and types of interpretation of the Russian Constitution, the author believes that the Court cannot change the content of the Constitution while maintaining the invariability of its text. The article substantiates the conclusion that the constitutional legal order presupposes stability of the Constitution, inadmissibility of frequent amendments that are not conditioned by objective necessity.