Abstract: The purpose of this publication is not only to attract attention to the problems of the status of elected representatives of the people, but also to develop the effective mechanisms of their status improvement and the effectiveness of local deputies increase. Therefore, in addition to the analysis of the legislation on the status of deputies the article describes the specific measures of their legal status improvement. In the Annex to the article there is a draft Law of Sverdlovsk region aimed at the establishment of additional powers-guarantees of local deputies. This project (with appropriate modifications) can be implemented in other regions of the Russian Federation. The research is based on the general scientific dialectical method.The author uses the special methods: the historical method, the system-structural method, the formal-legal, logical and comparative-legal methods. The article studies the peculiarities of normative regulation of the local deputies' status and justifies the establishment of these legal institutions: deputy's inquiry with the elements of the parliamentary inquiry, deputy question, deputy inspection as an individual authority of local MPs. The publication can be used by the scientists and by the deputies in their legislative activities.

Keywords: deputy inspection, local deputy, legislation on the deputies, the right of the deputy, warranty of deputy's activities, deputy status, deputy, deputy inquiry, deputy question, special reception

Abstract: The object of the research includes the actual changes in legal regulation of insolvency (bankruptcy) connected with the introduction of institution of bankruptcy of natural persons without a status of an individual entrepreneur, and the transfer of consumer bankruptcy cases to the competence of the courts of general jurisdiction. Special attention is paid to the analysis of standards of the Code of civil procedure of the Russian Federation and the Arbitration procedural code of the Russian Federation, differentiating the powers of courts and arbitration courts on cases of insolvency (bankruptcy), to the questions of jurisdiction of citizens' bankruptcy cases, their exclusive and territorial  jurisdiction. The methodology of the research is based on the complex analysis of the regulations of Russian legislation concerning the jurisdiction of citizens' bankruptcy cases, and the provisions of the Concept of the unified Code of civil procedure of the Russian Federation about the competence of the courts. The author comes to the conclusion that the reforming of judicial system in a result of the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation abolition, and the activities aimed at the unification of civil and arbitration proceedings reveal a tendency to a further merge of courts and arbitration courts. Under these circumstances the exclusive  jurisdiction institution should serve as a mechanism of their powers distribution. The novelty of the research lies in the fact that the author suggests the usage of the term "jurisdiction" in the Code of civil procedure of the Russian Federation in order to differentiate the powers of courts from the powers of arbitration courts.

Keywords: citizens, consumer bankruptcy, jurisdiction of courts, jurisdiction, judicial reform, arbitration courts, special jurisdiction, civil procedure, arbitration process, unification

Abstract: The authors comment on the decision of the Supreme Court oo July 9, 2013 № 24 "On the court practice in cases of bribery, commercial bribery and other corruption crimes". The article presents the criticisms aimed at optimization of law enforcement activities, considers complicated and ambiguous issues of qualification, analyzes the conditions of criminal responsibility for the provocation of bribery or commercial bribery, offers the decisions with regard for the changes containing in the Federal Law of 02.11.2013 No 302 "On amending separate legislatives of the Russian Federation". The methodology of the resarch is based on the general and specific methods of cognition: methods of empirical research (observation, comparison, collection and study of information), analysis and synthesis of theoretical and practical materials. The authors analyze normative-legal acts, teaching aids, special literature including statistical data and law-enforcement practice. The authors present criticisms and suggestions aimed at optimization of law enforcement activities, reveal and describe the mechanisms of some corruprion crimes, outline the peculiarities of qualification and the problems of their destinguishing from other corpora delicti. 

Keywords: damage, theft, fraud, corruption crimes, commercial bribery, bribery, Resolution of the Plenum, property, provocation, misappropriation and embezzlement

Abstract: The article discusses the responsibilities of adult children to support their parents in Russia and abroad. The author considers family law on these matters of different legal families: Romano-Germanic, Anglo-Saxon and Muslim. The author studies general aspects of alimony support of parents by their children, and the characteristic features of various states on this issue. In particular, the article considers the conditions of alimony provision; the ways of alimony rate establishing; the subjects of this legal relationship and other questions.The paper uses the traditional legal research methods. The main research method is the comparative legal method.The author draws attention to the significant differences between American law which imposes almost no responsibilities on adult children to support their parents and other legal families where such an obligation exists. The author concludes that the common condition for the responsibility of children to support their parents (for all the states where such a norm exists) is the parents' need for the material means. 

Keywords: alimony obligations of children, parents, children, Russia, foreign countries, family law, civil law, support of parents, alimony, alimony rate

Abstract: The subject of the research is the problem of unification of the concept of "sources of Russian law of the XVII century" and their classification. The author studies the correlation between the concepts "source of law", "form of law", and others. The author attempts to review legal documents in historical perspective, the formulation of the definition of sources of domestic law of the XVII century. In order to identify relationships between classes of sources, understand their subordination, orient in their diversity the author provides the criteria for the classification of sources of Russian law of the XVII century.The study is based on the idea that in a formal understanding the sources of Russian law of the XVII century can be divided into two groups: those set by the state and the state-sanctioned. The first group included the sources of law, which came from the state (the czar's decrees, decisions of the Boyar Duma, acts of Zemsky Sobor, etc.) and contained the power prescriptions. The second group formed a system of sources, which had been originally formed by society for maintenance of public order (legal customs, legal practice and doctrines, and others.), and were subsequently sanctioned by the state. The author uses the general scientific methods (analysis, synthesis), and the special scientific methods: the formal-legal method and the comparative legal method. In the result of the study of different approaches to the essence of this concept the author concludes that as "Russian law sources of the XVII century" one should understand the sources of law developed in a certain order by the competent authorities both individually and collectively, and published in the period from 1601 to 1700 in the form of handwritten or printed legal documents imposing the administrative functions on the persons on the territory of Russian state and establishing a certain order in social relations.

Keywords: decrees, definition, judicial precedent, classification, customary law, sources of Russian law, form of law, source of law, diplomas, boyar sentences

Abstract: Integration processes are now the integral part of global development. Virtually, all modern states are participating in at least one regional association, and often in several at once, depending on the objectives pursued by the organization.The African continent is not an exception, where the history of the integration process accounts for decades. Initially, the regional associations had been created among the countries in the basins of the rivers. Later the associations covered the entire regions of the continent - Central Africa, Southern Africa, West Africa etc. Finally, the currently existing African Union includes virtually all states of the African continent.Many of the previously created associations are not existing now, but their experience and achievements can serve for the efficient development of the existing regional organizations.One of those organizations was the Central African Customs and Economic Union, created in 1964 and existed until 1999.The analysis of UDEAC activity is important for two reasons. Firstly, it is the first successful example of regional association on the African continent. Secondly, it has become the base for the most successful African regional organization - the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC).

Keywords: economic integration, cooperation, customs union, economic union, Central Africa, integration, regionalization, the representation of states, regional law, treaty of creation

Abstract: The article is devoted to the characteristic of domestic jurists’ theoretical views about the structure of the system of law, and about the criteria for the formation of branches of law. Different variants of differentiation of branches of law proposed by the domestic lawyers during the discussions about the system of law and by the modern authors are described and analyzed in this article. Moreover, the author comments on the most common views about the introduction of new criteria of the branches formation into the theory of law. The author enumerates their advantages and disadvantages and compares them with the theoretical propositions of Russian theorists of the pre-revolutionary period of domestic jurisprudence development. The author uses the general scientific methods and approaches: the methods of analysis and synthesis, analogy, abstraction, the historical and system approaches, and the special methods of jurisprudence such as the method of comparative jurisprudence and the formal legal method. The scientific novelty of the article lies in the fact that the author proposes the classification of the criteria of the branches formation according to their theoretical value and functional purpose and suggests the elaboration of the theoretical model – a set of criteria which can help to resolve the question about the existence of an independent branch of law in the system of domestic law.

Keywords: purpose of legal regulation, functions of the branch of law, principles of the branch of law, method of legal regulation, subject of legal regulation, criteria for branches of law formation, branch of law, structure of system of law, legal regime, codification of legislation