Abstract: The subject of this research is the status of the CBRF, which in author’s opinion is rather ambiguous. Determination of the Central Bank’s status, its tasks, rights, and responsibilities is necessary in order to ensure that the national banking industry will have a stable and problem-free functionality. The author claims that practically all doctrinal opinions characterize the Central Bank either as a branch of government authority (although exactly which, remains unclear), or as a non-commercial organization. In author’s opinion, none of these approaches can be considered optimal in determining the status of the Central Bank and maintain its functions and principles of operation. Researching and analyzing current proposals of scholars with regards to solution of issue of status of CBRF, the author proposes an original option of codifying the status of the CBRF by passing the law “On Legal Entities under Public Law”, which will stipulate the criteria for becoming a legal entity under public law. Passing this law would resolve the complications and indeterminacy of the status of CBRF, as well as other organizations legally defined as legal entities under private law, while formally conducting executive activity on a nationwide scale.

Keywords: State, Central Bank, Executive branches, Authority, Non-commercial organizations, Legal entity, Public law, Functions, Management, Independence

Abstract: The article analyzes the Mexican legislation regulating the production, transportation and consumption of oil and gas.The relevance of the analysis is that, on the one hand, Mexico is a member of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and a major exporter of energy to the United States of America. On the other hand, state regulation covers almost all areas of the energy sector. This feature of the energy sector in Mexico adversely affects not only the investment climate and the development of modern technologies in the energy sector, but also in the integration processes of all of North American continent. Currently, all mineral resources are owned by the government, and preserve the state monopoly on oil and on certain types of activity in its initial processing. At the same time, private companies carry out the processing, transportation, storage and sale of the oil.

Keywords: state monopoly, imports, exports, NAFTA, transportation of oil, environmental law, hydrocarbon production, Mexico, energy law, legislation

Abstract: This article is dedicated to determination of the role of hybrid wars and color revolutions in modern politics. The hybrid wars are being viewed as a new form of armed conflict, in which the use of domestic armed forces is no longer a necessary condition in order to achieve victory over the adversary: “brute force” in a hybrid war is implemented along with non-military methods of affecting the enemy – information-psychological warfare, technologies of soft and smart force, methods of economic pressure, isolation or blockade, and instruments of traditional diplomacy. The color revolutions are examined in the article as technologies of organizing government overthrows using acts of mass civil disobedience, transforming into a managed civil apprising. The author determines that color revolutions cannot be elements of hybrid wars, as they are different and incompatible with each other forms of pressure upon the opponent. But it is in namely the color revolution that by dismantling political regimes, create the environment for initiation of external aggression, which then takes on a shape of a hybrid war.

Keywords: politics, society, USA, state, hybrid wars, color revolutions, democracy, interests, values, security

Abstract: This article analyzes the procedural and non-procedural safety measures implemented in legal cases in order to protect life, health and/or property of the parties involved in criminal procedure and other individuals. A conclusion is made on development of the institution of safety measures: new safety measures are being introduced (exclusion of personal information of the victim from the text of court decisions when they are published online; differentiated prohibition on distribution in mass media of details on victims that are minors, including the nature of their injuries, etc.); the requirements for decisions on safety measures are being increased (filing a report with participation of a victim, their representative or a witness without including their personally-identifying information, since January 10, 2014 requires confirmation from the head of the investigative department). Analysis is conducted on the current legislation, explanation of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, and law enforcement practice. The author substantiates a conclusion on the unacceptability of safety measures that are not conducted in accordance with the law (trial in a different region of the Russian Federation, separating the convicts from each other within the court room, etc.), as this can lead to the violation of the right and liberties of both, the defendants, and other participants of criminal proceedings.

Keywords: Criminal procedure, Criminal proceedings, Principle, Safety measures, Guarantees, Rights and liberties, Defendant, Court, Prosecutor, Investigator

Abstract: The subject of this research is the content of the descriptive part of the ruling of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation from 02.17.2015 No. 2-P, in which certain positions of Articles 6, 21, and 22 of the Federal Law “On Prosecutor’s Office the Russian Federation” are subjected to a rigorous assessment from the perspective of constitutionality. These Articles regulate the issues pertaining to prosecutors exercising their authority within the framework of obtaining statistical and other information from the supervised branches, as well as inspections to ensure adherence to the laws within the corresponding branches. The scientific novelty of the research consists in the fact that the author is first to conduct a detailed analysis of the legal position of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation on the most problematic issues that come up in law enforcement practice; the author expresses a critical opinion on the objectiveness of the theses contained in the ruling of the branch of constitutional control, and underlines the most important approaches for the theory and practice of prosecutors supervision.

Keywords: Legality, Upholding the law, Constitutional Court, Prosecutor’s office, Prosecutor’s authority, Court ruling, Legal position, Inspection, Prosecutor, Prosecutors supervision

Abstract: Based on the analysis of migration legislation the article addresses the issues of effectiveness of the government measures aimed at fighting the illegal work migration, which is one of national problems that requires taking into the account all factors that have an impact upon the migration situation. The vector of development of migration processes will affect not only the political stability and territorial integrity of the country, but also the social and economic development, living standard of the population, realization of national and geopolitical interests, participation in global work distribution, and of course the rational integration of Russia into global economy. The author concludes that migration legislation in the Russian Federation represents a complex, multi-vector, and rapidly developing legal construct. In order to improve the legislation on migration, it is necessary to fully understand the new measures and their “compatibility” with the government migration policy, taking into consideration such factors as demographical, economic, political, etc.

Keywords: Illegal migration, Immigration control, Administrative penalties, Deportation, Readmission, Migration legislation, Concept, Federal law, Control and supervision, Federal Migration Service of Russia

Abstract:  The international Ukrainian crisis, which started in February of 2014, consists of several components; first of all, it is an armed conflict on the territory of a number of eastern regions of Ukraine, and secession of the Republic of Crimea from Ukraine and its subsequent annexation to the Russian Federation. This article examines the questions of possible international legal qualifications of armed conflicts on the territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine, as well as the issue of possible grounds for Crimean secession from Ukraine. And finally, basing on the official point of view of Ukrainian government, we will attempt to determine which methods of legal defense Ukraine can receive within the framework of the current system of international law. As a result, the author concludes that the conflict in the southeast of Ukraine can represent an international character regardless of direct involvement of members of the Russian armed forces. As to the secession of Crimea, the author concludes that acknowledgement of the legality of its independence under the current circumstances depends on acknowledgement of the government, which is more of a political rather than legal issue. Even in the case of confirmed international armed conflict and act of aggression from the Russian Federation, the modern international law does not contain effective means of protection of the victim country.

Keywords: recognition of government, state responsibility, right to self-determination, unilateral declaration of independence, armed conflict, Crimean crisis, Armed conflict in Ukraine, Ukrainian crisis, act of aggression, international law

Abstract: This article examines the principles of fair and rational use of fresh water resources and the right of a sovereign nation to a part of transboundary fresh waters, their historical establishment, statutorization and explanation of their content on universal and regional levels. A special attention is given to the factors of determination of fairness and rationality of the use of the waters and their interconnection, as well as the international legal regulation of the correlation between various types of use of fresh water resources. In the course of the research the author determined the principles of usage and protection of fresh water resources are unified for international waterways and transboundary watercourses. The fairness of usage means an optimal distribution of water, and rationality – passing measures on maintenance and restoration of water resources to the level that ensures maximal benefit from its usage. The author proves that a fresh water object falls under the sovereignty of a nation due to the fact that the “reservoir” represents a part of the territory of the country.

Keywords: equitable use of a watercourse, freshwater, rational utilisation, sovereignty over the watercourse, priority of uses of a watercourses, principles for the use of water, international watercourse, transboundary aquifer, vital human needs, reasonable use of a watercourse

Abstract: This article is dedicated to the analysis of the norms of the constitutional legislation on the issues of citizens’ participation in the management of state affairs. The goal of the article is to refer to legal analysis of the forms of citizen participation in the management of state affairs as one of the aspects of constitutional guarantees. The article gives a detailed analysis to the participation of citizens in management of state affairs; it offers a substantiated system of arguments, according to which the various forms of such participation is closely linked to the practical realization of one of the key categories of modern Russian constitutional right – democracy. The scientific novelty lies in the proposal of original approaches towards various forms of participation of citizens in management of state affairs. As a conclusion the author conducts an analysis of the norms of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, which contains a significant number of various forms, and they are not limited to norms of constitutional regulation, but represent a distinct property of constitutional rights that ensure participation of citizens in the management of state affairs.

Keywords: priority, constitutional principles, protection, forms, democracy, participation of citizens, management, guarantees, rights, Constitution

Abstract: The subject of this research is the comparative analysis of the approaches of the European Court of Human Rights, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), and Venice Commission towards the notion of “religious feelings” and the necessary level of its protection by the government. A special attention is given to the essence of the concept of religious feelings and whether or not it is possible to give a legal definition to this notion, which is the reason for an assessment of the comparability between Article 148 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation on insulting the religious feelings of believers, with the European standards in the area od requirements for legal certainty. The main conclusion is that it is impossible to set a normative definition for “religious feelings”. The author justifies the need for a clear delineation of incitement of hate and intolerance by difference of religion, and insulting the feelings of believers, including blasphemy and sacrilege, as well as the reasonableness of decriminalization of “insult of religious feelings of believers”.

Keywords: criminal responsibility, Venice Commission, European Court, insult of religious feelings, blasphemy, freedom of speech, freedom of conscience, religion, legal certainty, decriminalization

Abstract: The object of this article is an in-depth research on the grounds of rethinking the vast historical materials on a multifaceted problem of historical and cultural specificity of the genesis of Russian entrepreneurship and various compositions of its relationship with the government. Based on the analysis of the economic reforms of Catherine the Great, the author examines the problem of establishment and main parameters of the Russian model of relationship between entrepreneurship and the government. A special attention is given to Catherine the Great’s policy to remove restrictions and significant limitations on development of private entrepreneurship from government authorities; the difference between this policy and preceding and future compositions of relations between entrepreneurship and the government; measures on strengthening the role of entrepreneurship, state policy on stimulation of entrepreneurial activity, and creation of a favorable environment for its development within the historical and cultural context of the correlation of formal and informal rules. Among the main conclusions is the fact that despite the importance of Catherine the Great’s reforms, the dominant business strategy and criterion for success of entrepreneurship in Russia, remained the acquisition of the businesses of others, rather than creation and effective management thereof.

Keywords: property, state, Catherine the Great, entrepreneurship, authority, Russia, freedom, Manifesto, Freedom of entrepreneurship, destructive entrepreneurship

Abstract: The article examines the legal nature of notice of a financial quote request, as well as regulation of this procedure in the Federal Law of the Russian Federation from 07.21.2005 No. 94-FZ “On Order Placement for Goods, Work, or Services for Government or Municipal Authorities”, and Federal Law from 01.01.2014 No. 44-FZ “On Contractual System in the Area of Order Placement for Goods, Work, or Services for Government or Municipal Authorities. Analyzing the Federal Law No. 44-FZ, particularly in the area of regulation of notification of requesting a financial quote, a number of flaws have been detected in this law. Proposals are made on changes that would improve the purchasing process and decrease the level of corruption and other abuses in the area of government and municipal contracts. Among others is the proposal to establish a requirement to provide an initial maximum cost of the contract as an average of all participants in the bidding process; a proposal is being made to change the method of expert estimate to determine the initial (maximum) cost of the contract.

Keywords: Purchasing, Government contract, Notice, Contract system, Quote request, Legislative improvements, Contract signing, Bidding, Proposal, Acceptance

Abstract: This article examines the content of the principle of freedom of assessment of evidence in criminal procedure; two of its interconnected aspects are being analyzed: prohibition of external interference into assessment work of the court, prosecutor, investigator, detective, and at the same time allowing them internal freedom of assessment of evidence. The author analyzes the guidelines for the evidence assessment, put in place to eliminate arbitrary and unfounded decisions, which include: the duty of the subjects of evidence assessment to adhere to the positions on mandatory proof of separate circumstances by specific types of evidence; prohibition of use of certain data as evidence; on relieving from procedural work with regards to proving facts of general knowledge, prejudicially established facts, legal presumptions and circumstances admitted by both parties; setting conscience as a moral compass during assessment of evidence, etc. The author formulates the conclusion that the consequence of freedom of evidence assessment is the possibility of a guilty verdict without presence of direct evidence.

Keywords: Freedom of evidence assessment, Principle, Criminal procedure, Evidence, Belief, Judiciary independence, Polygraph, Prejudice, Presumption, General knowledge

Abstract: The subject of this research is the current law enforcement and judicial practice in antimonopoly cases, in the process of which the government authorities do not fully adhere to the norms of the legislation with regards to upholding various procedures for establishing a dominant businesses position on the market. Despite the requirements on mandatory adherence to the principle of lawfulness in the work of the branches of public authority, the said practice is also being “strengthened” by the legal precedent, which does not contribute to establishing constitutional legal foundation within the economic sphere. The main result of this research is the attempt to shed light on the cases of non-compliance by courts and authorities with the part 2 of Article 15 of the Russian Constitution, which in turn represent the constitutional guarantees of protection of economic rights of the citizens and businesses from non-adherence by the branches of government with the constitution of the Russian Federation and other normative acts. The practice of “ignoring” the positions of this legislation in the work of public authority contributes to rejection of the supremacy of the Constitution of the Russian Federation.

Keywords: constitutional court of the Russian Federation, legislation of the Russian Federation, legal precedent, economic rights, dominant position, protection of competition, Constitution of the Russian Federation, court of arbitration, antimonopoly authority, administrative regulations

Abstract: This article is dedicated to the research of linguistic and semiotic perception of law. The goal of the article is to determine whether or not throughout time there have been regularities in concept of law marked by specific symbols, and whether there have been regularities in naming the notions of various social phenomena as laws. The semiotic part of the research revealed that in the ancient times the perception of law in a form of mono-norms was signified by symbols allowing or forbidding certain actions. For linguistic research, the author selected laws in main languages that have etymological dictionaries. There are at least two types of legal perception – “positivistic” and “natural”. Within legal terms of some languages we can observe certain variations (combinations) of main types of legal perception, and their integration (including in ancient Greek, Germanic, Slavic, and Finno-Ugric languages, in which laws represent notions of phenomena that are able to externally influence human behavior and steer them in the right direction).

Keywords: Symbol, Law, Etymology, Natural languages, Reason for naming, Internal structure of a word, Mono-norm, Markings, Denotation, Legal perception

Abstract: This article examines general theoretical and industry approaches towards classification of legal regimes, as well as such grounds for their type differentiation as subject of legal regulation; legal nature; type of legal regulation; correlation of stimuli and restrictions; subject of lawmaking; field and time of operation. The diversity of grounds for classification of legal regimes exists in both, the general theoretical and industry planes, which is substantiated by the subject and method of legal regulation and the differences of tasks set before the legal regimes, and the means of executing them. These grounds for classification of legal regimes allow us to synthesize their essential characteristics, clearly demonstrate their organic interconnection with public relations, and socio-political and legal significance. In the practical sense, identifying these classification characteristics aids in developing more substantiated proposals on improving legislation during its codification, removing ambiguity, collisions, gaps, and many other flaws inherent in the current legal system.

Keywords: Legal regime, Classification, Basis for classification, Classification approaches, Legal regulation, Legal nature, Type of legal regulation, Stimuli and restrictions, Lawmaking, Industry