Abstract: The subject of this research is the matters of reforming the federal structure of Russia in the aspect of unification and consolidation of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation that are under discussion in the current political discourse. The object this research is the transformation of the constituent structure of the Russian Federation based on the strategy of spatial development of Russia, federal legislative acts that laid the groundwork for the unification process, primarily the Federal Constitutional Law “On the Procedure of Admission into the Russian Federation and Creation of a New Constituent Entity". The authors explore such aspects of the topic as the results of unification processes of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation of 2003-2008, gaps in their legislative regulation, political errors and risks, including of ethnic nature, which impeded planned consolidation of the constituent structure of the Russian Federation, as well as strategy for the future unification processes. The novelty of the author's position is that the unification processes scenarios of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation are founded on the declared by the government “Strategy of Spatial Development of the Russian Federation until 2025”. The research methodology employs comprehensive interdisciplinary political, economic and legal approach. The drawn conclusions are related to the description of these scenarios, determination of the constitutional legal status of the new consolidated entity formed at the premises on an economic macroregion, considering such significant characteristics of the macroregion, as the number of constituent entities of the Russian Federation therein, size of their territories, population density, and peculiarities of the ethnic composition. It is proposed to fill the gaps in determination of the status of a constituent entity that ceased to exist as such and became a part of the consolidated entity by introducing amendments to the federal constitutional and current legislation without changing the fundamentals of the Constitution of the Russian Federation.

Keywords: national subject of the Russian Federation, administrative-territorial unit, economic macro-region, economic zoning of Russia, unification process of subjects, constitutional status of the subject, subject of the Russian Federation, territorial subject of the Russian Federation, federal reform, Constitution of the Russian Federation

Abstract: The subject of this research is the materials of the prosecutorial, law enforcement and judicial practice, norms of procedural legislation and legislation on the prosecutor's office, which regulate social relations emerged in exercising discretionary powers by the prosecutor in the context of oversight activity over execution of laws by the entities under supervision, as well as the positions formed on this matter. The object of this research is the social relations that arise in exercising discretionary powers by the prosecutor in the context of his oversight activity over execution of laws by the entities under supervision, essence, principles and limits, as well as the problems of their implementation occurring in prosecutorial activity. The study of discretionary authority of government branches lately receives increasing attention due ti the fact that limitless exercise of such authorities can invoke corruptive behavior. Examination of the questions of legal regulation of discretionary authority of the prosecutor is of prime importance as the prosecutor's office oversights the execution of laws and observance of rights of the citizens. The existing legal constructs that allow the exercise of discretion by the prosecutor are far from perfect, which causes the problems of law enforcement and violations of rights of the subjects under supervision. Therefore, the author explored the views of the scholars on the possibility of application and the scope of discretionary authority in the work of the prosecutor’s office and other government branches, effective legislation that regulates the discretionary authority of the prosecutor along with the practical aspects of its use. The novelty of this work and the author’s special contribution consist in the fact that based on the obtained results, the author offers a definition of the discretionary authority of the prosecutor, principles and limits of their application, as well as the way the legal constructs involving such authority should be structured.

Keywords: legal constructions, citizens ' rights, discretion, legality, implementation limits, principles, corruption manifestations, discretionary powers, prosecutor, supervised entities

Abstract: The subject of this research is the evolution of the structure of judicial system of the Russian Federation in the late XX – early XXI centuries. Description is given to the changes undergone by the Russian judicial system after dissolution of the Soviet Union. The author follows the dynamics of the normative legal changes that regulate judicial proceedings, as well as reveals the institutional framework of the modern structure of judicial system of the Russian Federation. The article illustrates the institutional and normative changes within the structure of judicial system of the Russian Federation in the late XX – early XXI centuries based on application of the comparative-legal and systemic methods of research. The novelty and the main conclusions lie in the following: it is established that the Russian Federation has issued the normative legal acts that contribute to the strengthening and unification of the Russian judicial system, uniformity of social guarantees and compensations set for judges. Currently, the judicial system of the Russian Federation is founded on the principle of combining administrative-territorial and district organization. It is determined that the judicial system of the Russian Federation consists of 1) the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation; 2) the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation; 3) federal courts of general jurisdiction; 4) arbitration courts; 5) magistrates’ courts of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. It is noted that since January 1, 2023, the Constitutional (statutory) courts of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation will be abolished.

Keywords: courts of general jurisdiction, judicial institute, the judicial system, judicial branch, judicial system, structure, judicial reform, magistrates' courts, arbitration courts, jurors

Abstract: The object of this article is legal regulation of the economic policy of Japan in the occupied territories of Northeast China. The subject of this research is the legal mechanism for regulating price formation in Inner Mongolia during the existence of Mengjiang State. Based on the fact that the Japanese side sought to ensure that the new political unit, i.e. the State of Mengjiang would formally comply with the attributes of an independent state, the author infers the substantive part from the economic function of the state. The goal of the article consists in carrying out a historical-legal analysis of the legal regulation of price formation in Mengjiang. The author sets the task to give characteristics to the normative legal acts of Mengjiang that pertain to price formation; reveal their meaning, content, as well as the legal and social consequences of their application. The author concludes on the effectiveness of legal instruments of economic policy implemented for controlling price formation, with reservation that the military and economic efficiency should not be confused with social and humanitarian efficiency, as it was practiced by the Mengjiang government. The author’s special contribution consists in reconstruction of the legal instruments for economic management of a large region in East Asia, as well as in updating the existing information with new facts. The scientific novelty lies in introduction into the scientific discourse of new data that was previously unknown to a broad array of researchers.

Keywords: Northeast China, Mengjiang, Inner Mongolia, Mongolian Statehood, The economic function of the State, Legal regulation, East Asia, Japanese occupation, Economic policy, Pricing laws

Abstract: This article reveals the public law concept of “leadership”, theoretical grounds of municipal leadership, its role within the system of municipal democracy and territorial public self-government from the perspective of integral legal understanding and a communicative approach towards law. The goal of this research consists in the analysis of conceptual and normative legal framework of the institutions of public law and municipal leadership, impact of the institution of leadership upon development of the forms of municipal democracy in the context of Russian and foreign experience, as well as peculiarities of the influence of the institution of public law leadership upon the forms of governance in territorial public self-government The subject of this research is the scientific views, normative legal framework of regulation, organizational practice of the institution of public law and municipal leadership in territorial public self-government in the context of functionality of the forms of municipal democracy. The article employs the formal legal and comparative analysis, methods of dialectics, municipal legal hermeneutics, communicative approach, and critical rationalism in legal studies, which allows viewing the municipal leadership as a complex interdisciplinary legal and administrative institution that assists the implementation of the forms of municipal democracy, and improves the effectiveness of the territorial self-government in cooperation with branches and officials of the local self-government. The following conclusions are made: the institution of public law leadership should be viewed as interdisciplinary, which incorporates the sphere of public law on the one hand, and the sphere of state and municipal administration on the other hand; the works of the Russian and foreign researchers indicate that the  concepts of transformational leadership, leadership-service and adaptive leadership can be analytically applied to the institution of municipal leadership; it is necessary to improve the institution of public law and municipal leadership, and ensure new spheres of juridification of the requirements for the heads of territorial self-government on the federal and municipal levels.

Keywords: local community, servant leadership, municipal communications, municipal democracy, territorial public self-government, municipal leadership, public legal leadership, municipality, transformational leadership, adaptive leadership

Abstract: Hate crime is a prejudice-motivated crime against an unprivileged group. This article provides an overview of hate crimes against LGBT in Russia. Emphasis is placed on several aspects: (1) legal status of hate crimes in Russia, (2) avaliable data sources and statistical analysis of anti-LGBT crimes, (3) number of such crimes and general tendency (4) problems of collection and interpretation of data. To answer these questions, the article employs previous research on the topic, reports of the local and international organizations, and law enforcement practice. Russian courts recognize motive of hate towards LGBT  as a direct “hate motive against a social group” (consisting of two or more people who regularly interact based on mutual expectations and share common identity). However, the judges often avoid the direct application of such norm, replacing the motive of hat3 with the concept of “personal antagonism” or prejudice that affected the motives of the perpetrators. This leads to a misinterpretation of anti-LGBT crime statistics, since “personal antagonism” does not entail legal consequences of hate crimes. Therefore, the absence of the official data on such crimes encourages the researchers to search for the alternative sources of statistical data. For assessing the degree of hate crimes against LGBT in Russia, the author explores various research approaches and reports, which testify to the fact that the number of such crimes has increased since 2013. The author outlines a range of challenges faced by the researchers dealing with this topic, as well as potential vectors for further research.

Keywords: russian law, criminal law, LGBT in Russia, aggravating circumstances, discrimination, LGBT right, homophobia, LGBT, hate crimes, social groups

Abstract: The implementation of the constitutional principle of judicial independence directly correlates with the criteria by which their activity is being assessed. Russian courts use judicial statistics for assessing the performance of judges. This article analyzes the applicability of statistical indicators as direct indicators of the performance of judges. The hypothesis advanced that with sufficient pressure and absence of artificial manipulations, the statistical probability of maximum indicators of “quality” and “terms” tends to zero. Statistical values are determined by a range of factors, including those that do not depend on the judges. Their objective and direct imputation to judges misinforms and distorts the reality. The assessment of mental work of the judges in exact figures is pointless. The conclusion is made that the achievement of the maximum statistical indicators cannot be a value orientation of the judicial system. The simplicity of their use is deceptive. In reality, the assessment of judges by “quality”, “quantity” and “terms” is imbalanced, inconsistent, and non-functional. Statistical indicators can be used for assessing the performance of judges only as indirect indicators. In this case, it is feasible to use the “red flags” method, which means that only significant departure from the norm should be taken in account in assessing judicial activity.

Keywords: appeal practice rate, quality of work of a judge, race for statistics, judicial statistics, evaluation of judicial activity, judicial burden, judgement mistake, stability of judicial acts, number of cases, procedural terms