Centralism and Decentralization as a Principle of Public Control in the Russian Federation

Goncharov Vitalii Viktorovich PhD in Law Associate Professor, Dean of the Faculty of Higher Education, Polytechnic Institute (branch), Don State Technical University in Taganrog 347900, Russia, Rostov region, Taganrog, Petrovskaya str., 109a niipgergo2009@mail.ru Other publications by this author     Porkashyan Margarita Arturovna Student, Department of "Theory of State and Law", Institute of Service and Entrepreneurship (branch), Don State Technical University in Shakhty 346500, Russia, Rostov region, Shakhty, ul. Shevchenko, 147 niipg2010@mail.ru Other publications by this author

Spektor Lyudmila Aleksandrovna PhD in Law Head of the Department "Theory of State and Law", Institute of Service and Entrepreneurship (branch), Don State Technical University in Shakhty 346500, Russia, Rostov region, Shakhty, ul. Shevchenko, 147 niipg2010@mail.ru Other publications by this author

Introduction.

Numerous works by S. A. Avakian, ^{[1, pp. 3-17]} E. V. Berdnikova, ^[2] N. S. Bondar, ^[3] V. V. Grib, ^{[5, pp. 3-13]} L. Y. Grudtsyna, ^{[6, pp. 62-71]} A. A. Klishas are devoted to the analysis of the organization and activities of the Institute of Public Control, ^{[8, pp. 47-55]} G. N. Komkova, ^{[9, pp. 11-19]} L. Yu. Mikheeva, ^{[10, pp. 113-117]} T. Ya. Khabrieva, ^{[15, pp. 5-10]} G. N. Chebotareva, ^{[17, pp. 62-65]} V. E. Chirkina, ^{[18, pp. 3-7]} and others other authors. A number of studies in the domestic educational and scientific literature touch upon the principles of public control, in particular, the work of A. I. Zemlin, ^{[7, pp. 34-40]} S. L. Nuzhnova, ^{[11, pp. 89-92]} O. A. Okolesnova, ^{[12, pp. 64-77]} O. G. Savitskaya, ^{[14, pp. 43-46]} and some other scientists. However, the share of studies devoted to the critical analysis of the principles of public control enshrined in the current legislation, the need to amend their list, seems insufficient, which led to the choice of the topic of this scientific research, the purpose of which is not only to formalize and substantiate the need to include in the current legislation the principle of centralism and decentralization in the organization and activities of subjects of public control, but also the identification and formalization of the main problems that hinder the implementation of this principle of this institution of civil society, and the justification of a system of measures to resolve them, including by making appropriate amendments and additions to the legislation of the Russian Federation.

The achievement of this research goal involves the implementation of a number of scientific tasks, in particular: 1) analysis of the concept and content of the principles of public control in the Russian Federation; 2) study of the list of these principles enshrined in the legislation on public control, in particular, in Federal Law No. 212-FZ dated 21.07.2014 "On the basics of public control in the Russian Federation"; 3) justification of the need to supplement this list with new principles (with formalization and indication of the author's definitions of their names and content); 4) analysis of the content of the principle of centralism and decentralization in the organization and activities of subjects of public control; 5) identification of the main problems hindering the implementation of this principle; 6) development and justification of a system of measures to resolve them, including by making appropriate changes and additions to legislation of the Russian Federation.

The main text.

The Constitution of the Russian Federation has consolidated the legal status of the multinational people of the country as the bearer of sovereignty and the only source of power in the state. At the same time, the people have the right to exercise their powers both directly, for example, through the institutions of free elections and referendums, and indirectly, in particular, through the activities of public authorities. However, the constitutional principles of democracy and the participation of society in the management of state affairs need a system of legal guarantees, the most important of which is the institute of public control, through which citizens of the Russian Federation, public associations, other non-governmental non-profit organizations can exercise control over the activities, acts and decisions of public authorities, state and municipal organizations, other bodies and organizations that are endowed by federal laws with the right to exercise certain public powers.

Although this institution of civil society was formalized in federal legislation relatively recently, starting in 2005, it was preceded by many years of experience in the functioning of the institute of people's control of power in the USSR (and the RSFSR as its union republic).

The organization and activity of the institute of public control is based on a certain system of principles - the basic, most general principles that determine the content and main directions of regulation of this institution of civil society in the Russian Federation.

Russian legislation at the federal level has fixed the basic principles of public control in Article 6 of Federal Law No. 212-FZ dated 21.07.2014 "On the Basics of Public Control in the Russian Federation". These principles, based on their impact on the process of public control, can be classified into several groups: 1) principles of the organization of public control (this group, in particular, should include the priority of the rights and legitimate interests of man and citizen, voluntary participation in the exercise of public control, a variety of forms of public control); 2) principles of public control control (which include, for example, the publicity and openness of the exercise of public control and public discussion of its results, the inadmissibility of interference in the sphere of activity of political parties).

At the regional level, the principles of public control are enshrined in the laws of the subjects of public control regulating the organization of public control in the respective regions, as well as the public chambers of these subjects of the Russian Federation. At the same time, in most regional laws, the number of principles of public control and the principles of formation and implementation of the activities of regional public chambers is significantly lower than in federal legislation. Thus, in the Law of the Krasnodar Territory dated 03.03.2017 No. 3575-KZ "On the Public Chamber of the Krasnodar Territory and on Amendments to certain Legislative Acts of the Krasnodar Territory", the principles of formation and activity of the Public Chamber of the Krasnodar Territory are fixed: 1) priority of the rights and legitimate interests of man and citizen; 2) legality; 3) equality of rights of civil society institutions; 4) self-government; 5) independence; 6) openness and publicity. ^[13]

At the same time, in different subjects of the Russian Federation, the list of principles of public control and the principles of organization and activity of regional public chambers (enshrined in regional legislation) does not coincide.

However, it seems that the list of principles of public control enshrined in the legislation requires the addition of new principles for a number of reasons: firstly, it should include the main, most general principles necessary and sufficient to determine the content and main directions of regulation of this institution of civil society in the Russian Federation; secondly, this list must comply with the basic principles of the organization and activities of public authorities, whose activities, acts and decisions constitute the bulk of objects of public control.

In this regard, the list of principles of public control, enshrined, in particular, in Article 6 of Federal Law No. 212-FZ dated 21.07.2014 "On the basics of public control in the Russian Federation", should be supplemented, for example, by the following principles: ethics and professionalism in the activities of representatives of subjects of public control; responsibility (as representatives of subjects of public control and objects of public control, as well as their officials); centralism and decentralization in the organization and activities of subjects of public control.

In the framework of this scientific research, we will consider one of the most important (of the proposed) principles of public control – centralism and decentralization in the organization and activities of subjects of public control.

At the same time, centralism in the organization and activities of subjects of public control should be understood as the concentration of issues of coordination of the processes of formation and functioning of some subjects of public control in the hands of other subjects of public control (for example, the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation), which allows us to talk about the formation of a system of public control.

However, a question may arise as to how centralism in the organization and activities of subjects of public control correlates with the principle of their independence and independence. An analysis of article 6 of the above-mentioned Federal Law shows that it establishes the independence and independence of subjects of public control only from state authorities, local self-government bodies, state and municipal organizations, other bodies and organizations exercising certain public powers in accordance with federal laws. That is, the subjects of public control are independent and independent only from those subjects whose activities, acts and decisions act as objects of public control.

At the same time, an analysis of federal and regional legislation on public control, as well as relevant regulatory legal acts of local self-government bodies, shows that certain elements of centralism in the organization and activities of subjects of public control are enshrined in these regulatory legal acts.

For example, in accordance with paragraph 1 of Article 20 of Federal Law No. 32-FZ of 04.04.2005 "On the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation", the Public Chamber of Russia participates in the formation of public councils under federal executive authorities, and also forms public councils to conduct an independent assessment of the quality of conditions for the provision of services by organizations in the field of culture, health, education, social services and federal institutions of medical and social expertise.

In addition, the analysis of the current legislation on public control allows us to assert that the subjects of public control are in a certain relationship and interdependence, which is not only descending, but also ascending. In particular, the study of the procedure for the formation of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation shows that, on the basis of Article 8 of Federal Law No. 32-FZ dated 04.04.2005 "On the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation", 89 members of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation are elected by secret alternative voting by public chambers of the subjects of the Russian Federation (1 representative from each region of the country from among the members of public chambers of these subjects of Russia).

Decentralization is considered in educational and scientific literature in several aspects: as a management principle, as a method of managerial influence; as a management regime; as a form of organization of public power; as a process of distribution and implementation of powers; as an element of the organizational structure of public administration. ^[16]

With regard to the organization and activities of subjects of public control, decentralization should be understood as the consolidation of the subjects of competence and powers for a particular body, which it should carry out independently without interference from higher authorities.

For example, the public chambers of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation are endowed with a wide list of powers that they exercise independently without interference from both public authorities and the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation.

In particular, the Public Chamber of the Krasnodar Territory, on the basis of the Law of the Krasnodar Territory dated 03.03.2017 No. 3575-KZ "On the Public Chamber of the Krasnodar Territory and on Amendments to certain Legislative Acts of the Krasnodar Territory", is endowed, for example, with the authority to examine draft laws of the Krasnodar Territory and draft regulatory legal acts of public authorities of the Krasnodar Territory, draft legal acts local self-government bodies in the Krasnodar Territory.

In turn, the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation is endowed with a significant number of powers, most of which are enshrined in federal laws No. 32-FZ dated 04.04.2005 "On the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation" and No. 212-FZ dated 21.07.2014 "On the Basics of Public Control in the Russian Federation".

However, the consolidation and implementation of the principle of centralism and decentralization in the organization and activities of subjects of public control are associated with numerous problems, including the following:

Firstly, the main problem in determining the necessary and sufficient list of principles of public control is the lack of consolidation of this institution of civil society in the Constitution of the Russian Federation. This circumstance, as we have already noted in previous studies, ^{[4, pp. 167-185]} unprofitably distinguishes the institute of public control from the institute of people's control of power in the RSFSR, which was enshrined in the Constitution of the RSFSR.

Secondly, a significant problem is the lack of consolidation of the principle of centralism and decentralization in the organization and activities of subjects of public control in the list of principles of public control, enshrined in Article 6 of Federal Law No. 212-FZ dated 21.07.2014 "On the basics of public control in the Russian Federation".

Thirdly, an important problem in the consolidation and implementation of the principle of centralism and decentralization in the organization and activities of subjects of public control is the lack of consolidation in the Russian legislation of the concept of a system of subjects of public control. Moreover, the analysis of Chapter 2 of the above-mentioned Federal Law shows that it does not fix the concept of subjects of public control, does not specify a list of signs identifying them. The classification of subjects of public control given in Article 9 of this Federal Law is also ambiguous: on the one hand, Part 1 lists subjects of public control (starting with the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation and ending with public councils under federal executive authorities, public councils under legislative (representative) and executive state authorities of the subjects of the Russian Federation), and on the other hand, Part 2 lists various types of organizational structures of public control (at the same time, it is not clear whether these structures are a kind of subjects of public control, or not).

Fourth, a certain problem in the consolidation and implementation of the principle of centralism and decentralization in the organization and activities of subjects of public control is the lack of consolidation in the Russian legislation of the system for evaluating the effectiveness and effectiveness of public control measures conducted by its subjects, which does not allow, on the one hand, to rank them according to the degree of the ratio of the costs of their implementation to the cost of identified violations, and on the other hand, to increase funding for the organization and conduct of those public control measures that have shown the greatest efficiency and effectiveness.

Conclusion.

To resolve the above-mentioned problems related to the consolidation and implementation of the principle of centralism and decentralization in the organization and activities of subjects of public control, it is necessary to implement a system of measures to resolve them (including by making appropriate amendments and additions to the legislation of the Russian Federation), among which the following can be distinguished:

Firstly, it seems necessary to consolidate the institution of public control in the Constitution of the Russian Federation, detailing in it the concept, forms, list of subjects and objects of public control, or signs identifying them, as well as the composition of the principles of public control, including the principle of centralism and decentralization in the organization and activities of subjects of public control. This will, on the one hand, unify federal and regional legislation, as well as municipal regulations on public control, creating a universal legal framework for the regulation and development of this institution of civil society, and on the other hand, will increase the level of legitimacy of the activities of subjects of public control in the eyes of Russian citizens.

Secondly, it is necessary to supplement the list of principles of public control, enshrined in Article 6 of Federal Law No. 212-FZ dated 21.07.2014 "On the basics of public control in the Russian Federation", with the principle of centralism and decentralization, which should be understood as a combination of centralism in the organization and activities of subjects of public control (concentration of issues of coordination of the processes of formation and functioning of some subjects of public control in the hands of other subjects of public control, as well as their interconnectedness and interdependence within the framework of the public control system) and decentralization (dispersal of powers to organize and conduct public control activities between different levels of subjects of public control and other organizational structures of public control).

Thirdly, in Chapter 2 of Federal Law No. 212-FZ dated 21.07.2014 "On the basics of public Control in the Russian Federation", the concept of a subject of public control and a list of identifying features should be fixed, specifying whether the organizational structures of public control are a variety of its subjects.

Fourth, in the current legislation on public control, it is necessary to formalize the concept of a system of subjects of public control, endowing the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation with a system of powers to coordinate the activities of other types of subjects of public control, to provide them with organizational, legal, technical and material support in terms of organizing and holding public control events. control. These powers will make it possible to compensate for a certain dependence of the Public Chamber of Russia on regional public chambers in connection with the above-mentioned order of its formation, when most of the members of the Public Chamber of the country consists of members of the public chambers of the subjects of the Russian Federation. Similarly, the relevant powers of regional public chambers should be consolidated in relation to municipal public chambers (councils), as well as other organizational structures of public control that carry out their activities on the territory of the relevant subject of the Russian Federation.

Fifthly, as part of the consolidation and implementation of the principle of centralism and decentralization in our country, it is necessary to consolidate in the legislation on public control a system for evaluating the effectiveness and effectiveness of public control measures conducted by its subjects, giving the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation the authority to coordinate the processes of evaluating the effectiveness and effectiveness of organized and conducted public control measures by any varieties of subjects of public control, as well as other organizational structures of public control.