Varlen, M.V. Evolution of the Russian Parliamentarism: constitutional and legal aspect

Abstract: The twenty years of work of the Russian parliament allows one to draw the first theoretical and practical conclusions on the successfulness of the organizational and legal bases of its chambers. It is well known that the presence of the parliament within the system of state government bodies does not in itself prove the presence of true parliamentarism. In order for the parliamentarism to be present there is need for the representative body to have certain qualities, among which one may single out the following: 1. Election of the deputies of the parliament at the free and fair general elections, which is the basic guarantee for the representative character of this state body; 2. Independence of parliament within the system of separation of powers — since the parliament forms its legislative branch; 3. wide scope of competence of the parliament in the sphere of state government (for example in the sphere of formation of executive branch) and presence of the decisive competence in the sphere of law-making. The author defines parliamentarism as the system of power relations based on separation of powers, representation of various interests of various social groups in a civil society, political pluralism, preservation of basic rights and freedoms of individuals and citizens. Having analyzes the changes in the process of formation of chambers, their structure and forms of their activities; one may see the novel features in the formation of the Russian parliamentarism. The article also touches upon debatable issues on choice of election systems, formation of the Council of the Federation, status of chamber regulations, etc.

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