Chapter 8. Local Self-Government

 

Concerning the general principles of the organization of local selfgovernment in the Russian Federation see Federal Law No. 154-FZ of August 28, 1995 and Federal Law No. 131-FZ of October 6, 2003

 

Article 130

 

1. Local self-government in the Russian Federation shall ensure the independent solution by the population of issues of local importance, of possession, use and disposal of municipal property.

 

2. Local self-government shall be exercised by citizens through a referendum, election, other forms of direct expression of the will of the people, through elected and other bodies of local self-government.

 

Article 131

 

1. Local self-government shall be administered in urban and rural settlements and in other areas with the consideration for the historical and other local traditions. The structure of local self-government bodies shall be determined by the population independently.

 

2. Changes in borders of the areas in which local self-government is administered shall be made with consideration of the opinion of the population of the corresponding areas.

 

Article 132

 

1. Local self-government bodies shall independently manage municipal property, form, adopt and implement the local budgets, introduce local taxes and dues, ensure the protection of public order, and also resolve other issues of local importance.

 

On the financial foundations of local self-government in the Russian Federation - Federal Law No. 126-FZ of September 25, 1997

 

2. Local self-government bodies may be vested by law with certain state powers and receive the necessary material and financial resources for their implementation. The implementation of the delegated powers shall be controlled by the State.

 

Article 133

Local self-government in the Russian Federation shall be guaranteed by the right to judicial protection, compensation for additional expenses emerging as a result of decisions adopted by state authorities, by a ban on limitation of the rights of local self-government fixed by the Constitution of the Russian Federation and federal laws.

 

Chapter 9. Constitutional Amendments and Review of the Constitution

 

Article 134

Proposals on amendments and review of the provisions of the Constitution of the Russian Federation may be submitted by the President of the Russian Federation, the Council of the Federation, the State Duma, the Government of the Russian Federation, the legislative (representative) bodies of the subjects of the Russian Federation, and also by groups numbering not less than one fifth of the number of the members of the Council of the Federation or of the deputies of the State Duma.

 

Article 135

 

1. Provisions of Chapters 1, 2 and 9 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation may not be revised by the Federal Assembly.

 

 

Concerning interpretation of the second part of Article 135 of the Constitution see Decision of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation No. 2-P of April 12, 1995

2. If a proposal on the review of the provisions of Chapters 1, 2 and 9 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation is supported by three fifths of the total number of the members of the Council of the Federation and the deputies of the State Duma, then according to federal constitutional law a Constitutional Assembly shall be convened.

 

3. The Constitutional Assembly shall either confirm the invariability of the Constitution of the Russian Federation or draft a new Constitution of the Russian Federation, which shall be adopted by the Constitutional Assembly by two thirds of the total number of its members or submitted to a referendum. In the case of a referendum the Constitution of the Russian Federation shall be considered adopted, if over half of the voters who came to the polls supported it and under the condition that over half of the electorate participated in the referendum.

 

Article 136

 

Concerning the interpretation of Article 136 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation see Decision of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation No. 12-P of October 31, 1995

Amendments to the provisions of Chapters 3-8 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation shall be adopted according to the rules fixed for adoption of federal constitutional laws and come into force after they are approved by the bodies of legislative power of not less than two thirds of the subjects of the Russian Federation.

 

See Federal Law No. 33-FZ of March 4, 1998 on the Procedure for the Adoption and the Enforcement of Amendments to the Constitution of the Russian Federation

 

Article 137

 

1. Amendments to Article 65 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation determining the structure of the Russian Federation shall be introduced on the basis of the federal constitutional law on the admission to the Russian Federation and the creation of new subjects of the Russian Federation within it, on changes in the constitutional-legal status of a subject of the Russian Federation.

 

 

Concerning the interpretation of the second part of Article 137 of this Constitution see Decision of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation No. 15-P of November 28, 1995

2. If changes are made in the name of a republic, territory, region, city of federal importance, autonomous region or autonomous area, the new name of the subject of the Russian Federation shall be included in Article 65 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation.

 

The Second Section