CFE Treaty and all the rest – Kommersant

On Monday, the Council of the State Duma decided on plans for the first working week in May. As a matter of priority, the deputies will deal with the denunciation of the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe, an initiative on which the president introduced a few days ago. Also, legislative innovations regarding the holding of elections in territories where martial law has been introduced will be approved in an accelerated mode: the implementation of these norms will require, among other things, an adjustment of the federal constitutional law. But with the next amendments on foreign agents, the deputies decided not to rush.

On May 16, the Duma plans to consider, as a matter of priority, the bill “On the denunciation by the Russian Federation of the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe” (CFE). The President introduced it to the House on May 10. The explanatory note says that the treaty “under the influence of large-scale military-political changes, primarily related to the expansion of NATO” is largely outdated and “lost touch with reality.” Russia suspended it back in 2007 “in order to encourage Western countries to change their attitude towards security issues in Europe,” but since then the situation with conventional weapons has “noticeably worsened.”

From foreign policy, the deputies will move on to domestic issues and will consider on the same day in the first reading the draft law on stray animals, which caused a wide public outcry. The amendments will allow the regions, if necessary, to take their own measures regarding the treatment of stray dogs. Among the authors of the initiative are deputies of the United Russia, New People, Liberal Democratic Party and Just Russia – For Truth (SRZP) factions. Recall that earlier the governor of the Orenburg region, Denis Pasler, proposed to give the regional authorities the opportunity to “humanely euthanize” street and domestic animals if they show aggression. The head of the Stavropol Territory, Vladimir Vladimirov, also criticized the current laws obliging regional authorities to treat stray dogs as part of the “Catch, sterilization, vaccination, return on Wednesday” program. Deputies of the Altai Regional Legislative Assembly also appealed to the State Duma with a request to expand the possibilities for killing homeless animals. The government gave a positive response to the bill, explaining its position by the need to prevent “animals causing harm to the life or health of citizens.” Animal rights activists have strongly criticized the initiative.

On May 17, deputies will consider a bill regulating the holding of elections in territories where martial law has been introduced. The initiative was formalized in the form of amendments to another bill already adopted in the first reading. After the adoption of the bill in paragraph 4 of Art. 7 of the federal constitutional law “On martial law”, which now says that elections are not held under martial law, a clause will appear: “except when the decision on their appointment is made by the Central Election Commission” in a special order. This exceptional procedure will be launched at the initiative of the governors and after consultations between the CEC, the Ministry of Defense and the FSB. As the deputies explained earlier, the bill is intended to correct the legal conflict between two federal constitutional laws – on martial law and on the admission of four new subjects to the Russian Federation, according to which the first elections in Russia to the legislative bodies of the DPR, LPR, Zaporozhye and Kherson regions should be held in second Sunday of September 2023. At the last moment in the text of the bill for the second reading there were amendments concerning the elections as a whole. In particular, new restrictions are being introduced related to campaigning and financing of elections, the practice is legalized in which regions and municipalities pay from their budgets for the work of members of election commissions and other expenses for campaigning. Amendments to the law on martial law will also be adopted regarding the restriction of the rights and freedoms of citizens in those territories where it has been introduced. The initiative is formalized in the form of amendments to another draft law – on the replacement of the words “member of the Federation Council” with “senator of the Russian Federation” in a number of federal constitutional laws. According to these amendments, on the basis of presidential decrees, it will be possible to carry out “forced and controlled movement of citizens from the territory where martial law has been introduced to territories where martial law has not been introduced.” In case of violation of prohibitions and restrictions established under martial law by presidential decrees, citizens may face administrative detention for up to 30 days.

But with the adoption of the next amendments to the legislation on foreign agents, the Duma decided not to rush. The package of initiatives submitted to the chamber at the end of April by deputies from the Duma commission on combating foreign interference, headed by its chairman Vasily Piskarev (United Russia), consists of five bills – amendments to the laws “On non-profit organizations” and “On control over activity of persons under foreign influence”, as well as to the Criminal Code (CC), Criminal Procedure Code (CCP) and Administrative Code (CAO). On Monday, the responsible committee on state construction and legislation sent the last three projects to the mailing list in the regions. Recall that the authors propose to deprive foreign agents not only of financial support, as it is now, but also of property support from the state, as well as to punish those who assist them in circumventing the prohibitions provided for by law. On May 11, Deputy Minister of Justice Oleg Sviridenko, speaking at a session of the St. Petersburg International Legal Forum, said that a category of “third parties” would appear in the legislation on foreign agents, which “willy-nilly” could help foreign agents violate the law on foreign influence. But later, Vasily Piskarev explained in his Telegram channel that the official had in mind the already introduced bill and “there is no talk of any other changes.” At the same time, the deputy gave examples of violations that will fall under the law if it is adopted: “There are a number of restrictions for foreign agents, for example, on teaching in schools. At the same time, someone, based on corrupt or other mercenary or personal motives, helps him get a job as a teacher. If our bill is adopted, the Ministry of Justice will be able to issue a warning to this person. Or, say, a publisher publishes a book by a foreign agent without appropriate marking – there will also be a warning. In case of non-elimination of violations, citizens will face a fine of up to 50 thousand rubles, legal entities – up to 300 thousand rubles.

Also this week, the Duma plans to consider government amendments to the anti-corruption law and other regulations that would set a five-year period during which an official fired for lack of confidence cannot return to civil service or get a job in a state corporation. In addition, the deputies will consider an initiative introduced by the Parliament of Bashkiria to increase the age limit for civil servants in senior positions in the apparatus of regional legislative assemblies.

Ksenia Veretennikova