Denunciation in the name of sovereignty – Newspaper Kommersant No. 17 (7462) of 01/31/2023

The State Duma plans to consider about 80 bills in February, follows from the calendar approved by the deputies for the next month. Among the most important are projects on the denunciation by Russia of the Convention on Criminal Liability for Corruption and 21 treaties of the Council of Europe, on the establishment of courts in the Kherson region and on the ban on the adoption of Russian orphans by citizens of foreign “unfriendly” states. In addition, Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov will tell the deputies about topical issues of foreign policy.

According to the calendar of consideration of issues adopted by the Duma, in February, 78 draft laws are to be submitted to the plenary sessions of the lower house (the first of them is scheduled for February 7), 24 of which are expected to be discussed in the second reading, 48 in the first.

At one of the first meetings next month, the Duma will consider bills on the creation of courts in the Kherson region and the selection of personnel to work in them, introduced by the heads of the committees of the Federation Council and the State Duma on state construction Andrei Klishas and Pavel Krasheninnikov, as well as the deputy chairman of the same Duma committee, Irina Pankina. According to the first initiative, courts are being created, including on the territory now under the control of Ukrainian troops, such as, for example, the Kherson city and Beryslav district courts. In accordance with the second draft, the High Qualifications Board of Judges of the Russian Federation will select candidates for the initial composition of the federal courts of general jurisdiction and the arbitration court on a competitive basis. At the same time, the document assigns an advantage to persons who held positions during the period when the Kherson region was part of Ukraine (until September 30, 2022). The draft also stipulates that they must acquire Russian citizenship and meet the requirements for candidates for the position of a judge in accordance with Russian law.

On February 15, the deputies will consider a presidential draft on the denunciation by Russia of the Convention on Criminal Liability for Corruption, signed in 1999. The explanatory note notes that the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, as part of a resolution on the legal and financial consequences of the termination of Russia’s membership in the Council of Europe, decided to terminate its full membership in the Group of States against Corruption (GRECO). Russia is deprived of the right to participate in the discussion or adoption of reports, as well as the right to vote. The denunciation of the convention is proposed “due to the unacceptability of such conditions for the Russian Federation.” And the next day, and also on the proposal of the president, the deputies will immediately denounce 21 international treaties of the Council of Europe (among them, in particular, the Charter of the Council of Europe, the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and the European Charter of Local Self-Government), which are proposed to be considered ” terminated in relation to the Russian Federation” from March 16, 2022.

In mid-February, the Duma also plans to discuss a bill that proposes to give the Prosecutor General’s Office the right to access a system containing information on payments for the state defense order. The document was introduced by the government in order to “improve the effectiveness of prosecutorial supervision over the implementation of legislation” on the state defense order, as well as the legality of spending budget funds.

Another government project is on the agenda in February – on the possibility of recovering losses from a foreign investor on claims of organizations of strategic importance if the transaction is declared invalid. This measure is logical for ensuring the security of the state “in the current situation, aggravated by the sanctions pressure of foreign states,” the deputies of the Duma Committee on the financial market noted earlier.

In the second reading, the chamber will consider a draft of deputies of various factions and senators on full state financing of the production and distribution of national feature films for children and youth. Another document on the “children’s” theme is scheduled for consideration in the first reading on February 16: it proposes to prohibit the adoption and custody of Russian orphans and children left without parental care, citizens of foreign states included in the list of “unfriendly” states. The authors of the initiative were the deputies of all four opposition factions.

Toward the end of the month, the second reading of the bill on the ban on the extraction of marine mammals for cultural and educational purposes should take place. Deputies of United Russia believe that this decision will lead to “closing the possibilities of replenishing dolphinariums, sea circuses, etc. with animals caught in the natural environment,” and emphasize that the document does not prohibit the replenishment of individuals born in captivity.

In addition, two “government hours” are scheduled in the State Duma next month: the deputies will hear the Minister of Construction and Housing and Public Utilities Irek Fayzullin and the Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov.

Afanasy Sborov