RSPP proposed to create a center for the protection of the rights of entrepreneurs instead of the institution of a business ombudsman

The Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP) has developed a draft law on the establishment of a national coordinating center for the protection of the rights of entrepreneurs, reports Vedomosti. It is proposed to make the head of the supervisory board of the center the special representative of the president for the protection of business rights. The new center is planned as a replacement for the business ombudsman institution.

According to the project, the coordination center will operate in the form of an autonomous non-profit organization (ANO). It is proposed to include among its founders associations of entrepreneurs, as well as Russia “represented by the federal executive body authorized by the government in agreement with the president.”

Other key provisions of the initiative:

• the center will have a supervisory board, which will include representatives of state authorities and business associations;
• the supervisory board will submit for consideration the candidacy of the general director, appoint public representatives, consider proposals for eliminating systemic problems in the activities of entrepreneurs, establish a procedure for filing business complaints;
• the supervisory board and its chairman will be approved by the president for five years, the same person cannot be chairman for more than two consecutive terms;
• the center will be managed by the general director, who is appointed by the meeting of founders on the proposal of the supervisory board;
• the center is authorized to consider complaints from entrepreneurs, which it can submit to authorities or officials, as well as go to court;
• the positions of commissioners for the protection of the rights of entrepreneurs in the regions will be retained, but they will be appointed in agreement with the center.

RSPP also sent proposals to the Kremlin on reforming the institution of the business ombudsman, which, in essence, are similar to the aforementioned bill. In particular, it is proposed to merge the institute of business ombudsman with the ANO “Platform for working with entrepreneurs’ appeals” and the digital platform “For Business”, created on behalf of the president. As the head of the RSPP, Alexander Shokhin, explained, the functions of the commissioners and this platform are duplicated, so their unification can increase the effectiveness of protecting the rights of entrepreneurs.

Business Ombudsman Boris Titov believes that the institution of the commissioner for the protection of the rights of entrepreneurs should not lose the status of the state and the existing powers. He does not agree that the creation of a separate ANO will increase the status of the defender of the rights of entrepreneurs. “Any public institution, even a very representative one, cannot be compared with a state agency whose powers and responsibilities are prescribed by a separate law,” he told Vedomosti.

Boris Titov was appointed Presidential Commissioner for the Protection of Entrepreneurs’ Rights in June 2012. In June 2017, Mr. Titov was reappointed for a second term.

Laura Keffer