The government commission approved reviews of parliamentary initiatives

The Government Commission on Legislative Activities on Monday approved the next batch of responses to the initiatives of parliamentarians. In particular, support was given to a bill aimed at increasing the authority of teachers, the most notable innovation of which was the restriction on the use of mobile phones by schoolchildren. Positive feedback was also given to the initiative of United Russia to keep the Cossacks in the human mobilization reserve. But amendments to the Criminal Code on chemical castration of pedophiles were not approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.

The government commission, without comments, supported amendments to the law on education, designed, according to the authors (deputies from all factions and senators), to increase the authority of teaching staff. One of the most notable novelties of the project, introduced to the Duma on October 27, was the restriction on the use of mobile phones by students during classes, except in emergencies and situations when this is due to educational necessity. The bill also provides for the right of the government, regional and local authorities to establish additional measures of state support for teachers, school principals and their deputies. “The implementation of the provisions provided for by the bill will help strengthen the authority of the teaching profession and provide additional guarantees for teaching staff when carrying out professional activities,” says the commission’s review.

Conceptually, the Cabinet of Ministers approved the bill of the United Russia group on the presence of Cossacks in the mobilization manpower reserve of the Russian Armed Forces. The explanatory note to the document states that it was “developed in order to determine the fundamentals of the purpose of the Cossacks when serving in the mobilization manpower reserve of the RF Armed Forces and to clarify the obligations, rights and powers of Cossack societies regarding the acceptance and fulfillment by their members of the obligation to remain in the mobilization manpower reserve” . According to the project, Cossacks who have accepted obligations to perform civil service or are in the reserve enter the mobilization reserve on a voluntary basis by concluding a contract. Control over compliance with service obligations will be entrusted to the atamans of Cossack societies.

The commission also approved draft opinions on bills that have not yet been submitted to the Duma, in particular, amendments to the Criminal Code and the Code of Administrative Offenses (the presence of a government review in such cases is a prerequisite for introducing an initiative). Maria Butina (United Russia) proposed that the Criminal Code provide for liability for malicious evasion of serving a sentence in the form of deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities. The commission, in its response, called the initiative “worthy of attention”, but indicated that the statistical data given in the explanatory note “do not allow us to clearly determine the presence of problems that the proposed changes should provide a solution to.” It is also noted that the bill does not define what type of punishment, primary or additional, will be considered deprivation of the right to hold certain positions. Another argument is that in law enforcement there may be competition between norms and the provisions of Art. 315 of the Criminal Code “Failure to comply with a court sentence, court decision or other judicial act.”

Sergei Leonov (LDPR) proposed introducing a rule on chemical castration of pedophiles into the Criminal Code. Let us remind you that the punishment for pedophilia is provided for in Articles 131–135 of the Criminal Code, the maximum term of imprisonment is 20 years, for a repeated violation – life. Since 2012, voluntary chemical castration has been introduced: it is used with the consent of the person convicted of sexual violence against a minor. However, from time to time deputies propose making this measure compulsory. In 2011, such a project was proposed by members of the A Just Russia faction, but the government gave it a negative review, pointing out its cost. In conclusion on Mr. Leonov’s bill, the commission refers to the review of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, which, in particular, states that such proposals must be accompanied by changes to the legislation on healthcare. The initiatives of deputies Butina and Leonov, according to the commission, need “conceptual reworking.”

Finally, the bill of members of the “New People” faction Vladislav Davankov, Alexander Demin and Vladimir Plyakin, who proposed not to fine drivers for driving without a license, a compulsory motor liability insurance policy and a car registration certificate, was not supported. The authors explained their idea by saying that traffic police officers can remotely check whether the driver has these documents by looking into the state information system (GIS). The Commission in its conclusion, however, notes that difficulties may arise when checking vehicles with foreign registration numbers. In addition, in remote and sparsely populated areas, inspectors may simply not have the Internet, and therefore access to GIS.

Ksenia Veretennikova