The Ministry of Justice will prepare amendments to the Family Code

Amendments, conclusions and government reviews on changes to the Family Code (SC) will be prepared by the Ministry of Justice. This is stated in the draft resolution of the White House, which amends the regulations of the government. The draft, developed by the Ministry of Justice, was published on the website of draft regulations, Vedomosti drew attention.

Now, according to paragraph 98 of the regulations, the lead executor for the preparation of opinions and official government reviews on changes to the Criminal Code (CC) and the Code of Criminal Procedure (CCP), as well as government amendments to them, is the Ministry of Justice. Now it is proposed that the Ministry of Justice, in addition to changes in the Criminal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure, prepare amendments and reviews to the UK.

The explanatory note states that family law, according to the Constitution, is under the joint jurisdiction of Russia and its constituent entities: “Given modern challenges and as part of the implementation of state policy to support, strengthen and protect the family, motherhood, fatherhood and childhood, and preserve traditional family values, the UK occupies special place”. Further, the note states that the regulation of family relations at the level of the Russian Federation is carried out by various federal authorities. And “in order to effectively ensure the law-making process,” it is necessary to determine the department responsible for preparing opinions, amendments and official responses from the government to changes in the UK.

The Ministry of Justice, according to established practice, is considering conducting a legal and anti-corruption examination of changes in the UK, and also exercises the authority for legal regulation in the field of state registration of acts of civil status in the field of family legal relations, the note says. On the instructions of the President of September 20, 2022, the Ministry of Justice organized work aimed at determining the federal authority that is authorized to carry out the functions of developing state policy in the field of family relations. And the tasks of the Ministry of Justice, which were approved by a presidential decree of January 13, 2023, spell out “activities aimed at preserving and strengthening traditional Russian spiritual and moral, including family, values.”

Vedomosti sent a request to the Ministry of Justice. Nina Ostanina, head of the State Duma Committee on Family, Women and Children, says that it is still difficult to evaluate such an initiative. At the same time, she does not exclude that, perhaps, now some amendments to the UK will be discussed more widely: “Now the Ministry of Labor, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Health are really dealing with the topic of family relations in one way or another, and seven nannies have a child without an eye.”

Different ministries are responsible for different aspects of family relations, says political scientist Alexei Makarkin: “For example, the Ministry of Education [отвечает] – for the spiritual and moral education of schoolchildren, the Ministry of Culture promotes traditional values ​​in the cinema, the Ministry of Defense is responsible for military-patriotic education, the Ministry of Construction – for the construction of housing for young families. The topic of demography concerns several departments, and is responsible for it [нацпроект по демографии] Ministry of Labor. Apparently, therefore, the Ministry of Justice believes that it will be able to control all proposals, the expert adds.

Pavel Sklyanchuk, a member of the Presidium of the Union of Fathers, political scientist, welcomes the proposal of the Ministry of Justice: “The Ministry of Justice is maximally de-ideologized on the issue of changes in family law. There are a lot of emotions in this area, attempts to force the state to interfere in the institution of the family or, conversely, move away, and the family needs a balance of interests and fair judicial protection of rights.” For example, “the Ministry of Health looks at the family from the perspective of demography, the Ministry of Labor – from the position of social protection, the Ministry of Internal Affairs – from the point of view of domestic violence, and the Ministry of Education – the upbringing of the younger generation by parents.” The Ministry of Justice will be able to collect the unilateral positions of various departments and give a comprehensive assessment in the official response of the government, Sklyanchuk believes.