The functions and powers of the Federation Council, its bodies and officials are determined by the Constitution of the Russian Federation, federal laws, Regulations of the Federation Council adopted by the Federation Council, and decisions of the Federation Council.

The Federation Council, as a chamber of the Federal Assembly, represents the interests of the subjects Russian Federation. Based on the nature of such representation, Art. 102 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the jurisdiction of the Federation Council includes next questions:

a) approval of changes in the borders between the constituent entities of the Russian Federation;

b) approval of the decree of the President of the Russian Federation on the introduction of martial law;

c) approval of the decree of the President of the Russian Federation on the introduction of a state of emergency;

d) resolving the issue of the possibility of using the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation outside the territory of the Russian Federation;

e) appointment of elections of the President of the Russian Federation;

f) removal of the President of the Russian Federation from office;

g) appointment of judges of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, Supreme Court the Russian Federation, the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation;

h) appointment and dismissal of the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation;

i) appointment and dismissal of the Deputy Chairman of the Accounts Chamber and half of its auditors.

On these issues, the Federation Council adopts resolutions by a majority vote of the total number of members of the chamber (unless otherwise provided by the Constitution).

The decision to approve the change of borders between the constituent entities of the Russian Federation The Federation Council, in accordance with Part 3 of Art. 67 of the Constitution, can only be adopted with the consent of the subjects whose boundaries are being changed. The function of the Federation Council in this case is reduced to the approval of the decision taken by the constituent entities of the Russian Federation.

According to part 2 of Art. 87 and Art. 88 of the Constitution, when a state of martial law or a state of emergency is introduced on the territory of the Russian Federation or in its individual areas, the President immediately informs the chambers of the Federal Assembly, but the decision on the approval of presidential decrees on the introduction of martial law or a state of emergency is assigned to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Federation Council. This is a special guarantee of ensuring the interests of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, since martial and state of emergency mean a special legal regime for the activities of state bodies in the constituent entities of the Federation in which this regime has been introduced. 1

The Federation Council calls the election of the President. These can be both regular elections, which are called after the expiration of the term of office of the President, and extraordinary - in case of early termination of his powers.

According to Article 93 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the Federation Council dismisses the President of the Russian Federation on the basis of a charge brought by the State Duma of committing a serious crime, confirmed by the conclusions of the Supreme and Constitutional Courts on the presence of signs of a crime in the actions of the President and on compliance with the established procedure for bringing charges, respectively.

As for making decisions on the formation of the personnel of such bodies as the Constitutional, Supreme and Higher Arbitration Courts, as well as on the appointment and dismissal of the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation, the Constitution does not contain any conditions limiting the Federation Council in time or setting deadlines for expressing disagreement with respect to candidates submitted by the President. But in this case, the powers of the Federation Council to form the personal composition of these bodies should be considered not only as a right, but also as an obligation. 1

Federation Council, according to Part 4 of Art. 101 of the Constitution, adopts its regulations and decides on the internal regulations of its activities

The most important function of the Federation Council is to consider federal laws adopted State Duma. According to part 4 of article 105 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, a federal law is considered approved by the Federation Council if more than half of the total number of members of this chamber voted for it, or if it was not considered by the Federation Council within fourteen days. If a federal law is rejected by the Federation Council, the chambers may create a conciliation commission to overcome the disagreements that have arisen, after which the federal law is subject to re-consideration by the State Duma.

As a rule, in practice, members of the Federation Council review most of the laws that have been adopted by the lower house of parliament.

Part 1 Art. 107 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation states that the adopted the federal law within five days is sent to the President of the Russian Federation for signing and promulgation.

According to part 3 of article 107 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, if the President of the Russian Federation vetoes a federal law, the State Duma and the Federation Council, in accordance with the procedure established by the Constitution of the Russian Federation, reconsider this law. If, upon reconsideration, the federal law is approved in the previously adopted version by a majority of at least two-thirds of the total number of members of the Federation Council and deputies of the State Duma, it must be signed by the President of the Russian Federation within seven days and promulgated.

A federal constitutional law is considered adopted if it is approved by a majority of at least three-quarters of the total number of members of the Federation Council and at least two-thirds of the total number of deputies of the State Duma. The adopted federal constitutional law is subject to signing by the President of the Russian Federation and promulgation within fourteen days. This provision is enshrined in Part 2 of Article 108 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation.

Art. 106 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation determines the range of issues, federal laws on which are subject to mandatory consideration in the Federation Council. These include questions regarding:

a) the federal budget;

b) federal taxes and fees;

c) financial, currency, credit, customs regulation, money issue;

d) ratification and denunciation of international treaties of the Russian Federation;

e) status and protection state border Russian Federation;

e) war and peace.

Art. 104 of the Constitution enshrines the right of the Federation Council to legislative initiative. In this area, the upper house of parliament has very wide possibilities. First, both the Federation Council as a whole and its individual members have the right to initiate legislation. In addition, the Federation Council, or a group of at least one-fifth of its members, may propose amendments and revisions to the provisions of the Constitution. Secondly, according to part 1 of Art. 140 of the Regulations of the Federation Council, this body has the right to make amendments to the text of the bill during its consideration by the State Duma. In addition, members of the Federation Council have the right to participate in the work of the committees of the State Duma in preparing bills for consideration.

In addition to the powers enshrined in the Constitution, other powers may be established by federal laws. So, in part 4 of Art. 21 of Federal Law No. 67-FZ of June 12, 2002 "On Basic Guarantees of Electoral Rights and the Right to Participate in a Referendum of Citizens of the Russian Federation" 1 five members of the Central Election Commission are appointed by the Federation Council.

Some functions of the Federation Council are enshrined in international treaties of the Russian Federation. For example, according to Art. 7 of the Regulations on the Economic Court of the Commonwealth of Independent States, approved by the Agreement on the Status of the Economic Court of the Commonwealth of Independent States on July 6, 1992, judges of the Economic Court are appointed in the manner established in the member states for the election (appointment) of judges of the highest economic, arbitration courts of the Commonwealth member states , i.e., in the manner established for the appointment of judges of the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation. According to Part 1 of Art. 8 of the Federal Constitutional Law of 04.28.1995 N 1-FKZ "On Arbitration Courts in the Russian Federation", judges of the Supreme Arbitration Court are appointed by the Federation Council on the proposal of the President of the Russian Federation, based on the proposal of the Chairman of the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation.

The Federation Council is the "upper" chamber of the Federal Assembly - the parliament of the Russian Federation. The Federation Council, in accordance with Part 2 of Article 95 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, includes two representatives from each subject of the Russian Federation: one from the representative and executive bodies state power. On August 8, 2000, the new Federal Law of August 5, 2000 No. 113-FZ "On the Procedure for Forming the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation" came into force. Now the chamber consists of representatives elected by the legislative (representative) bodies of state power of the subjects of the Russian Federation, or appointed by the highest officials of the subjects of the Russian Federation (heads of the highest executive bodies of state power of the subjects of the Russian Federation). The term of office of such representatives is determined by the term of office of the bodies that elected or appointed them, however, the powers of representatives may be prematurely terminated by the body that elected (appointed) him/her in the same manner in which a member of the Federation Council was elected (appointed). A citizen of the Russian Federation who is at least 30 years of age and who, in accordance with the Constitution of the Russian Federation, has the right to elect and be elected to bodies of state power, may be elected (appointed) as a member of the Federation Council. The Federation Council is a permanent body. Its meetings are held as needed, but at least twice a month. The meetings of the Federation Council are the main form of work of the chamber. They are held separately from the meetings of the State Duma, with the exception of hearing messages from the President of the Russian Federation or the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, speeches by leaders foreign states. Meetings of the Federation Council are held in the city of Moscow, from January 25 to July 15 and from September 16 to December 31, and are open. By decision of the Federation Council, the venue of the meetings may be changed, and a closed session may also be held. The Federation Council elects from among its members the Chairman of the Federation Council, his first deputy and deputies who lead the meetings and manage the internal routine of the chamber. In addition, Chairman of the Federation Council E.S. Stroev, who terminated his powers, was elected Honorary Chairman of the Federation Council (this title is for life). E.S. Stroev, as well as the Chairman of the Federation Council of the first convocation V.F. Shumeyko, were given special seats in the meeting room of the Federation Council and working rooms in the building of the chamber, they were issued special certificates and badges, they were endowed with the right to an advisory vote and some other rights. The Federation Council forms committees, permanent and temporary commissions from among the members of the chamber. The Federation Council has the right to create, abolish and reorganize any committees and commissions. Committees and standing commissions of the Federation Council are permanent bodies of the chamber. All members of the Federation Council, with the exception of the Chairman of the Federation Council, his first deputy and deputies, are members of committees. A member of the Federation Council may be a member of only one committee of the chamber, while the committee must include at least 7 members of the Federation Council. The composition of the committee, commission is approved by the chamber.

The procedure for the formation of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly is established in accordance with the Constitution of the Russian Federation (Article 96) by federal law. The Federal Law “On the Procedure for Forming the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation” dated December 5, 1995 determined that this chamber of the Russian Parliament includes two representatives from each subject of the Russian Federation: the head of the legislative (representative) and the head of the executive bodies of state power ex officio. If the legislative (representative) body of any subject of the Russian Federation consists of two chambers, then its representative in the Federation Council is determined by a joint decision of both chambers.

Elections to state authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation are held in accordance with the republican laws on the formation supreme bodies the authorities of the republics, as well as normative legal acts adopted by the representative authorities of the territory, region, federal city, autonomous region and autonomous district.

As for the process of preparing and holding elections to the representative bodies of state power of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, it also consists of seven main stages. Each of them corresponds in general to similar stages in the organization of elections to the Federal Assembly of Russia.

Fixing the powers of the chambers of the Russian Parliament, the Constitution (Articles 102, 103) proceeds from the fact that the Federation Council is called upon to represent the interests of all regions of the country, and the State Duma - political parties, other electoral associations, as well as various population groups.

In this regard, the powers of the Federation Council include:

a) approval of changes in the borders between the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. It should be borne in mind that such changes can be carried out only with the mutual consent of the subjects of the Federation (Article 67, paragraph 3 of the Constitution);

b) approval of the decree of the President of Russia on the introduction of martial law, adopted by him in accordance with Art. 87 of the Constitution;

c) approval of the decree of the President of Russia on the introduction of a state of emergency in the cases specified in Art. 88 of the Constitution;

d) resolving the issue of the possibility of using the Armed Forces outside of Russia;

e) appointment of elections of the President of Russia both in connection with the expiration of the term of office, and in cases of their early termination;

f) removal of the President of Russia from office in the manner prescribed by the Constitution (Article 93);

g) appointment of judges of the Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court, the Supreme Arbitration Court. This power is exercised by the upper house of the parliament of the Russian Federation on the proposal of the President of Russia (Article 83, paragraph “e” of the Constitution);

h) appointment and dismissal of the Prosecutor General of Russia (also on the proposal of the President of Russia).

On all the issues listed, the Federation Council adopts resolutions by a majority vote of the total number of members of the chamber. At the same time, resolutions of the Council of the Federation on a number of issues (approving changes in borders between constituent entities of the Russian Federation, deciding on the introduction of martial law or a state of emergency, etc.) are of a normative nature.

Decisions of the Federation Council are taken by a simple majority of votes (except as provided by the Constitution) by open or secret ballot. Open voting may be conducted with or without an electronic vote counting system: by ballots or by poll. Ballots or an electronic system may also be used for secret ballots.

It is important to note that the Federation Council cannot be dissolved for any reason whatsoever. government agency, so there is no reason to talk about the possibility of dissolving the parliament of the Russian Federation as a whole. This once again confirms the permanent nature of the activities of the Federal Assembly.

The Houses of Parliament form committees.

Committees of the Federation Council and the State Duma are formed for the term of office of each chamber. The essence and procedure for the activities of each committee is determined by the content of the powers of the respective chamber. The numerical and personal composition of the committees is approved by a majority vote of the deputies of the chamber. At the same time, the following rule is observed: a committee of the Federation Council cannot consist of less than 10 deputies; the number of members of a committee of the State Duma may be set in the range of 12 to 35 deputies of this chamber.

In addition, each of the chambers of the Federal Assembly has the right to create commissions, the activities of which may be limited to a certain period or to any specific task.

At meetings of committees, commissions of the chambers of the Russian Parliament, two groups of issues are considered:

a) related to the implementation of instructions given by the chamber to a committee, commission;

b) the influence of the committee, commission on the organization and nature of decisions made by the chamber.

Each of the Houses of Parliament has the right to hold parliamentary hearings. Such hearings are held at the initiative of the governing bodies of the chambers, their committees; in the Federation Council, in addition, groups of members of this chamber (at least 10 people), and in the State Duma - deputy associations. Hearings are organized by committees (commissions) of the chamber on issues within their jurisdiction.

The procedure for the formation of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly is established in accordance with the Constitution of the Russian Federation (Article 96) by federal law. The Federal Law “On the Procedure for Forming the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation” dated December 5, 1995 determined that this chamber of the Russian Parliament includes two representatives from each subject of the Russian Federation: the head of the legislative (representative) and the head of the executive bodies of state power ex officio. If the legislative (representative) body of any subject of the Russian Federation consists of two chambers, then its representative in the Federation Council is determined by a joint decision of both chambers.

Structure of the Federation Council: 1) Chairman of the Federation Council and his deputies (they are elected by the members of the chamber and cannot represent the same subject of the Russian Federation); 2) Committees of the Federation Council on specific issues the activities of the Federation Council (their number cannot be less than 10 people, and all members of the chamber must be included in one of the committees); 3) permanent (according to the regulations and parliamentary procedures) and temporary (on any particularly significant issue or event) commissions. The Chairman of the Federation Council conducts meetings of the chamber of the Federal Assembly and manages the internal routine of activities, as well as sends bills to the State Duma and performs the representative functions of the chamber in relations with other authorities of the Russian Federation and foreign states. Fixing the powers of the chambers of the Russian Parliament, the Constitution (Articles 102, 103) proceeds from the fact that the Federation Council is called upon to represent the interests of all regions of the country, and the State Duma - political parties, other electoral associations, as well as various population groups.

In this regard, the powers of the Federation Council include:

a) approval of changes in the borders between the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. It should be borne in mind that such changes can be carried out only with the mutual consent of the subjects of the Federation (Article 67, paragraph 3 of the Constitution); b) approval of the decree of the President of Russia on the introduction of martial law, adopted by him in accordance with Art. 87 of the Constitution; c) approval of the decree of the President of Russia on the introduction of a state of emergency in the cases specified in Art. 88 of the Constitution; d) resolving the issue of the possibility of using the Armed Forces outside of Russia; e) appointment of elections of the President of Russia both in connection with the expiration of the term of office, and in cases of their early termination; f) removal of the President of Russia from office in the manner prescribed by the Constitution (Article 93); g) appointment of judges of the Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court, the Supreme Arbitration Court. This power is exercised by the upper house of the parliament of the Russian Federation on the proposal of the President of Russia (Article 83, paragraph “e” of the Constitution); h) appointment and dismissal of the Prosecutor General of Russia (also on the proposal of the President of Russia).



On all the issues listed, the Federation Council adopts resolutions by a majority vote of the total number of members of the chamber. At the same time, resolutions of the Council of the Federation on a number of issues (approving changes in borders between constituent entities of the Russian Federation, deciding on the introduction of martial law or a state of emergency, etc.) are of a normative nature. Working procedure A sitting of the Federation Council is considered competent if it is attended by more than half of the total number of members of the chamber. First of all, the following issues are considered at a meeting of the Federation Council: a) messages and addresses of the President of Russia; b) draft acts of the Federation Council on issues within the jurisdiction of the Federation Council in accordance with the Constitution of the Russian Federation; c) draft laws of the Russian Federation on amendments to the Constitution, approved by the State Duma; federal constitutional laws approved by the State Duma; federal laws adopted by the State Duma and subject to mandatory consideration in the Federation Council; d) proposals to revise the provisions of chapters 1, 2 and 9 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation; e) proposals to send inquiries from the Federation Council to the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation.

The chairman of the chamber session: - announces the opening and closing of the session; - presides over the meeting of the chamber; - ensures compliance with the provisions of the Regulations; -gives the floor to speak in the order of receipt of registered applications; -gives the floor on a point of order;



Puts to vote draft acts of the Federation Council and other issues in accordance with the agenda of the meeting; - announces the proposals of the members of the chamber on the issues considered at the meeting and announces the sequence of putting them to the vote; -organizes voting and counting of votes, announces the results of voting; -answers the questions received in his address, gives information; - ensures order in the meeting room, can remove persons interfering with work from it; - ensures the implementation of organizational decisions; - signs the minutes of the meeting; - has the right to warn a member of the Federation Council about a violation of the provisions of the Regulations, and in case of repeated violation, may deprive him of his word.

At the same time, at the meeting, the chairperson is not entitled to express his own opinion on the issues under discussion, comment on speeches, characterize the speakers, otherwise he is obliged to transfer his functions to another chairperson.

The following main types of speeches are provided at the meetings: report (up to 15 minutes), co-report (up to 10 minutes), final speech on the issue under discussion (up to 5 minutes), speech of a candidate for an elected (appointed) position (up to 5 minutes) , speeches in the debate, on the candidate under discussion, on the reasons for voting and the order of the meeting, proposal, reference, information, statement, appeal (up to 3 minutes). After the set time has elapsed, the speaker's microphone will be muted without warning. No one has the right to speak at a meeting of the Federation Council without the permission of the chairperson. Violating this rule is deprived of the word without warning. If a member of the Federation Council did not have time to speak due to the closure of the debate, then he has the right to attach the text of the speech signed by him to the transcript of the meeting. In addition, members of the Federation Council have the right to distribute in the meeting room documents and materials related to the issues included in the agenda, while they must be signed by the initiator (initiators) of their distribution and endorsed by the Chairman of the Chamber or his deputy. Voting at a meeting of the Federation Council is carried out using an electronic system or ballots. To conduct voting by ballots, the Federation Council creates a Counting Commission from among its members, which is the working body of this meeting. Voting, as in the State Duma, can be quantitative, rating or alternative (Article 61 of the Regulations of the Federation Council). The regulation determines that a member of the Federation Council personally exercises his right to vote. Current edition, unlike the previous one, does not contain a wording on the possibility of polling by signature lists, but regulates in some detail the procedure for open, secret and roll-call voting. Decisions adopted at meetings are documented by resolutions of the Federation Council or extracts from the minutes of the meeting. On general political and socio-economic issues, the Federation Council may issue statements, appeals, adopted in the same manner as resolutions of the chamber. All draft acts submitted for consideration by the Federation Council undergo legal and linguistic expertise in the Legal Department of the Administration of the Federation Council, are endorsed by their officials and, within 96 hours from the date of adoption, are sent for submission to the Chairman of the Federation Council for signature, registration and distribution.

It is important to note that the Federation Council cannot be dissolved for any reason by any state body, so there is no reason to talk about the possibility of dissolving the parliament of the Russian Federation as a whole. This once again confirms the permanent nature of the activities of the Federal Assembly.

74. Powers of the Federation Council (Article 102 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation):

1. The jurisdiction of the Federation Council includes:

a) approval of changes in the borders between the constituent entities of the Russian Federation; b) approval of the decree of the President of the Russian Federation on the introduction of a state of emergency;

c) approval of the decree of the President of the Russian Federation on the introduction of martial law; d) resolving the issue of the possibility of using the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation outside the territory of the Russian Federation; e) appointment of elections of the President of the Russian Federation; f) removal of the President of the Russian Federation from office;

(in the manner of impeachment after the appropriate accusation is made by the State Duma (a two-thirds majority of the House is required to make a decision)); g) appointment to the position of judges of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation (appointments are made on the proposal of the President of the Russian Federation); h) appointment and dismissal of the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation (also carried out on the proposal of the President) and his deputies; i) appointment and dismissal of the Deputy Chairman of the Accounts Chamber and half of its auditors.

2. The Federation Council adopts resolutions on issues referred to its jurisdiction by the Constitution of the Russian Federation.

3. Resolutions of the Federation Council are adopted by a majority vote of the total number of members of the Federation Council, unless a different decision-making procedure is provided for by the Constitution of the Russian Federation.

In the field of lawmaking, the Federation Council plays a subordinate role in relation to the State Duma. Any laws are first submitted to the State Duma, and only after approval by the lower house are submitted to the Federation Council for consideration.

Federal laws adopted by the State Duma on the following issues are subject to mandatory consideration in the Federation Council: the federal budget; federal taxes and fees; financial currency, credit, customs regulation, money issue; ratifications and denunciations international treaties Russian Federation; the status and protection of the state border of the Russian Federation; war and peace.

When considering laws adopted by the State Duma, the Federation Council does not have the right to make amendments, but can either approve or reject the law as a whole.

If the Federation Council rejects a draft federal constitutional law, the veto cannot be overridden by the State Duma.

The Federation Council actually considers the laws adopted by the Duma, approves or disapproves them. The adopted federal law is sent to the President of Russia within 5 days, who signs the federal law and promulgates it within 14 days.