Joint work
within the framework of the international seminar testifies to the positive
dynamism of inter-parliamentary connections which expresses itself inter alia in fact that the contacts of
parliaments and parliamentarians are supported by cooperation of the services
called to ensure their activity.
In contrast to parliaments in many other countries where secretariats,
administrations or directorates are functioning, similar divisions in the
Russian Parliament are called apparatuses* (* - the English equivalent of the
Russian word "аппарат"
/"apparat"/ is the word "staff").
As it is known, not a single parliament can work without a staff, while
not only the quality of the activity of supreme legislative and representative
State authority bodies but the degree of their influence on the formation and
realization of State policy as well depend on the successful work of the Staff.
Certainly there is a definite complex of functions and tasks
characteristic of all parliamentary staffs. Still, it’s obvious that each staff
has it’s peculiar features. That’s why it’s so
important to make oneself familiar with practices of each other's work. I hope
for fruitful exchange of views on the problems which are the subject of our
common interest.
With us, this interest is conditioned by quite a short period of
functioning of the modern parliamentary system in
One of the basic principles in the organization of a democratic
law-governed state is the principle of the division of authority. The
Constitution of the
The place and role of a parliament's staff is defined by the legal
status of the
parliament itself. For example, the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly
of the
Ensuring the activity of the Federation Council it’s Staff is solving the tasks of
legal, informational, organizational, analytical, managerial support to the
upper chamber as a whole, as well as to it’s committees, commissions and
parliamentarians. And as it is, the Staff officials don’t make any decisions by
themselves on behalf of the chamber or it’s bodies,
but provide for the elaboration of a lot of draft decisions.
Each structural subdivision of the Federation Council Staff fulfills
it’s specific tasks while as a whole they constitute a single integrated
body functioning in accordance with the
prescribed parameters, rules and aims.
As a rule,
the procedure for the forming of the bodies under consideration and the order
of their activities are determined by the parliamentary Rules of Procedure,
regulations concerning structural subdivisions as well as regulations on the status of officials, for example, regulations
pertaining the assistants to deputies.
In some countries special legislative acts have been adopted which regulate the
structure and functions of the parliament's staff .
As for the
The Rules of Procedure of the Federation Council contain some norms which set up the
tasks of the Federation Council Staff, its general structure and main
directions of activities in its structural subdivisions. These norms are set
forth in detail in the Regulations on the Staff of the Federation Council,
which are approved by the Council of the Chamber (it’s a body of the Federation
Council formed for the preparation and consideration of issues of the activities of the Federation
Council) upon submission by the Chairman of the Federation Council.
For the realization of the missions laid upon it, the Staff of the
Federation Council carries out the following functions: ensuring the
preparation of sittings of the Federation Council and its bodies, parliamentary
hearings and other arrangements held in the Federation Council; carrying out
legal, analytical, financial and economical examination of federal
constitutional laws, federal laws approved (adopted) by the State Duma, as well
as carrying out legal and linguistic examination of draft legislations
submitted to the State Duma by the Federation Council within the framework of realization of its right of
legislative initiatives; provision for the accompanying of conciliatory
procedures between the chambers of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation.
The Federation Council Staff also provides
the public with information on the activities of the Federation Council,
its committees and commissions and members of the Federation Council through
mass media and by means of spreading information and analytical materials and
publication of books and periodicals. It represents the Federation Council in
the international information
network.
Work intensity of the Staff depends directly on the work intensity of the
parliament and parliamentarians. For example, during the spring session the Staff of
the Federation Council provided for carrying out 11 sittings of the chamber,
where 117 federal laws were examined. All in all, 1500 draft laws passed legal examination, 10
legislative initiatives were worked out, 70 parliamentary hearings and other
arrangements of public importance were organized.
The Staff of the Federation Council is always oriented towards
cooperation with staffs of other public authorities. Meetings of the heads of
the Staff and
its structural subdivisions on issues of updating legislative activities are
regularly organized with the colleagues from the Administration of the
President of the
At the same time we attach primary importance to our cooperation with
the Staff of the State Duma. We are united by common legislative process. We
manage to maintain constructive and benevolent relations.
Whereas Russia is a federative state (it consists of 89 constituent
entities of the Russian Federation) and the Federation Council by virtue of the
peculiarities of its formation is called a “chamber of regions”, one of the
most important directions in work of the Federation Council Staff is its
interaction with
staffs of legislative
(representative) State authority bodies of the constituent entities of the
Russian Federation as well as providing
them with methodical support.
Regularly we hold zone seminars with heads of staffs of legislative and
executive State authority bodies of the constituent entities of the
Besides,
the Staff of
the Federation Council carries out legal, organizational and other provision
for work of the Council of Legislators which was set up not long ago and
consists of the heads of legislative (representative) state authority bodies of
the constituent entities of the
The Chief of Staff of the Federation Council exercises the guidance of
the Staff. He is personally responsible for carrying out missions and functions
laid upon the Staff of the Federation Council and he is accountable to the
Chairman of the Federation Council. The Chief of Staff of the Federation
Council coordinates and controls the work of structural subdivisions, concludes
and dissolves labor treaties with Staff officials of the Federation Council,
ensures certification of civil servants in the Federation Council Staff,
confers qualification grades on certain categories of civil servants and stimulates the
distinguished workers.
The legal status of the Staff officials of the Federation Council is
characterized by some special features. Staff officials of the Federation
Council may be only citizens of the
The rights, duties, responsibility and labour conditions of the workers
of the Federation Council Staff are determined by the Federal Law on Civil
Service and the Labor Code of the
Among the main tasks carried out by the Staff of the Federation Council
we should outline ensuring the participation of the Federation Council in the
legislative process.
On the federal level the legislative process has the following stages:
1)
submission
of a draft law to the State Duma:
2)
examination
of the draft law in the State Duma and its adoption or rejection;
3)
approval
or rejection of the adopted federal law by the Federation Council (federal laws
adopted by the State Duma on the issues determined in Article 106 of the
Constitution of the Russian Federation must compulsorily be examined by the
Federation Council);
4)
signing and promulgation by the President of
the Russian Federation of the federal law adopted by the State Duma and
approved by the Federal Council or the use of
the right of veto;
5)
official publication and entering into force of the
federal law, signed by the President of the
In
accordance with the constitutional jurisdiction of the Federation Council the
main stages of the legislative process for the chamber are the first and the
third stages.
But the main stage of the legislative process in which the Federation
Council takes part is the stage of approval (or rejection) of a federal law
adopted by the State Duma and the submission thereof to the President of the
Russian Federation to be signed and promulgated. The Federation Council is
vested with the right of legislative initiative and may submit draft laws
elaborated by it to the State Duma.
According to the Rules of Procedure of the State Duma the Federation
Council introduces amendments to draft legislations adopted by the State Duma
at the first reading.
While examining a federal law adopted by the State Duma at its sitting,
the Federation Council, realizing its constitutional right, may approve the
federal law or reject it on the whole or postpone it owing to the chamber's
disagreement with some provisions of the law, in the latter case the Federation
Council may offer the
State Duma to set up a conciliatory commission of the chambers to settle the differences. The conciliatory commission
is set up on a parity basis from among members of the Federation Council and
deputies of the State Duma.
The ensuring of the activity of the Federation Council's deputation in a conciliatory
commission of the chambers of the Federal Assembly is laid upon the staffs of the committees and standing
commissions of the Federation Council which have prepared conclusions on the
federal law adopted by the State Duma and rejected by the Federation Council as
well as on the other structural subdivisions of the Federation Council Staff
within the limits of their competence. As the practice shows, representatives
of the Legal Department of the Federation Council Staff usually are present at
the sittings of conciliatory commissions and render legal assistance in working
out and drawing up proposals aimed at the settlement of the differences between
the chambers.
In accordance with the Rules of Procedure of the Federation Council the
Staff officials of the chamber, on obligatory basis, carry out legal and
linguistic examination of both the federal laws adopted by the State Duma which
are submitted to the Federation Council and the draft federal laws which are
worked out in the Federation Council in line with the scheme of realization of
the right of legislative initiative. The staff officials of committees and
commissions of the Federation Council prepare draft conclusions on the
mentioned federal laws or draft legislations and other necessary materials
taking into account the results of the examination.
The special role in this process is given to the juridical service of
the Staff – the Legal Department - which carries out legal and linguistic
examination of draft legislations, federal laws and other official documents
adopted by the Chamber. Conclusions of the Legal Department are considered to
be the basis for making decisions on laws, draft legislations, resolutions and
other documents of the Federation Council which are examined by the Chamber. As
the rule the legislators pay great attention to the conclusions of the Legal
Department. At the same time, the legislative process not always goes smoothly.
And the jurists sometimes have to defend the purity of the law in heated
debates.
The work with laws and draft legislations demands mobilization of all
analytical and informational resources not only from parliamentarians but from
the staffers as well. In this connection, the providing of the legislators with
the materials on different socioeconomic and social and political problems of
the country and regions is very important.
Since the quality and efficiency of the realization by the Federation
Council its constitutional powers depend on the efficient work of the Staff,
the leadership of the Federation Council and the Staff of the Federation
Council pay much attention to the perfection of its work. Greatly conducive to
this end are regular arrangements aimed at continued education of parliamentary
officials, enhancing the level of their qualifications, organization of
meetings and experience exchanges with officials of parliamentary staffs of
European countries, which are experienced in organizing parliamentary activity.
Periodical renewal of the Staff membership of the Federation Council and the
involvement of young
promising personnel into the civil service are of essential
importance. The improving of work conditions of the workers of the Federation
Council, application of the advanced informational technologies are also called
to play a substantive role. The forthcoming adoption of special federal law on
federal civil service in which specific features of parliamentary service will
be reflected inter alia, is believed
to become a vital contribution to the optimization of the
mentioned processes.
The fulfillment of the enumerated tasks facing the Staff of the
Federation Council will help to create prerequisites for the effective ensuring
of the whole federal legislative process and will contribute to the
goal-oriented and coordinated activity of all auxiliary staffs of federal
bodies of all the branches of
State authority.