№ 3 (162) / 2025

PUBLIC ISSUES AND POLITICAL SCIENCE

Agafonov A. (Yekaterinburg) Digital sovereignty of the state: analysing foreign approaches

The article is devoted to the international experience of defining digital sovereignty. The author analyzes the available approaches, highlights their advantages and disadvantages. The conclusions of the researchers are indicated, which can be used to develop the theoretical basis of the digital sovereignty of the Russian Federation (including in terms of the formation of a domestic model of digital sovereignty of the state). The author concludes that the foreign experience of defining the concept under consideration has not yet formed a unified approach to understanding the digital sovereignty of the state. Most foreign researchers interpret the digital sovereignty of the state through the prism of control and management of information resources, but they often confuse concepts, which leads to ambiguity in defining the content and boundaries of the digital sovereignty of the state.

Key words: digital sovereignty, information law system, place of digital sovereignty in the information law system, legal provision of information security

Trofimova M. (Veliky Novgorod) The place of direct elections in the system of ways of empower of justice of the peace: expectations and reality

Federal legislation grants the regions of the Russian Federation the right to choose how to empower a justice of the peace – appointment to a position by a legislative (representative) body of state power of a subject of the Russian Federation or election by the population of a judicial district. The article analyzes the reasons for the refusal of regional legislators from electing a justice of the peace, reveals the attitude of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation to attempts to include elements of the electoral process in regional legislation on justices of the peace, summarizes the positions of representatives of science who support or criticize the electoral procedure. The author predicts all possible regulatory risks associated with discrediting the principles of the unity of judicial status, independence and irremovability of judges, and identifies difficulties in implementing procedural legislation in the event of an election of a justice of the peace. The article analyzes the practice of empowering judges in other states, the author comes to the conclusion that there is a gradual and widespread rejection of judicial elections in favor of appointment. It is proved that the appointment of justices of the peace, while strengthening the role of the judicial community, is the most effective and objective way to empower them, since it allows professional experts to be involved in assessing the professional and personal qualities of a candidate for the position of justice of the peace and, at the same time, contains elements of public representation in an indirect form.

Key words: justice of the peace, justice of the magistrate, election of a judge, appointment of a justice of the peace, judicial district, bodies of the judicial community

THEORY OF LAW AND STATE

Trofimova G. (Irkutsk) Limitation of legal capacity as a measure of the responsibility

In the article the current position in legal science on the uselessness of clarifying the legal essence of such a sanction as limitation of legal capacity is being questioned. The author points out the fact that under certain conditions limitation of legal capacity can be recognized as a measure of responsibility. To study the essence of this sanction, the limitation of legal capacity set out in the norms of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation is taken as a basis, as the main source of determining the legal status of a citizen when it comes to his legal capacity. Further, an analysis of the regulatory provisions of various legal acts is carried out to clarify the industry affiliation of limitation of legal capacity. As a result, a conclusion is made about the presence of general legal capacity and the need for normative compliance with its regulation; about the recognition of limitation of legal capacity (in the part that is aimed at applying adverse consequences as a result of the culpable behavior of a person) as a measure of constitutional and legal responsibility, its basis is the commission of a constitutional offense; It is also proposed to single out branch-specific legal capacity (in relation to individual branches that do not have, unlike constitutional law, the status of conferring rights), the restriction of which can be considered (under similar conditions) as a measure of responsibility of a specific branch of law, and the basis for the restriction is the commission of an offense of the corresponding branch focus.

Key words: limitation of legal capacity, measure of the responsibility, general (general legal) legal capacity, legal status of a citizen, measures of constitutional and legal the responsibility, limitation of constitutional legal capacity

INTERNATIONAL LAW

Shinichi Onishi (Moscow) Conclusion of treaties: experience of Japan and Ohira Three Principles

In Japan the list of international treaties subject to parliamentary approval is not defined either in the Constitution or in law. Practice, namely the socalled Ohira Three Principles, has played and continues to play an important role in this. This paper examines the content of these principles; the circumstances that led to their formulation; the practice of their application in the post-war period; situations not covered by these principles and borderline situations. The author concludes that, in practice, adequate work has been done to ensure that international treaties can be debated in parliament, despite criticisms that the standards of democratic control may have been compromised. The Ohira Three Principles, which were 50 years old in 2024, provide practical guidance on the list of treaties subject to parliamentary approval, and the accumulated practice associated with them has provided important guidance on the distribution of legislative and executive functions and the balance between the values of democratic control and efficiency.

Key words: international law, treaty-making, ratification, Ohira Three Principles

Rusinova V. (Moscow) The maintenance of international peace and security: from the formal to the «real» UN Charter

The article seeks to ascertain the legal ramifications of the practice of the collective security system, as developed over the 80 years since the adoption of the UN Charter. This is achieved by analyzing the system’s alignment with the framework of interpretation of the Charter and potential of this practice to serve as a basis for crystallization of new customary norms of international law. In order to reach this end, the practice or initiatives are examined in five areas in which it diverges from the «letter» of the UN Charter. Firstly, institutionalized model of collective security, under the Chapter VII, involving the use of UN-led armed forces, has never been implemented. In practice, however, another approach has evolved, predicated on the authorization of states and regional international organizations to use force. Secondly, the division of labor between the Security Council and the General Assembly with regard to the maintenance of international peace and security has undergone modification, with the powers of the General Assembly being expanded to a certain extent. Thirdly, Chapter VI of the UN Charter, which does not explicitly authorize the use of coercive measures involving the use of force, has been used as a legal basis for the establishment of «peacekeeping operations». These have come to be figuratively referred to as «Chapter VI and a half operations». Fourthly, the authority of regional organizations to conduct operations involving the use of force without the consent of the UN Security Council is inconsistent with the UN Charter. Fifthly, various initiatives have been articulated to limit the veto power of the permanent members of the Security Council.

Key words: UN Charter, collective security, Security Council, General Assembly, use of force, peacekeeping operations

COMPARATIVE JURISPRUDENCE

Lyutova O. (Moscow) Development of legal regulation of tax reporting obligations in the context of digitalization: China’s experience.

The article analyzes the features of the development of legal regulation of the obligation to submit tax, accounting and other financial statements, which have emerged as a result of the digital transformation of the Chinese tax system, and represent a positive experience in terms of the possibility of perception by the Russian tax system. In the context of the rapid evolution of public administration in the field of taxation in the context of the digitalization of the economy, the following current trends in the development of legal regulation of the processes of drafting and submitting reports to Chinese tax authorities are emerging, determined by the intensification of the introduction of new technologies: ensuring the possibility of submitting tax, accounting and financial statements to Chinese taxpayers using various online resources and digital services; introduction of a new quarterly tax reporting system for online platforms for employees using their intermediary services; introduction of electronic invoices («e-invoices») on an experimental basis for VAT, which is an analogue of paper invoices. Both the advantages and the risks from their use are formulated in relation to the NWFB accounts. In general, these features are outlined taking into account the specifics of the two-tier system of legal regulation of tax relations in China.

Key words: China, digitalization, tax reporting, accounting (financial) reporting, Internet platforms, fapiao invoice

CRIMINAL LAW AND PROCEDURE

Podroykina I., Tsyganenko S., Dzhagaryan N. (Rostov-on-Don) On the issue of the effectiveness of countering bribery by criminal legal means

The article evaluates the effectiveness of the criminal law in terms of countering such manifestations of corruption as bribery, which is due to the fact that it is bribery that occupies the largest share in the total number of registered corruption-related crimes. Having studied the changes in criminal legislation regarding the regulation of responsibility for bribery, the authors draw attention to the fact that despite some liberalization of the law, nevertheless, the punishment for bribery is quite severe and comparable to the punishment for murder. However, they believe that the potential of the criminal law in terms of countering bribery is significantly offset by real judicial practice. Thus, after examining 50 sentences under Part 6 of Article 290 of the Criminal Code, they found that, as a rule, courts impose penalties below the lowest limit of imprisonment, relying on the provisions of Articles 62 or 64 of the Criminal Code, or small fines, and also do not use the possibilities of Article 69 of the Criminal Code when imposing punishments in aggregate. crimes, actually remaining within the framework of the sanction for one crime. Having made certain recommendations on possible further improvement of the criminal law norms on responsibility for bribery, they conclude that the effectiveness of the criminal law on combating bribery can be improved if, on the one hand, the courts make greater use of the potential for punishment inherent in the Criminal Code for these types of crimes. On the other hand, if the legislator continues to work on systematizing sanctions for bribery, including by designing them in such a way that they not only clearly reflect the degree of public danger of various manifestations of bribery, but also to a certain extent limit the ability of judges to vary punishment within strictly defined boundaries, both in relation to basic and additional punishments.

Key words: criminal law, anti-corruption, bribery, sanctions, punishment, systematization, judicial practice

Solov’eva E. A. (Perm) The elements of a crime and their main features

Researchers primarily focus on the problem of defining the elements of a crime. However, without identifying the main features that distinguish this legal category from related ones, formulating its definition is impossible. Based on the author’s own understanding of the elements of a crime, as well as existing positions in legal literature, six main features inherent to it are identified and substantiated: 1) it represents an established and longstanding informational model of a crime; 2) it reflects the internally complex structure of a crime and the mechanism of interaction between its invariant objective and subjective elements; 3) it serves as the primary carrier of information about criminally punishable prohibited behaviour in society; 4) the typical social danger of a crime is a property embedded in the elements of a crime; 5) the sole authority responsible for recognizing a particular set of characteristics that define a socially dangerous act as constituting a crime is the legislator; 6) the elements of a crime act as a link between the crime (as an objective reality) and the criminal law norm.

Key words: legal model, legal construction, elements of a crime, criminal law norm, social danger

Kolosovskii O. (Yekaterinburg) On the conditions and principles of encouraging active repentance in criminal law.

The article is devoted to the problem of developing a scientifically grounded approach to encouraging active repentance in criminal law in the context of the principles of criminal-legal incentives. The author conducts a comparative legal and legal-dogmatic analysis of approaches to active repentance, explores possible areas of application of this concept and the validity of its legislative definition, identifies areas of increasing the efficiency of regulating the legal consequences of active repentance, taking into account modern law enforcement practice. The problem of indirect influence of punishment imposed on a person who committed a crime on the victim is identified. The author’s classification of types of positive behaviour is proposed, the essence of the identified types is revealed. The relationship between the principles of restraint and the guarantee of criminal-legal incentives is analyzed. It is proposed to supplement the system of principles of criminallegal incentives through the incorporation of the author’s principle into it. The potential positive social effect of following this principle is highlighted.

Key words: principles of criminal law, incentives, active repentance, positive behaviour

CIVIL LAW AND PROCEDURE

Fedorov M., Ponomarchenko A., Luneva A. (Saint-Petersburg) Virtual gaming property as an object of civil law relations

Currently due to the increase in the gaming industry market, it is impractical to perceive this industry solely as a means of entertainment, since it brings considerable profits, thereby contributing to the emergence of new models of legal relations. A significant increase in playground revenues from the sale of games and virtual gaming items, the lack of legal regulation of virtual gaming property, and the economic importance of virtual items as objects of public relations raises the question of ways to protect user rights. The article discusses approaches to understanding virtual gaming property within various legal systems. Each approach contains criteria that characterize game property as an object of civil law relations, for example, game participants exercising ownership rights or objects of the game world with value (characters, equipment, game attributes, etc.), as well as ways to protect them. In this article, the authors propose to classify virtual objects of the game world into a separate civil law category of «virtual gaming property».

Key words: virtual property, virtual gaming property, computer games, other property, result of intellectual activity, legal regulation, legal relations, users

Karpova A. (Saratov) Certain issues of competition of judicial stages when appealing judicial decisions in civil proceedings

In the article the competition of verification stages within the framework of the civil procedure is considered as a phenomenon that arises in connection with the retrial of a case by a court of appeal (cassation) instance on the basis of an appeal (cassation) complaint from another person received after the completion of the previous verification proceedings. As a result of the analysis of the current regulatory framework and the explanations of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, the author identified possible types of competition in the verification stages. Taking into account the existing doctrinal approaches, the legal nature of the repeated review of a judicial act by the same verification authority as the root cause of the emerging competition is considered. It has been established that the phenomenon under consideration is based on a hybrid mechanism that includes elements of both an instance-based and non-instance method of revoking judicial acts. Due to the lack of a sufficient doctrinal regulatory framework, the competition of judicial stages leads to negative procedure for re-examination and which judicial act may be the subject of such review.

Key words: appeal, cassation appeal, consecutive appeal of a judicial act, proceedings in the appellate court, review based on newly discovered or new circumstances

ADMINISTRATIVE LAW AND PROCEDURE

Maslov V. (Nizhniy Novgorod) Invalidity as an element of the terminological apparatus of the theory of administrative act

The article examines some issues of terminology related to administrative acts and their invalidity. The subject of the analysis were such terms as invalidity, non-existence, viciousness, defectiveness, illegality and a number of others, used both in domestic and foreign doctrine. It is shown that the category of a non-existent administrative act, known to a number of foreign doctrines, is reasonably not accepted by the domestic legal system. Based on the analysis of the evolution of approaches to an administrative act, it is concluded that historically two different theoretical approaches to an administrative act have developed – transactional and procedural; it is established that, as a result, both characteristics inherent in court decisions and characteristics applicable to transactions are traditionally applied to administrative acts, which are not always comparable with each other. At the same time, it is noted that the assessment in the validity / invalidity paradigm is a very specific method of assessment, applicable only to two types of legal facts – transactions and administrative acts. Also, within the framework of terminological variability, the significance of the distinction between the terms validity / invalidity and the term defectiveness (depravity) is shown, and the introduction of corresponding changes to the Code of Administrative Procedure of the Russian Federation is proposed.

Key words: administrative act, invalidity, depravity, defectiveness

LABOUR AND SOCIAL LAW

Istomina Ye., Fedorova M. (Yekaterinburg) Medical examination as a mean of confirming the right to social security

The article analyzes the importance of medical examination as a mean of confirming the right to social security in the context of the concept of social risk. According to this concept, social security is provided in the event of the realization of a social risk and the occurrence of its adverse consequences. The resulting social risk situation is characterized by a set of circumstances that require an assessment in terms of the emergence of a citizen’s right to social security, as well as the scope of this right and the conditions for the provision of social payments and services. Such an assessment is carried out within the framework of the law enforcement procedure, which in established cases requires the presence, along with other documents, of a medical examination of the relevant types. Some of these types are directly named in the law as examinations of temporary disability, medical and social, military and medical, or examination of the relationship of disease with profession. With regard to other types of health assessment (in particular, establishing a causal relationship between disease and disability and exposure to radiation), a conclusion on their classification as medical examination can be made based on its features. Medical examination is a means of objective, professional assessment of social risks associated with a person’s health and ability to work. The said assessment is carried out both from the point of view of the actual occurrence and nature of its adverse consequences, and from the standpoint of the method and volume of their compensation through the provision of social security. The result of the medical examination is the confirmation of the actual basis for the provision of social security under the conditions stipulated by law. The objectivity of the analyzed types of medical examination is ensured by their implementation by medical specialists of medical organizations licensed to carry out the relevant types of activities; collegiality and formalization of the procedure for conducting, and in some cases, also the criteria for assessing the state of human health; monitoring compliance with the established requirements for its implementation and the possibility of appealing the conclusions of the medical examination, including in court.

Key words: medical examination, social security, law enforcement procedure, social risk, social risk situation, compensation for social risk

ECONOMICS AND LAW

Efimov A. (Moscow) Corporate sustainability of private partners within the framework of investment contracts with the government

The article examines the problems of the legal status of private partners within the framework of contractual forms of public-private partnership. Since ensuring corporate sustainability affects the proper fulfillment of contractual obligations, within the framework of a public-private partnership there are special requirements for private partners who are counterparties of public entities (public partners). In this regard, the requirements for private partners in the framework of the legal regulation of various investment agreements with public partners are being investigated: concession agreements, PPP agreements, special investment contracts, agreements on the protection and promotion of investments, public procurement, production sharing agreements, and agreements on integrated territorial development. The article concludes that there is a need for systemic regulation based on the differentiation of requirements for private partners depending on the general state economic policy, the specific features of interaction between public and private partners, and the characteristics of ongoing economic projects in their dynamics. The issue of fixing the requirements for the implementation of ESG standards by private partners is raised. In addition, the problem of establishing initiative requirements for private partners on the part of public partners or the possibility of agreeing in contracts on quasicorporate rights of public partners in relation to private partners is substantiated.

Key words: corporate sustainability, private partner, public partner, publicprivate partnership, contract, obligation

PROBLEMS OF LEGAL SCIENCE AND EDUCATION

Gorban V., Kodan S., Krakovsky K. (Moscow) Scientific research project «Academic History of the State and Law of Russia»: conceptual approaches, goals, mechanisms of implementation

The article shows the main prerequisites and presents the main characteristics of a research project aimed at creating a modern, fundamental, multivolume academic work titled «History of the State and Law of Russia», which is being initiated by the Institute of State and Law of the Russian Academy of Sciences and will be implemented in collaboration with Russian law universities. The publication aims to present the Russian national history of the country’s state and legal development based on the traditions and historiographical achievements of the XIX and first quarter of the XXI century. The article focuses on the project’s objectives and tasks, the overall concept and structure of the publication and the organization of research and publishing activities. The multi-volume «History of the State and Law of Russia» should become an authoritative comprehensive scientific publication that summarizes the development of this historical and legal science over more than two hundred years, serves to form the legal consciousness and national identity of the Russian state and legal system, and is necessary as a basis for continuing research and creating educational literature on the history of the Russian state and law.

Key words: Russian history, jurisprudence, history of legal science, history of the state and law of Russia, legal historiography, legal source studies

PAGES OF HISTORY

Kostogryzova L. (Yekaterinburg) Features of legislative regulation of property relations in Byzantium in the VIII–XIV centuries

The main institutions of property law, their concept and rules of regulation are contained in the Corpus Juris Civilis, compiled in the sixth century by Emperor Justinian. In the legislation of the Eastern Roman Empire – Byzantium, there was no need to repeat these rules because they established in practice. Therefore, new laws affected only those issues of regulating property relations that were significant for the Romans. In particular, much attention was paid to common ownership of land and the need to protect it from claims by large landowners – dynatoi. The laws of the emperors of the X century did not allow them to gain strength at the expense of peasant lands and plots of stratiote warriors, which, in turn, did not lead to the appearance of a layer of feudal lords in Byzantium and the formation of feudal relations. The church also failed to become a major feudal lord, as individual churches and monasteries remained property owners as independent legal entities. The laws of the VIII–XIV centuries affected the institution of emphyteusis, easements and obtaining property rights, especially by prescription. Their active use is evidenced by the preserved practice of the judge of the supreme imperial court of the XI century, Eustathius Romei. It also shows that the norms fixed by Justinian remained in force and persisted until the fall of the Roman Empire, although the changes in the state did not go unnoticed by the legislators.

Key words: Byzantine law, property relations, Agricultural law, Basilika, feudalism in Byzantium, dynatoi