CCR № 3 (112) 2016

CONSTITUTIONAL WATCH

APRIL – MAY • 2016

Austria, Italy, Palestine, Poland, Russia, Serbia, South Africa, South Korea, Tajikistan, Turkey, USA

FOCUS: DIALECTIC OF CONSTITUTIONALISM

TRANSITIONAL CONSTITUTIONALISM VERSUS THE RULE OF LAW?

Wojciech Sadurski

This article considers some of the features of post-communist transitional constitutionalism, and identify those characteristics which are undisputedly contrary to the rule of law in contemporary democratic constitutional orders. Some aspects of transitional constitutionalism’s “past-orientedness” are in a strong tension with the rule of law.

LAW AND RELIGION: ITALY

THE FIRST AMONG THE EQUALS?.. EVOLUTION OF THE LEGAL STATUS OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH AND OTHER CONFESSIONS IN ITALY

Anastasiya Shashkova

In this article the author examines constitutional regulation of legal status of religious confessions and their organizations in Italy, focusing on the Roman Catholic Church as a predominant religious and cultural institution in this country. The author starts with considering the subject from historical point of view.

FISCAL FEDERALISM

KEY ISSUES OF ENSURING REGIONAL REVENUE AUTONOMY IN FEDERAL COUNTRIES

Tatiana Bratko

This article surveys typical federal limitations on regional revenue autonomy (Russian Federation, Germany, Switzerland, Australia, Canada, United States of America are cited as examples). Most federal constitutions define revenue-raising powers of the federal and subnational governments.

COURT CONSTITUTIONALISM

THE DIRECT APPLICATION OF THE CONSTITUTION: THE MAKING AND PROVIDING GUARANTEES BY CONSTITUTIONAL JUSTICE

Nikolay Bondar’, Armen Dzhagaryan

The Constitution in the real legal life is the most important factor for the stable and effective development of the modern statehood, but its actual impact on the social practice is often restrained by difficulties and contradictions caused by unwillingness, inability or unwillingness to follow constitutional principles.

THE DISSENTING OPINION OF THE JUDGE IN THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION: REGULATION AND PRACTIC

Ekaterina Drigo

The article presents a survey of legal regulation of judge’s separate opinion in the decision-making of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation. The author starts with a recap of regulation of judge’s separate – dissenting or concurring – opinion in other courts: in civil, arbitration, criminal and administrative proceedings, comparing that with regulation of a judge’s individual opinion in the Constitutional Court.

IN RETROSPECT: LOOKING IN THE HISTORY

EVOLUTION OF CONSTITUTIONAL REVIEW IN RUSSIA: FROM THE NIGHT WATCH TO CONSTITUTIONAL JUSTICE. PART 2

Boris Strashun

In the first part of this paper the author has shown weak if not negligible role of higher judicial bodies in constitutional review till the very end of Soviet era. The idea of constitutional review was revived again in the process of democratisation in the late 1980’s.

PRAXIS

EFFECTIVE OPPOSITION PRINCIPLE APPEARED LOW EFFECTIVE: A COMMENTARY ON GERMAN FEDERAL CONSTITUTIONAL COURT DECISION OF MAY 3, 2016 (2 BVE 4/14)

Andrey Rumyantsev

In the case brought before the Federal Constitutional Court on a dispute between supreme federal bodies, the parliamentary group of the Left Party required that some rights granted to the parliamentary minority could be enjoyed by the opposition even if the number of its members were under the threshold defined by the German Constitution, typically one quarter of the members of the Federal Parliament, the Bundestag.

IN THE RUSSIAN CONSTITUTIONAL COURT

REVIEW OF JUDGEMENTS OF THE RUSSIAN CONSTITUTIONAL COURT: MAY – JUNE • 2016