Freedom of assembly in Russia: system defects of law and political and legal practices

The 2011 elections to the Russian State Duma served as a catalyst for a massive protest movement that was critical to the acting political regime and that took the form of various public activities. This article considers the legal aspects of enforcing the freedom of assembly in the Russian Federation. An in-depth analysis of key issues regarding the application of the legislation on public activities is provided. These issues include: the unlimited discretion of municipalities in agreeing to the terms for conducting public activities; the opportunity to consider practically any expression of civil activity as an unsanctioned public activity; the ban on conducting public activities in places defined by the federal legislature and legislatures of the subjects of the Russian Federation; the excessive limits for organizers of public organizations; the excessive responsibility for violating the legislation on public activities; the impossibility of ensuring an effective protection for the right to conduct a public activity; and, finally, the fictitious criminalization of multiple violations for organizing public meetings. Comparing normative foundations for regulating constitutional law and conducting peaceful meetings and the practice of applying Russian legal norms, as well as legal acts of the European Court of Human Rights and recommendations of international organizations such as the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and the Venice Commission, the author comes to the conclusion that state control over conducting public activities in the Russian Federation is excessive and redundant. This article formulates conclusions on the constitutional and legal defects and gaps in the legal regulation of the right to conduct peaceful meetings. This article also contains the author’s proposals for improving the legislation on public activities.

About the author: Andrey Kondrashеv – Doctor of Sciences in Law, Professor, Law Institute of Siberian Federal University, Krasnoyarsk, Russia.

Citation: Kondrashеv A. (2017) Svoboda sobraniy v Rossii: sistemnye defekty i politiko-pravovaya praktika [Freedom of assembly in Russia: system defects of law and political and legal practices]. Sravnitel’noe konstitutsionnoe obozrenie, no.6, pp.24–44. (In Russian).

References

Agapov A.B. (2013) Publichnoe prinuzhdenie ili obshchestvennaya sanatsiya [Public forcing or social sanitation]. Administrativnoe i munitsipal'noe pravo, no.7, pp.743–752. (In Russian).

Bezverkhov A.G. (2011) Administrativnaya preyuditsial'nost' v ugolovnom zakonodatel'stve Rossii: istoki, realii, perspektivy [Administrative prejudicialness in criminal legislation of Russian Federation: sources, realities, perspectives]. Vestnik Samarskoy gumanitarnoy akademii, no.2, pp.39–52. (In Russian).

Blankenagel A., Levin I.G. (2013) Svoboda sobraniy i mitingov v Rossiyskoy Federatsii – sdelano v SSSR?: “Luchshe my ne mozhem” ili “Po-drugomu ne khotim”? [Freedom of meetings and rallies in Russian Federation – made in USSR? We can’t better or We don’t want to another way?]. Sravnitel'noe konstitutsionnoe obozrenie, no.2, pp.55–62. (In Russian).

Buyantueva R.S. (2008) Normativno-pravovoe regulirovanie svobody manifestatsiy v Rossiyskoy Federatsii [Legal regulating of manifistation’s freedom in Russian Federation]. Vestnik Zabaykal'skogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta, no.2, pp.74–79. (In Russian).

Clayton R., Flanagan F., Hoffmann-Riem W. (2012) Opinion on the Federal Law no.54-FZ of 19 June 2004 on assemblies, meetings, demonstrations, marches and picketing of the Russian Federation adopted by the Venice Commission at its 90th plenary session (Venice, 16–17 March 2012). Opinion no.659/2011, CDL-AD(2012)007-e. Available at: http://www.venice.coe.int/webforms/documents/?pdf=cdl-ad(2012)007-e (accessed: 30.11.2017).

Clayton R., Flanagan F., Hoffmann-Riem W. (2013) Opinion on Federal Law no.65-FZ of 8 June 2012 of the Russian Federation amending Federal Law no.54-FZ of 19 June 2004 on assemblies, meetings, demonstrations, marches and picketing and the code of administrative offences adopted by the Venice Commission at its 94th plenary session (Venice, 8–9 March 2013). Opinion no.686/2012, CDL-AD(2013)003. Available at: http://www.venice.coe.int/webforms/documents/?pdf=cdl-ad(2013)003-e (accessed: 30.11.2017).

Evloev I.M. (2013) Konstitutsionnoe pravo na svobodu sobraniy i ego za­konodatel'nye ogranicheniya [Constitutional right for freedom of meetings and it’s legislative limitation]. Konstitutsionnoe i munitsipal'noe pravo, no.3, pp.45–48. (In Russian).

Gagloev D.V. (2014) K voprosu ob otvetstvennosti za narushenie pravil organizatsii i provedeniya publichnykh meropriyatiy [On the issue of responsibility for violation of rules of organization and carrying out public events]. Administrativnoe pravo i protsess, no.2, pp.76–80. (In Russian).

Gerasimova E.A. (2014) Problemy ispol'zovaniya instituta administrativ­noy preyuditsii v ugolovnom prave [The issues of using institute of administrative prejudicialness in criminal law]. Vestnik Saratovskoy gosudarstvennoy yuridicheskoy akademii, no.6, pp.178–182. (In Russian).

Belyaeva N. et al. (2010) Guidelines on Freedom of Peaceful Assembly, 2nd ed., Warsaw: OSCE/ODIHR. Available at: http://www.osce.org/odihr/73405 (accessed: 30.11.2017).

Isaeva M.A., Sergeeva I.D., Suchkova M.A. (2014) Regulirovanie svobody sobraniy v Rossii: “sistemnaya problema” i novye narusheniya? Analiz s tochki zreniya praktiki Evropeyskogo Suda po pravam cheloveka [Freedom of assembly in Russia: a structural problem and further violations? An analysis in the context of the European Court of Human Rights’ case law]. Mezhdunarodnoe pravosudie, no.3, pp.79–90. (In Russian).

Ivanova K.A. (2015) Mitingi, shestviya, demonstratsii, piketirovaniya kak mekhanizm osushchestvleniya naseleniem obshchestvennykh initsiativ [Meetings, walks, demonstration, picketing as a mechanism for the implementation of the public initiatives by the population]. Aktual'nye problemy rossiyskogo prava, no.4, pp.106–113. (In Russian).

Knyazeva I.I. (2012) K voprosu o ponyatii i sushchnosti fleshmoba kak od­noy iz form provedeniya publichnykh meropriyatiy [To the flashmob as one of the form to hold public events]. Konstitutsionnoe i munitsipal'noe pravo, no.8, pp.35–37. (In Russian).

Muižnieks N. (2017) Memorandum Komissara po pravam cheloveka o svobode sobraniy v Rossiyskoy Federatsii [Follow-up memorandum of the Commissioner for human rights on Freedom of assembly in the Russian Federation]. Available at: http://www.coe.int/ru/web/portal/-/the-law-on-freedom-of-assembly-in-the-russian-federation-needs-thorough-revision (accessed: 30.11.2017). (In English and Russian).

Ospanov T.A. (2014) K voprosu o politicheskoy konkurentsii v konstitutsionnom prave [On the issue of political competition in constitutional law]. Konstitutsionnoe i munitsipal'noe pravo, no.3, pp.33–37. (In Russian).

Patyulin G.S. (2013) Svoboda sobraniy i ob'edineniy i eyo realizatsiya: Konventsiya o zashchite prav cheloveka i osnovnykh svobod i zakonodatel'stvo Rossiyskoy Federatsii [Freedom of meetings and processions and it realization: Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and the Russian Federation legislation]. Trudy Instituta gosudarstva i prava Rossiyskoy akademii nauk, no.2, pp.7–25.(In Russian).

Plotnikova M.V. (ed.) (2004) Mnozhestvennost' prestupleniy: sootnoshenie eyo raznovidnostey: uchebnoe posobie [Multiplicity of crimes and the ratio of its varieties: a textbook], Moscow: MPSI. (In Russian).

Prudentov R.V. (2014) Imperativnoe regulirovanie, zaprety i sanktsii v konstitutsionnom prave: poslednie izmeneniya zakonodatel'stva o publich­nykh meropriyatiyakh [Imperative regulating, prohibition and sanctions in constitutional law: last changes of the legislation about public events]. Yuridicheskiy mir, no.11, pp.62–66. (In Russian).

Rarog A.I. (2014) Repressivnyy kren rossiyskoy ugolovnoy politiki [Repressive roll in Russian criminal policy]. Kriminologicheskiy zhurnal Baykal'­skogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta ekonomiki i prava, no.3, pp.88–95. (In Russian).

Salikhov D.R. (2014) Protestnye otnosheniya v konstitutsionnom prave: voprosy teorii [Protest relations in constitutional law: theory issues]. Konstitutsionnoe i munitsipal'noe pravo, no.1, pp.66–73. (In Russian).

Shablinsky I.G.* (2016) Pravovye usloviya provedeniya mirnykh sobraniy i reshenie Evropeyskogo Suda po pravam cheloveka po delu Frumkin protiv Rossii: Kommentariy k postanovleniyu ESPCH ot 5 yanvarya 2016 goda (zhaloba no.74568/12) [Freedom of peaceful assembly and the European Court of Human Rights case of Frumkin v. Russia: A commentary to the judgment of the ECHR of 5 January 2016 (Application no.74568/12)]. Mezhdunarodnoe pravosudie, no.4, pp.12–26. (In Russian).

Shayo A. (2011) Sderzhivanie strastey: sobraniya, religiya i narodnyy suverenitet [Sajó A. Restraint of passions: meetings, religion and people independence]. Sravnitel'noe konstitutsionnoe obozrenie, no.5, pp.146–147. (In Russian).

Shugrina E.S. (2012) Novye pravila organizatsii i provedeniya publichnykh meropriyatiy: chto skazhet Konstitutsionnyy Sud RF? [New rules of organization and holding public events: What is going to tell the Constitutional court?]. Munitsipal'noe pravo, no.3, pp.2–11. (In Russian).

Smirnova N. (2016) Narushenie ustanovlennogo poryadka: Stat'ya 20.2 KoAP: analiz pravoprimenitel'noy praktiki [Violation of the established procedure: Article 20.2 of the Administrative Code: analysis of law enforcement practice]. Available at: http://reports.ovdinfo.org/2015/20_2-report (accessed: 20.03.2017). (In Russian).

Strashun B.A. et al. (2012) Ekspertnoe zaklyuchenie na Federal'nyy zakon “O vnesenii izmeneniy v Kodeks Rossiyskoy Federatsii ob administrativnykh pravonarusheniyakh i Federal'nyy zakon ‘O sobraniyakh, mitingakh, de­monstratsiyakh, shestviyakh i piketirovaniyakh’” [Expert opinion on the Federal Law “On Amendments to the Code of the Russian Federation on Administrative Offenses and the Federal Law ‘On Meetings, Rallies, Demonstrations, Processions and Picketing’”]. Available at: http://president-sovet.ru/structure/group_3/materials/ (accessed: 30.11.2017). (In Russian).

Ustinova T.D. (2015) Ugolovnaya otvetstvennost' za neodnokratnoe naru­shenie ustanovlennogo poryadka organizatsii libo provedeniya sobra­niya, mitinga, demonstratsii, shestviya ili piketirovaniya (st.212.1 UK RF) [Criminal liability for repeatedly breaching of regularity organization or holding meetings, rallies, demonstrations, processions and picketing]. Vestnik Universiteta imeni O.E.Kutafina, no.7, pp.141–146. (In Russian).

Vdovichenko K.G. (2015) Ugolovnaya otvetstvennost' za neodnokratnoe narushenie ustanovlennogo poryadka organizatsii libo provedeniya sobraniya, mitinga, demonstratsii, shestviya ili piketirovaniya [Criminal liability for repeatedly breaching of regularity organization or holding meetings, rallies, demonstrations, processions and picketing]. Obshchestvo i pravo, no.1, pp.124–128. (In Russian).

Zhestovskaya D.A. (2016) Soglasovanie mesta i vremeni publichnogo meropriyatiya: sposob zashchity prav ili instrument ikh ogranicheniya? [Matching place and time of public events: a way to protect rights or a tool to limit them?]. Peterburgskiy yurist, no.1, pp.42–58. (In Russian).

* Recognised as a foreign agent in Russia