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The Russian Constitution of 1993 and the Constitutionalization of Federal Legislation: Data Analysis

https://doi.org/10.21684/2412-2343-2019-6-3-128-161

Abstract

The Constitution of the Russian Federation of 1993 provided the basis and tools for large-scale societal transformations in Russia. Still, the question of whether the results of political and socio-economic reforms are irreversible and in line with constitutional ideas and norms is open to discussion. This study investigates the temporality of the process of the “constitutionalization” of Russian law using the statistics of Federal laws and Federal constitutional laws for the period 1994–2018. The article presents the outcome of the quantitative analysis as well as a discussion of the findings involving the approaches of the legal and political sciences. The research leaves open the question of the relationship between the durability of the democratic constitution and the quality and irreversibility of democratic transformations of the social system. Monitoring the dynamics of the adoption of primary laws and laws on amendments gives evidence that even a “rigid” democratic constitution can become “elastic” with age since its ideas and meanings can often be “stretched” to apply to current cases without the need to make any changes to existing constitutional norms. The authors propose considering the conceptual possibilities of adaptive governance theory to explain the features of modern Russian lawmaking (“adaptive lawmaking,” “agile lawmaking”).

About the Authors

S. Popova
Institute of Socio-Political Research of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Russian Federation
Svetlana Popova – Leading Researcher, 6/1 Fotievoy St., Moscow, 119333, Russia


A. Yanik
Institute of Socio-Political Research of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Russian Federation
Andrey Yanik – Leading Researcher, 6/1 Fotievoy St., Moscow, 119333, Russia


References

1. Carey G. et al. Adaptive Policies for Reducing Inequalities in the Social Determinants of Health, 4(11) International Journal of Health Policy & Management 763 (2015). https://doi.org/10.15171/ijhpm.2015.170

2. Cleaver F. & Whaley L. Understanding Process, Power, and Meaning in Adaptive Governance: A Critical Institutional Reading, 23(2) Ecology & Sociology 49 (2018). https://doi.org/10.5751/es-10212-230249

3. Maggs P.B. et al. Law and Legal System of the Russian Federation (6th ed., Huntington, N.Y.: Juris Publishing, 2015).

4. Salehijam M. The Value of Systematic Content Analysis in Legal Research, 23(1) Tilburg Law Review 34 (2018). https://doi.org/10.5334/tilr.5


Review

For citations:


Popova S., Yanik A. The Russian Constitution of 1993 and the Constitutionalization of Federal Legislation: Data Analysis. BRICS Law Journal. 2019;6(3):128-161. https://doi.org/10.21684/2412-2343-2019-6-3-128-161

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ISSN 2409-9058 (Print)
ISSN 2412-2343 (Online)
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