Vol 26, No 1 (2022)

The article analyzes changes introduced to the current Russian legislation after the constitutional amendments adopted in 2020. The analysis is conducted in relation to the previously issued rulings of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation concerning several isolated aspects of organization and implementation of the uniform public authority system in the Russian Federation. Upon thorough study of the Federal Law “On the federal territory “Sirius” No. 437-FL of 22 December 2020, as well as of the draft bill “On general principles of organization of public authority in the constituent entities of the Russian Federation” authors outline arising questions and, more specifically, possible difficulties in organization and implementation of the public authority in the federal territories of the Russian Federation.

The COVID-19 pandemic has completely changed the entire life of the society. Today, the world witnesses the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. This is evidenced by the steadily increasing number of new cases of contamination. Despite the difficult situation, every day merchants continue to conclude cross-border and domestic contracts. Therefore, the issue of exemption from obligations due to the onset of the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic is relevant and requires detailed consideration. We propose to analyze two concepts, namely, force majeure and a significant change in circumstances (hardship), in order to analyze the judicial practice (case law) developing at the international level in different countries and at the national level in the Russian Federation. The article analyzes international acts of both state and non-state regulation, examines the approaches of foreign state courts to the issues of exemption of counterparties from fulfilling obligations due to the onset of the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic and practice of Russian courts. The study was conducted using general scientific and special methods of cognition: logical, systemic-structural, methods of generalization, synthesis, induction, and deduction. Certain substantive conclusions are made based on the comparative research method. Analysis of the Russian judicial practice concerning the application of the concept of exemption from the fulfillment of obligations shows that, unfortunately, Russian courts apply dual practice regarding recognition of a particular circumstance as a basis for releasing a counterparty from liability. This is explained by the fact that the principle of pacta sunt servanda (contracts must be executed) continues to be of decisive importance in international practice. With regard to the second concept application, namely, a significant change in circumstances, we note a positive practice of Russian courts. Currently, the Russian courts recognize the circumstance that affected performance under the contract due to the onset of coronavirus infection or consequences of the COVID-19 as a significant change in circumstances.

The article is devoted to the legal doctrine of the famous New Zealand jurist John William Salmond - one of the most remarkable representatives of Anglo-American legal positivism, who made a significant contribution to its development. The aim is to reconstruct the views of a lawyer about the nature of law and the subject area of jurisprudence. The relevance lies in the fact that the evolution of Anglo-American legal positivism from J. Austin to the teachings of H.L.A. Hart is poorly studied in Russian jurisprudence while prevailing in Anglo-American legal thought. The methodological basis comprises historical approach along with the elements of a biographical approach, techniques and procedures of legal hermeneutics, rules and techniques of formal logic allowing to reconstruct the key ideas of J. Salmond's legal theory and place it in the context of the common law tradition. The main ideological line of the work is the connection between the legal teachings of J. Austin, J. Salmond and H.L.A. Hart. The work reveals features that allow to assert the typological belonging of Salmond's doctrine to the classical legal positivism in England. Particular attention in the article is paid to the study of significant differences between the legal teachings of J. Austin and J. Salmond, as well as the substantial similarities between legal theories of J. Salmond and H.L.A. Hart. The author came to the conclusion that Salmond's legal doctrine was the first in the history of English legal positivism, where the basis for the validity of law lies not in the order of the sovereign, but within the practice of the courts recognizing the rules as legal.

The article studies the development of legal regulation in correlation with the processes of integration of digital technologies in the regime of combating money laundering, financing terrorism and weapons of mass destruction. The research attempts to establish the stage of modern law development in terms of regulating the use of new technologies by the private sector and state bodies. The goal is to study regulatory legal acts and legal practice in the Russian Federation and other countries. The standard legislative initiatives of states in the field of regulation of new technologies, as well as other related legal spheres have been analyzed. The rearch notes the lack of a unified systematic legal basis for the use of technologies such as artificial intelligence, cryptocurrency, and national digital currencies of banks. It has been concluded that there is a high risk of using new digital technologies without modernizing state equipment and improving the regulatory system base for their application. Recommendations are proposed for further development of the database in terms of introduction of digital technologies. A number of conclusions concerning necessitating changes in preparation of legislation on new technologies integration have been made.

The article substantiates the importance of planning public procurement, expressed by the legal possibility of solving the assigned tasks in a timely manner by concentrating resources on priority areas. Despite the fact that public procurement planning is designed to ensure effective management at all stages of procurement, including management decisions, insufficient attention is paid to aspects of legal regulation and financial support for procurement planning, which reduces the overall effect in this area. Moreover, public needs in the procurement planning process can be overridden by departmental needs or the private interests of an individual official or a group of individuals. The essence of planning public procurement in Russia is investigated by using the methods of consistency, analysis, synthesis, and the comparative legal method. As a result of the study, the main features that characterize the specifics of planning public procurement have been identified; among them are universality, balance, bureaucracy, and ensuring public interest. Highlighting such basic elements of public procurement planning as goal setting, planning depth, accounting and coordination of public and private interests, adaptation, and discretion allowed to formulate a proposal for implementing prospective procurement planning. At the same time, it was proposed to understand the prospective procurement plan as an independent document, approved after funding (allocation of budget funds), and ensuring the implementation of management decisions within the framework of goal setting and synchronization of public and private interests for the medium and long term. The author’s hypothesis was confirmed that prospective procurement planning is aimed at synchronizing public and private interests, integrated into the budget process system, resource supply of the country, or a separate entity.

The relevance of research. Allocating compensatory actions a place either in the system of coercive measures or in the arsenal of stimulating measures, the legislator took the path of strengthening private interests, expanding the grounds for exemption from criminal liability, and reducing the requirements for post-crime behavior of the accused. The revealed legislative transformation of the restorative actions of the guilty party laid the foundation for the reevaluation of their content by a law enforcement officer. By recognizing as optional the solely personal participation of the offender in compensation for damage, as well as transferring “redressing of harm” from certain definitions to evaluative ones, the Plenary Session of the Supreme Court laid the foundation for forming practice in a new direction, the study of which is the purpose of this article . Research results. Critically assessing the emerging practice, the authors raise the questions of justification for the release of those guity, who personally did nothing for the state forgiveness, as well as justification for courts to refer to mitigation of harm, actions being far from compensatory. The paper substantiates the conclusion that the solely judicial discretion in determining the redress of harm conceals not only corruption risks, but also threatens the uniform application of the law. The accumulated experience does not allow development of universal criteria that allow to determine not only sufficient, but also the minimum necessary actions of the perpetrator to smooth down the harm caused by a crime infringing on public interests. The Plenum of the Supreme Court clarifications, which exclude recognition as compensatory actions of the guilty party to terminate the criminal offense, and also form active repentance in content, can facilitate the prompt elimination of defective law enforcement. The methodological basis is formed by general scientific (analysis, synthesis, and dialectics) and special scientific research methods (historical and legal, systemic and structural, formal and legal).

Mass vaccination and its controversial assessments have become key issues under the COVID-19 pandemic. Outbreaks of diseases and popularity of anti-vaccination movements require a study of legal foundations for medical interventions and freedom restrictions which are considered as the result of serious risks to health and sanitary-epidemiological well-being of the population. The question is what should be prioritized - paternalistic powers of the state or individual rights and freedoms to decide what risks to take. In terms of responsibility distribution, people often consider vaccines as more dangerous than infectious diseases, which makes compulsory vaccination a legal phenomenon of particular importance. In the contemporary legislation, there are various national approaches to the individual autonomy and freedoms. In some countries, vaccination is directly linked to the possibility to study (USA), in others it is associated with ‘public health’ (Australia), financial sanctions (Poland) or freedoms’ limitations (Pakistan). In terms of public health ethics, vaccination is similar to the use of seat-belts in cars, and compulsory vaccination policy is ethically justified by the same reasons as mandatory seat-belt laws: at first, they were met with great opposition; later the use of seat belts acquired the significance of not only a legal but also a social norm precisely because it was made mandatory. The similar approach is applicable to vaccination: the policy of compulsory vaccination can make it a social norm. However, in the legal perspective, compulsory vaccination is a compulsory medical intervention which raises the question about whether it is possible to limit individual rights and freedoms in the name of public health safety. The article considers contradictory issues in the state policy of compulsory vaccination and its legal support. The author presents a definition of compulsory vaccination, identifies its types, describes the specifics of its national legal regulation and sanctions for the refusal to be vaccinated, and explains its social necessity and expediency as a public good.

The review analyzes the content of the textbook “Rule-making process in the Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol”, prepared by a team of authors representing not only Crimean universities that provide training in the areas 40.04.01 “Jurisprudence” and 38.04.04 “State and municipal government”, but also directly involved in the legislative process. It is emphasized that this is the third book in a series of publications based on the annual reports of the State Council of the Republic of Crimea and reports of the Legislative Assembly of the city of Sevastopol on the state of regional legislation. The authors point to a well-grounded combination of theoretical and practical foundations of rule-making activity in the constiuents of the Russian Federation under study. It is noted that the cycle of publications based on legal monitoring of the legislative activities of the State Council of the Republic of Crimea and the Legislative Assembly of the city of Sevastopol is successfully combined with a theoretical review of issues related to the preparation of draft laws. These facts make the manual a useful source not only for undergraduate students, but also for all specialists working in the field of regulatory activity.

The review is focused on the presentation of one of the issues of the RUDN Journal of Law at the international scientific and practical conference. This is a special issue dedicated to the aspects of Biomedicine and Law, 2021. All publications of the edition are devoted to the relationship between biomedicine and law. The authors analyze the importance of legal norms as one of the main guarantees for the planned and safe development of biomedical research.