Mutual Trust as a Core Value and Objective of the Relationship between the State and Society

The paper examines the manner in which the principle of trust is embedded in the constitutions of foreign states and draws comparative parallels with Russian legislation. Particular emphasis is placed on Article 75.1 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, which constitutionalized mutual trust as both a foundational value and an objective of interaction between government and society, thereby elevating the issue of trust to a qualitatively new level of constitutional and legal significance. The paper further analyzes the views of foreign scholars on the subject of trust and undertakes an effort to formulate a definition of legal trust. Legal trust is conceptualized as an intangible asset of a democratic state. Special emphasis is placed on its depersonalized character. The paper offers recommendations aimed at strengthening both legal trust and mutual trust. It concludes that increasing citizens’ trust in the functioning of government is possible only through close cooperation between government and civil society institutions. Uniform, stable, intelligible, and transparent rules of the game could serve as a remedy along the complex and lengthy path toward establishing an appropriate balance of mutual trust, without any tendency toward imbalance in favor of either form of absolutization. Trust does not replace oversight, nor can it exist outside the framework of oversight. The paper also examines legislative enactments designed to create conditions facilitating control and monitoring of the actions and omissions of all persons, drawing on examples from foreign legislation in the digital sphere. Particular emphasis is placed on the importance of observing considerations of expediency and maintaining an appropriate balance in lawmaking.

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