The paper is devoted to the study of issues related to the determination of the legal nature of tax liability. The study is aimed at delineating and determining the essence of tax liability as an institution of administrative or financial (tax) law. Implementation of the task is related not only to the identification of unique properties of the phenomenon of liability in the field of taxation, but also to the study of the necessity of isolating this protective institution within the framework of tax or administrative relations. The authors come to the conclusion that administrative and tax liability (liability for violation of tax legislation) correlate between each other as the general and private and have a common administrative public nature, peculiar to such sectoral types of responsibility as tax, financial, administrative responsibility. The obtained results provide a promising opportunity to identify the legal links of the institution, to investigate the peculiarities of its sectoral application, to determine modern trends of transformation approaches developed by the science of financial and administrative law.

The paper is devoted to the study of the main factors of development of integration tax law in the new world order. The author analyzes the peculiarities of the legal mechanism of the EU tax policy, the OECD soft law acts and their impact on the legal regulation of cross-border activities of international companies. According to the results of the study, the author concludes that the new world order, the main feature of which is still the process of globalization of economic and political relations, in the last few years is characterized by an increase in the opposite trend called “new” State sovereignty. This phenomenon is expressed in the policy of economic restrictions (sanctions) against individual states (USA, EU—Russia); in strengthening the policy of protectionism (USA—China); in politics isolationism as a consequence of the world economic crisis caused by the pandemic; in the special position of some EU member States (e.g. Hungary) concerning separate issues of migration and economic policy, etc. Strengthening the “new” state sovereignty entails the improvement of the political and legal mechanism of harmonizing the positions of States for making compromise decisions. This, in turn, means expanding the application of “soft law” rules and strengthening the role of international organizations as their primary source in the regulation of international relations and development of national law in accordance with international standards.

Encouragement of domestic investments into the real sector of the Russian economy is a pressing task of state administration at the current stage. As part of the measures of state support the author names tax preferences, including tax incentives both in their economic manifestation and in their legal implementation. Residents of special economic zones and other territories with special status, as well as participants of regional investment projects have the right to use reduced corporate income tax accompanied with a whole system of prohibitive conditions and restrictions. The assessment of the set of conditions and restrictions applied for various economic entities allows to question the real attractiveness of the status of a resident or participant of such a significant activity for the State as the investment activity. Lack of confidence in the rigidity of business conditions, including tax conditions, is a factor that affects adversely the attractiveness of investment activities. The significance of this factor is evidenced by the adoption of Federal Law № 69-FZ dated April 01, 2020, “On Investment Protection and Promotion in the Russian Federation” that provides for a stabilization clause covering tax regulation. The Federal Law has been widely discussed among business people at the stage of a draft. However, the new Law does not solve many problems: the conclusion of an agreement with a stabilization clause will be available to far from every economic entity, real and potential residents of territories with special status or participants in regional investment projects.

The paper analyzes the experience of the newly created institution of the financial ombudsman that serves to consider property disputes arising between consumers and financial organizations through pre-trial procedure; considers the main trends and patterns shown at the initial stage of functioning of the institution; provides forecasts and recommendations for the development of the institution of pre-trial dispute resolution in financial markets. The author focuses on the anlysis on the role of the financial ombudsman in the formation of the procedural aspect of the contemporary financial disputes resolution. According to the results of the study, the author concludes that the institution of the financial ombudsman can and should be developed with due regard to the comments made on possible areas of expansion of his or her functions on the basis of the main task, namely: to create a business environment where the rights of consumers of financial services are protected to the greatest extent possible. However, to move to this makes sense only after the Federal Law of June 04, 2018 № 123-FZ “On the Ombudsman for the Rights of Consumers of Financial Services” comes into force, i.e. after January 1, 2021.

By referring the dignity of the individual to meta-legal categories, considering it as a principle of law that forms an integrated inter-sectoral institution aimed at ensuring the implementation and protection of human rights, the author analyzes the role and place of financial law in the personal dignity concept. Taking into account the peculiarity of the subject matter and methodological basis of the financial and legal industry, the author concludes that the studied branch of law should be considered as a securing legal instrument of generating and implementing personal dignity, its dynamic essence through a unique legal mechanism of redistribution of material resources in the state. Acknowledging the positive binding as the basic legal means of such an instrument, the author analyzes the subjective rights of the individual in financial relations, in particular their property component, in two aspects of financial activity of the state and public legal entities: in the formation and distribution and use of public funds. In order to ensure the realization of the individual-centered spirit of financial law, the author concludes that it is necessary to carry out the doctrinal analysis and legal consolidation of the financial and legal status of the individual, to develop a system of so-called monetary rights of the individual in the process of formation, distribution and use of funds of the state and municipal entities.

The paper examines the objectives, tasks and directions for the internal state financial control in order to improve efficiency of control and supervisory measures. It identifies the reasons that encouraged the legislative and executive powers to transform the state financial control, which have a systemic nature. A significant place is devoted to the functional forms of state financial control—internal financial control and internal financial audit carried out by budget funds administrators other than internal state financial control bodies. Based on the analysis of normative legal and other acts and methodical recommendations the author elucidates the essence of internal financial control and internal financial audit, the balance between them and the internal state financial control and proposes measures to improve the efficiency of the controlling bodies. The paper represents the system and levels of legal regulation of all directions of financial control implemented by executive authorities, suggests methods of ensuring independence of bodies implementing functional forms of financial control.

The paper provides for the study of the category “gold and foreign currency reserves management”. Despite the particular importance of this category, there is no any normative definition of the category under consideration. In this regard, having analyzed doctrinal definitions of public administration, the authors determine several features and clarify them for the purpose of their application to the gold and foreign currency reserves management: first, gold and currency reserves management represents a type of state activity; second, it is carried out by authorized public authorities—the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation and the Bank of Russia; third, it consists of successive stages—creation, storage and use of gold and foreign currency reserves. Following the results of the study, authors propose their own definition of the category “gold and foreign currency reserves management”. In particular, it is possible to define the management of gold and foreign currency reserves as a special type of state activity aimed at the creation, storage and use of gold and foreign currency reserves and carried out by the Ministry of Finance of Russia and the Bank of Russia.

The paper analyzes the provisions of the Federal Law of July 31, 2020, № 259-FZ “On Digital Financial Assets, Digital Currency and Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation” concerning the legal regulation of circulation of digital currencies. The author elucidates legal definitions of such concepts as “digital currency”, “organization of digital currency issuance”, “digital currency issuance”, “organization of circulation of digital currency” and focuses on their shortcomings. The paper also highlights the features of digital currencies, describes types of transactions with this financial instrument, outlines the circle of subjects of relations arising in the process of circulation of digital currencies. In general, it must be recognized that Law No. 259-FZ failed toresult in the creation of a comprehensive system of legal regulation of circulation of digital currencies, its provisions are piecemeal and sometimes controversial in nature. At the same time, the legal act under consideration is of fundamental importance because, for the first time at the legislative level, it has enshrined the rules governing public relations that are being formed in the process of circulation of digital currencies.

The paper examines the classification of subjects of financial law; it is proposed that, along with public and private entities, they should also include para-public entities. The authors suggest defining para-public entities as authorized legal entities established by law for exercising public administration, providing public services and performing other public functions. This category is based on the need to implement public interests in modern conditions. The author analyses foreign experience concerning delegation of government powers to para-public organizations in Brazil and the United Kingdom. The author has examined the legal status of non-state organizations, performing public functions. It is proposed to use a contractual method of regulation of financial relations, including the application of standard form contracts (public contracts) in financial law. The introduction of the institution of contract, autonomy, financial independence and self-government into the mechanism of public administration will help to solve a number of key problems of financial activity. At the same time, it is necessary to develop the institution of standard form contracts (public contracts) already existing in financial law, by which we propose to refer to the agreement concluded in the established form for public purposes by two or more entities, one of which is a public authority, and aimed at the realization of the public interest.

The paper is devoted to the consideration of issues related to the legal regulation of the system of methods of distribution and redistribution of a part of the national product between different budgets of the RF budget—budgetary regulation in the Russian Federation. The author focuses on the peculiarities and features of the financial and legal category “budgetary regulation”, examines various approaches to the definition of this concept, studies the key principles of budgetary law, on which the system of methods of budgetary regulation is based, shows the significance that budgetary regulation acquires in the modern society. It is determined that the rules of financial law regulate a whole set of public relations related to public financial activity in the area, including the system of primary and secondary legal measures aimed at ensuring the balance and autonomy of budgets of the budget system of the Russian Federation. The author concludes that in modern conditions the budgetary regulation in the Russian Federation is aimed not only at distribution and redistribution of income, but also at optimization and restructuring of expenditure obligations of public legal entities.

The paper substantiates the need to consider public companies as a subject of financial law. This is due to the peculiarities of these non-profit organizations’ legal status and their implementation of the corresponding financial and legal statuses. The author gives particular attention to certain aspects of the financial activities of the public law company "Fund for the Protection of the Rights of Citizens — Participants in Shared Construction". The author notes that, as a subject of financial law, a public law company should be characterized by its participation in various types of financial legal relations: budgetary, tax, etc. For this, it is endowed with a special legal personality, which is expressed in the granting of appropriate powers (rights and obligations necessary for the implementation of its tasks and functions), enshrined in the regulatory legal acts regulating its activities. Based on the generally accepted thesis about the economic (monetary) nature of financial legal relations, it can be argued that most financial legal relations with the participation of a public law company are associated with its property. The study made it possible to consider a public law company as a subject of financial law, which implements the corresponding financial and legal statuses in financial legal relations: a non-participant in the budget process, a taxpayer, a tax agent, etc.

The aim of the study is to assess the social effect in the conditions of the formation and operation of legal institutions: legal mentality, legal mindset, legal consciousness, legal culture in lawmaking and law enforcement practice. The theoretical and legal approach made it possible to reveal the legal nature of the category "legal mentality — legal mindset — legal consciousness — legal culture" in the interconnection expressed by dialectics and logic of manifestation, where the main criterion is the continuity and consistency of legal institutions. The paper establishes the dependence of the social effect on the effectiveness of legal institutions as a result of the civic consciousness of society and the state, and identifies the factors of the onset of legal implementation and/or legal expansion. The historical and legal approach reveals the variables of the continuity of legal institutions through the prism of the relationship between legal determinism and voluntarism, leading to legal implementation or legal expansion. Based on a comparative analogy of the features of harmonization ("consistency") and unification of norms ("universality") in the field of administrative legal relations, their direct relationship is established between organizational and legal activities. The analysis of historical and legal preconditions allows us to establish such legal risks as formalism, falsification, latency inherent in the transitional periods of the legal system, as well as the lack of historical and legal continuity and incompleteness of the formation of legal institutions. Therefore, the elimination of the risks of social effect provides for strengthening the imperative of the formation of legal institutions using educational, cultural and educational technologies as a tool for preserving the historical and legal continuity of legal consciousness and legal culture in achieving the social effect of civil society.

The paper provides definitions of the principles and system of principles of proceedings in cases of administrative offenses. Based on the norms of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation and the practice of their application, the author substantiates the position that the principles of proceedings in cases of administrative offenses are, to varying degrees, enshrined in regulatory legal acts constituting legislation on administrative offenses, both directly and indirectly. The system of procedural principles of proceedings in cases of administrative offenses is revealed. The author includes the following principles in this system: open consideration; state language; direct examination of evidence; freedom to evaluate evidence; compulsory consideration of applications; freedom to appeal against procedural decisions; competition and equality of the parties; fair consideration of the case; ensuring the right to defense. The content of these principles having a pronounced procedural nature is formed through a systemic interpretation of the provisions of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the European Convention on Human Rights, the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, the case law of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation and the European Court of Human Rights. The author concludes that, despite the existence of various ways of consolidating the procedural principles of proceedings in cases of administrative offenses, the greatest efficiency of their perception and application will be achieved only when the principles are reflected in a special chapter of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation.

The paper formulates the definition of the principle of subsidiarity, and indicates that this principle can be used as a tool to find and maintain an optimal balanced ratio between the volumes of centralization and decentralization in the regulation and implementation of domestic relations, as well as relations between supranational associations and their member-states. At the same time, it is emphasized that the organizational and functional-target variables of the principle of subsidiarity are oriented towards strengthening the decentralization of the public administration system (public authority) by fixing the presumption of priority right (along with guarantees) of lower units to exercise powers in specific subjects of competence. In addition, when applying the principle of subsidiarity, the strengthening of decentralization is due to the need to ensure the implementation of the resources of participatory democracy, as well as the focus on pluralization of the entire public administration system. The distinction between territorial and extraterritorial forms of decentralization is substantiated, the similarities and differences between the principle of subsidiarity and devolution, deconcentration and delegation of powers are revealed. The correlation relationship between the principle of subsidiarity and the characteristics of the state-territorial structure is analyzed. The author formulates the thesis that the subsidiarity principle can be implemented in any multi-level system of organization of public power, functioning on the basis of a synthesis of the principles of solidarity, adaptability, pluralism, autonomy, democracy. It is concluded that in its synthetic unity the achievement of efficiency, the establishment of pluralism and participatory democracy acts as a paradigm of the principle of subsidiarity.

The paper presents an analysis of Russian legal practice on dissemination of unreliable socially significant information on the Internet. Based on the study of regulatory, law enforcement and linguistic sources, the author provides a legal assessment to information reliability characteristic, delimits it from related phenomena, and formulates the conditions for the realization of a legitimate interest in obtaining reliable information. Particular attention is given to an analysis of cases of bringing citizens to administrative responsibility for the dissemination of deliberately unreliable socially significant information on the Internet. The author concludes that the presumptions of unreliability of digital messages and their threat to public order and safety are widely spread in judicial practice. It is noted that unreliable socially significant information is interpreted in practice through the prism of information that does not correspond to reality, and the burden of proving the truth of messages published on the Internet is, as a rule, on their distributors.

The paper analyzes the legal status of the consumer when concluding and executing a smart contract. The author proves the existence of special risks for citizens associated with the conclusion and execution of a smart contract. In particular, the author considers the risk of a consumer’s misunderstanding of the terms of a smart contract, the risk of a difference between the terms of a smart contract and the terms of a contract set forth in the natural language, the risk of including in a smart contract conditions that infringe on consumer rights (unfair contractual terms), as well as special manifestations of regulatory and operational risks in relation to a smart contract. Currently, in the Russian Federation, as in most foreign jurisdictions, there are no special legal mechanisms aimed at protecting consumer rights from these risks. The “general” mechanisms of consumer protection existing in the Russian jurisdiction are insufficient. Considering this, the author proposes mechanisms for each risk aimed at minimizing its implementation and negative impact on the citizen. The following risk-oriented approach to regulating relations when concluding a smart contract with the participation of a consumer is proposed. A citizen can conclude transactions using a smart contract subject to legislative limitation of his potential losses under a transaction (limiting the transaction price) and the introduction of the proposed legal regulation aimed at minimizing the risks discussed in the paper.

As part of the study, the author identifies the main theoretical and practical problems of the application of professional standards in the Russian Federation. In modern economic conditions, the introduction of professional standards seems to be a reasonable and necessary measure, since it allows companies to achieve greater labor productivity, improve the quality of production and products, reduce the costs of recruiting and enhance competitiveness. Professional standards contain a detailed description of the knowledge and work skills necessary for a specialist, while qualification reference books are no longer able to meet modern business requirements. Despite the formed legal framework for professional standards, there are a number of problems that need to be resolved in the practice of regulatory legal acts provisions implementation in this area. In particular, the issues of regulating the procedure for the development and implementation of professional standards remained out of sight of the legislator; in addition, the problem of the conceptual and categorical apparatus is obvious. As part of the study, the author develops recommendations for improving the labor legislation of the Russian Federation.

Digitalization of criminal procedural activity is a complex process that inevitably affects the establishment of evidence procedure. One of the most controversial topics in this direction is the possibility of introducing a new type (source) of evidence: electronic evidence. The paper discusses various scientific approaches that challenge the necessity of its existence. The author expresses his point of view on the possible reasons for this trend. The position of scientists advocating the further development and implementation of electronic evidence is supported. The features of the existence of information in electronic form are described. The influence of the derived nature of the virtual space on the information obtained as a result of cognitive activity is analyzed. The problems of differentiating the information carrier and its content are stated. The specificity of the use of information in electronic form in the context of initial and derivative evidence is investigated. Attention is drawn to the need to develop criteria for electronic evidence in the direction of data authentication, as well as the mandatory involvement at certain stages of persons with special knowledge. The foreign experience of using various electronic devices in the establishment of evidence process is presented. The widespread introduction of digital audio and video recording technologies is emphasized. The concept of "digital evidence" is analyzed.

The most important task of criminal proceedings is to ensure a proper observance of the rights and freedoms of all persons involved in the process of investigation and judicial consideration of a criminal case. On the way to its solution, the desire to formalize in detail an exhaustive list of rights and obligations for each subject of procedural activity is extremely clearly traced. However, it is also obvious that at the regulatory level it is impossible to foresee all the variety of cases that one or another participant may face in reality. In this regard, when assessing the procedural status of a particular person, it is necessary to take into account not only the relevant norms of the law, but also his essential (material) position, which he occupies in the criminal proceedings. Thus, in the presence of two control methods, it is necessary to ensure their optimal ratio. It is this option that can make it possible to take into account both the positive and negative aspects of these areas and properly guarantee the observance of the rights and freedoms of persons participating in the process.

The paper discusses the issues of choosing the most effective model of criminal proceedings termination, analyzes the proposed in the scientific literature model of refusal of the discretion of the law enforcement officer when making an appropriate procedural decision. The author, based on the practice of the European Court of Human Rights, the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation and the decisions of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, studies the relationship between the principle of justice and the legality of procedural decisions to terminate a criminal case and criminal prosecution. The author concludes that the discretionary model of legal regulation of a criminal case and criminal prosecution termination is an effective means of achieving the purpose of criminal proceedings, allowing the law enforcement officer to make a fair decision, given the nature, degree of social danger of the crime, the circumstances of its commission, information about the identity of the person who committed the crime. Refusal of the discretion of the law enforcement officer in the matter of terminating a criminal case will not only not contribute to the humanization of legislation, but will mark the victory of formalism over justice in criminal proceedings.