Abstract. The paper is devoted to the examination of the possibility of establishing a presidential republic in Russia after 1917. The authors have investigated the legal stance of the conservative-liberal and liberal-democratic camps in relation to the applicability of the American constitutional model for the organization of the highest executive power. The main part of the study is devoted to the analysis of the draft “Constitution of the Russian State” compiled by the Czech statesman Karel Kramář. The paper has examined the rules of the “Constitution of the Russian State” devoted to the legal status and powers of the Head of State. The study methodology includes such general scientific methods as analysis, comparison, techniques of logic, etc. Private legal methods allowed the authors to reveal and explain the meaning of the “Constitution of the Russian State” (the method of legal hermeneutics), as well as to compare the legal categories and institutions Karel Kramář used to form a presidential republic in Russia (the comparative-legal method). The authors conclude that the draft “Constitution of the Russian State” became one of the specific reflections of “white” constitutionalism.

The paper is devoted to investigating the main problems caused by the development of ethical regulation in various fields of professional activity. In the opinion of the author, the problem of ethical regulation is particularly acute in the field of science and innovation, which requires the development of such a direction as ethics of high technologies. The ethics development requires: to elaborate common approaches to ethical regulation, ethical responsibility, ethical expertise; to revise, systematise ethics legislation; to prepare scientifically justified ethics recommendations; to respond timely to ethical problems caused by the emergence and implementation of high technologies. In view of the scope of the tasks that need to be solved, the author believes it is necessary to start the elaboration and implementation of the Ethical Concept of the Russian Federation. This work can be carried out by the Presidential Council on Ethics created by the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of the same name. According to the author, possible tasks of the Council under the President of the Russian Federation on Ethics, requiring independent discussion, could include: resolution of issues related to the resolution of individual ethical conflicts (e.g., in the field of high technology and other areas where ethical standards are still developing); appeal against holding individual categories of persons ethically responsible (highest ethical authority).

A contemporary theory of the state and law considers the two-level system of power as an indispensable feature of federal states. The interpretation of this organizational feature of state power depends on how the sovereignty of the federal state is interpreted, the nature of federal relations, the federal form of government itself. The purpose of the study is to identify the essential features of the two-level construction of the power system in the federation, characterize both levels of state power and their relations between each other. As a result of the study, the author highlights the concept of two-level construction of state power, describes the reasons for this structural feature of the power system, demonstrates the internal logic of relations between federal and regional levels of government in the general context of the federal model of the state structure. The study of the state power features in the federation allowed the author to look at the essence of federalism “from the inside”, from the point of view of the system-structural organization of the power apparatus. The two-level system of power appears as an internally agreed way of organizing the state mechanism, where every level has the functions and characteristics inherent only to it and that in their interaction reveal the main meaning of the federal structure— the preservation of state integrity.

Since the adoption of the current Constitution of Russia that established the constitutional foundations of the implementation of state power and local self-government in the Russian Federation, more than 25 have passed. This period was saturated from the point of view of the formation of the legal framework of socio-political and socio-economic relations in our country. The analysis shows that local self-government is one of the basic characteristics of the Russian model of democracy. On the other hand, in recent years it is impossible not to mention the tendency to increase the efforts of federal authorities, and first of all the head of state, to maximize the involvement of local authorities of self-government in a unified political and legal field of the State. This is largely justified by the need to provide every resident of the country with equal opportunities for a comfortable and safe life. The paper formulates the author’s view concerning the changes that are taking place; and at the same time, it is proposed to continue scientific discussions regarding the development of local self-government—an institution of a modern civilized democratic state that is necessary for us all.

The paper investigates the issue of legal grounds for introducing restrictive measures in order to protect the population in the territory of the Russian Federation in connection with the spread of a new coronavirus infection. Complying with the requirements contained in the decrees of the President of the Russian Federation, the highest officials of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation have issued decisions on the introduction of the high-alert regime, including prohibitions on implementation of certain economic activities, free movement of citizens and vehicles, mass events. Despite the adoption of relevant amendments, federal legislation in the field of protection of the population from emergencies, as well as other federal laws have not defined conditions, terms and the scope of possible limitations. Therefore, the implementation of constitutional human and civil rights was subject to the content of the by-laws. Analysis of Art. 55 and 56 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation allows the author to enunciate the basic requirements for the system of restrictive measures to combat the spread of infection and identify its shortcomings.

The paper presents the author’s view of the problem of interaction between international and national administrative law and attempts to determine the place of the Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms in the Russian legal system and the administrative and tort legislation of the country. Based on the analysis of different points of view, the conclusion is enunciated that international treaties ratified by the Russian Federation are incorporated into the general body of administrative legislation; and they constitute a source of administrative law in the part in which they contain legal provisions governing the administrative and legal status of citizens, as well as guarantees of its implementation, including guarantees of equitable justice in cases arising from public law relations and administrative and tort cases. In this regards, the author analyzes the provisions of Article 1.1 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation, determining the place and role of universally recognized principles and norms of international law and international treaties of the Russian Federation in the system of sources of administrative and tort law—the author refers the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms to the sources mentioned above. The paper considers this Convention as an international treaty of the Russian Federation that not only regulates interstate relations, but also actively invades the regulation of procedural administrative responsibility, since it establishes the general parameters of a fair trial in administrative and tort cases. The paper also pays attention to the implementation in the draft Code of Administrative Offences of the Russian Federation and the Procedural Code of the Russian Federation on Administrative Offences of the Constitutional Principle concerning international legal norms in the legal system of the Russian Federation.

The paper analyzes the main normative legal and theoretical provisions concerning the concept, content and key features of anti-corruption education, as well as anti-corruption propaganda in higher education institutions of the Russian Federation. The relevance of the paper is predetermined by the concentration of state policy on the fight against corruption in all fields of social life, including the educational field. The paper investigates federal laws, laws of constituent entities of the Russian Federation, by-laws on anti-corruption. The paper discusses the experience of Russian educational institutions of higher education in the prevention of corruption relations. The authors focus on the positive experience of Kutafin University (MSAL) concerning anti-corruption activities. The authors have made reasonable conclusions and proposals on improving the work on combating corruption in educational institutions that can be used in practice.

The paper is devoted to the issues of definition of concepts of national projects, and financing. The author provides their definition based on the analysis of domestic and foreign literature. National projects are understood to be relatively new tools for the target-program management. the author describes the modern system of financing of national projects and some modern trends in its development. Also, the paper demonstrates the balance between the concepts “financing”, “lending”, “investing”. The conclusion is made about the need for integrated use of these economic and legal institutions in the financing of national projects. The author substantiates a socially useful effect of national projects, which should be higher than the costs of their implementation. Differential approaches to the financing of individual national projects depending on the sources of funds are shown. Also, the author describes the structure of funding sources; the fundamental basis of relevant activity; the degree of reliability and stability of the main sources. The paper describes some mechanisms to ensure the flexibility and mobility of national projects’ financing.

The paper is devoted to the issues related to the recognition of a debt obligation issued in the name of one of the spouses during their marriage as a joint obligation of the spouses. The author’s study is based on the materials of the generalized case law showing the heterogeneity of the application of Para 2 of Art. 45 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation. The author critically analyzes the approaches developed by judicial practice when deciding the issue of recognition of the debt as joint. In particular, the author investigates acquisition at the expense of credit (borrowed) money of the joint property of the spouses. The author describes disadvantages of the extension by courts of the presumption of spouses’ joint property to debt obligations. It is substantiated that courts must take into account the evidence of obtaining the consent of the spouse and evidence of spending credit (borrowed) money for the needs of the family. The conclusion is made about the need to form legal mechanisms that promote uniform application of Para 2 of Article 45 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation.

The author, following the focus of the study on specialization of civil procedural law in the Russian legal system as manifested regularity of its development, relying on the inevitable dualism and interaction between material and procedural law, comprehends its current state on the example of certain basic procedural and legal institutions: the institution of the right of access to court, the institution of protection of the rights and interests of other persons, the institution of jurisdiction, etc. The analysis caried out within the framework of the study takes into account the Russian legislative reforms undertaken in recent decades. The author’s use of known and proposed legal constructions, categories and concepts in the author’s combination and (or) interpretation makes their research urgent for the purposes of understanding of the key conditionality of civil procedural law specialization in the Russian law system as providing them with the administration of justice and protection of rights in civil cases in compliance with their wide understanding when the right to judicial protection in the system of constitutional rights and freedoms constitutes a guarantee for all of them. This paper is the first in a series of three papers devoted to the problem of the right of access to court as the most important issue of dualism and interaction between material and civil procedural rights.

The existing options for regulating the admission of third parties to the use of orphan works are not unified and tend to the legal presumptions opt-in (the copyright holder disagrees by default) or opt-out (the copyright holder agrees by default). There are certain common directions of the development of regulation concerning such issues as key understanding of an orphan works, preliminary search for a copyright holder, providing the copyright holder with the opportunity within a certain period to restore his rights and receive compensation for the use of a work, limitation of compensation for the use of an orphan works. Some states also show a tendency to the development of regulation of access to orphaned works specifically for cross-border relations: the creation of joint storage banks and cooperation of such banks (EU); recognition of the status of an orphan work established in one state by other (contracting) states (EU); the perception (In the established case) by national courts of supporting documents issued in a foreign jurisdiction on the search for the copyright holder as evidence of the orphanhood of the work (USA); establishment of conflict of laws regulation for finding the law applicable to relations with works restored under copyright protection (USA). Due to the fact that the activities of states to regulate access to works with an unknown rightholder contradicts the concept of the exclusivity of copyright and the imperativeness of their validity, the creation of a legal regime for the protection of orphan works should be initiated at the conventional (unifying) level.

The paper analyzes the issues related to irregular working hours, which arise due to the lack of proper legal regulation of this legal category. The author emphasizes that the inclusion of the irregular working hours provision into the employment contract is primarily determined by the employee’s labor functions, since it is the performance of this labor function that conditions particular working hours as the regular working hours may be not enough. In addition, the paper highlights the problem of the permissibility of establishing irregular working hours for pregnant women and persons for whom reduced working hours are established. The author concludes that the spread of the rule regarding the possibility of drawing a parallel between the restrictions provided for by Art. 99 and 101 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation currently has no legal basis. In this regard, the author attempts to find ways to resolve this problem. The paper identifies controversial and ambiguously resolved in law enforcement issues that arise when resolving labor disputes related to the termination of an employment contract with an employee who is at work in a state of alcoholic, drug and other kind of intoxication, outside the established duration of working hours. For the purpose of uniform application of the current legislation, it should be assumed that for workers with irregular working hours, all the time they are at work is considered work time.

The paper examines the main theoretical and practical issues that arise when choosing such a special measure of restraint in relation to a minor suspect or accused as supervision. The authors emphasize that due to legislative gaps and the lack of a clear algorithm of actions for its application, this measure of restraint is rarely applied in practice. The paper touches upon the topic of the participation of adults in the supervision of a minor suspect or accused. In particular, the authors conclude that it is impossible for the guardian to participate in these criminal procedural relations. The study and analysis of scientific literature allowed the authors to develop criteria which may help determine whether it is possible to admit an adult person to supervise a minor suspect or accused. It is stated that in order to increase the number of supervision application in respect of minor suspects and accused in comparison with other preventive measures, it is necessary to legislatively revise the provisions of the criminal procedure law and recommendations given in the resolutions of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, including using the norms of foreign legislation.

Art. 389.15 of the Criminal Procedural Code of the Russian Federation contains a closed list of grounds for reversing or altering court rulings. The one-sidedness and incompleteness of the investigation of the factual circumstances of the criminal case is not indicated as one of such grounds. A one-sided or incomplete investigation of the factual circumstances of the case taken place in the course of criminal proceedings can influence the justness of the sentence. This conclusion follows from the analysis of the court practice formed after the 2013 reform. One of the goals of this reform was to obtain a “definitive judgment” upon completion of the appeal. Despite this, during the implementation of the reform, Article 389.15 of the Criminal Procedural Code of the Russian Federation, which establishes the list of grounds for reversing or altering court rulings, was not brought into line with the objectives of the reform. The law does not provide for such a ground as an incorrect investigation by the court of the factual circumstances of the criminal case, despite the numerous facts of revealing this violation by the courts of controlling authority.

The paper examines the forensic tools and methods used in the investigation of smuggling on the railway transport. The role of these forensic tools and methods is quite high, since they make it possible to timely identify and suppress the commission of the crime in question, determine the perpetrators and prevent the spread of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances or their precursors on the territory of our country. The paper also discusses the features of the use of special methods of forensic science in the investigation of smuggling committed on the railway transport. One of the main smuggled items today are narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances or their precursors or analogues, plants containing narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances or their precursors, or their parts containing narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances or their precursors, tools or equipment, under special control and used for the manufacture of narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances, while criminal liability for this crime is provided for in Art. 229.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

In this work, the author emphasizes that interpersonal solidarity presupposes the possibility of overcoming various crisis phenomena using the potential of collectivism inherent in free associations. Based on this, the author concludes that the need for the existence of the legal profession is determined not so much by law, but rather by the very nature of man as a social being. The advocacy as a public institution has two goals: to provide a public function to protect the rights and freedoms of sufferers during the administration of justice by the state and to ensure the existence of the social stratum through the implementation of the principle of corporatism enshrined in the law. The principle of corporatism presupposes organizational unity, corporate solidarity, and mutual assistance. The paper examines the history of the emergence of in-house institutions of advocacy solidarity by the example of the "organization of mutual assistance funds" of the St. Petersburg and Moscow councils of attorneys. The author analyses if the modern Russian legislation possesses organizational forms that can become the basis for the organization of modern institutions of mutual assistance of advocates.

The paper describes the main historical periods of the development of the institution of the participation of the prosecutor in administrative cases in courts. From the historical analysis of the powers of the prosecutor, the author concludes that the administrative proceedings, in which the prosecutor took an active part, have always existed, but took different forms. An analysis of the legislation and opinions of scientists of the Russian Empire period in comparison with modern legislation and legal concepts allows us to highlight the best from the past and move it to the modern legal field. The powers of the prosecutor in administrative proceedings currently include the provisions of the legislation of the Russian Empire and the Soviet period, however, they require additional reflection based on historical experience. As a result, the author concludes that, without taking into account the historical past in terms of the institution of the participation of the prosecutor in administrative cases in courts, it is currently impossible to develop and improve the powers of prosecutors in administrative courts.

The paper is devoted to the study of issues arising from the application in the organization and activities of the prosecutor’s office of the norms of the Federal Law of 17.01.1992 No. 2202-1 "On the Prosecutor’s Office of the Russian Federation" known by their uncertainty and inconsistency. The author analyses the situations in which the existing methods of interpreting legal norms do not make it possible to find an appropriate solution in the functions of the prosecutor’s office implementation. The study notes the inconsistency of certain provisions of the Federal Law with the constitutional framework for regulating the organization and activities of the prosecutor’s office. The author highlights the unjustified expansion of the limits of departmental legal regulation of the organization of prosecutorial supervision. The legal norms governing the powers of prosecutors, objects of prosecutorial supervision and the function of the prosecutor’s office to initiate cases of administrative offenses and administrative investigation were subjected to critical analysis. Based on the results of the study, the author concludes that it is necessary to significantly amend and supplement the current Law.

The paper examines the changes made to the Constitution of the Russian Federation through the prism of the current problem of interpretation by international and national courts of the rule of law, since approaches to the interpretation of any legal text are of fundamental importance. The questions of interpretation have already ceased to be technical in nature. Different approaches to interpretation determine what the democracy and people’s rule mean, the relationship between law and politics, the place of the country in the international system of coordinates. Special attention is given to the term and the problem of "interpretation" — one of the novels of the Russian Constitution. The author addresses the question of what “an interpretation contrary to the Constitution” means. It is precisely the different understanding of the same norms by the courts, the use of different approaches to the interpretation of legal texts that can lead to conflicts and even conflicts of jurisdictions resulting in serious consequences. The paper critically evaluates the application of the so-called evolutionary, broad interpretation of the European Court of Human Rights, which encourages states to develop mechanisms in national legal systems to protect against arbitrary decisions of the international court. In addition to the evolutionary one, the paper examines other modern approaches to interpretation: consequentialism, textualism, and originalism. The problems of interpretation are considered based on an analysis of the practice of the European Court of Human Rights, the Court of the European Union, American and European legal doctrine.

The paper continues the discussion existing in the legal literature on the legal nature of the connection agreement (utility connection) to the networks of engineering and technical support. The author gives different views on the legal nature of the connection agreement, which are found in doctrine and court practice. To reveal the essence of the contract under consideration, the author refers to the category "power" — a concept used in legislation to designate a legal relationship to endow the consumer with the right to claim against the energy supplying organization to maintain energy equipment in a state of constant readiness for the production and transmission of energy. In the course of the study of the legal nature of power, it is concluded that power is not an object of civil legal relations. The right of claim arising from the specified obligation can be attributed to such an object. The transfer of this right of claim to the consumer is made by the energy supplying organization as a result of utility connection. Based on this, the author reasonably concludes that, by its legal nature, a utility connection agreement is an agreement for the provision of services for compensation.

The paper presents a detailed analysis of the book "Appointment of Citizens and Consideration of Applications in Investigative Bodies". The emphasis is placed on such issues raised in the book as the interpretation of the term "citizens’ application", the system of legislation on citizens’ applications, the system of citizens’ applications and the system of their consideration. Special attention is given to the right of the heads of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation and the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation to regulate issues related to citizens’ applications; differentiation of citizens’ applications based on the basic interest of the applicant; functional subsystem for considering citizens’ applications; the passage of time when considering citizens’ applications; termination of correspondence (including the priority of the legal fact of receipt of the application to the final addressee, and not the legal fact of filing an application); the rules for organizing a personal reception (including psychological advice) and the analysis of judicial practice. The following things are being criticized in the review: author’s definition of the category "citizen application"; classifying the right to apply as political; referring requests of authorities and their officials to the number of applications; redundancy of the approach to respond to electronic appeals. It is proposed to continue research in terms of establishing the concept and characteristics of an organization performing public functions (as a recipient of citizens’ applications); improving the departmental procedure for registering applications and reports of crimes; improvement of legislation on electronic and collective applications.