The following issues are scheduled for discussion at the October 15, 2009 meeting of the government of the Russian Federation:
1. Draft Federal Law On Introducing an Amendment to Article 10 of the Federal Law On State Protection of the Victims, Witnesses and Other Participants in Criminal Court Proceedings
The Draft Federal Law On Introducing an Amendment to Article 10 of the Federal Law On State Protection of the Victims, Witnesses and Other Participants in Criminal Court Proceedings has been developed pursuant to instruction Pr-2056 of the President of the Russian Federation of November 21, 2007 which stipulates measures on introducing amendments to the legislation of the Russian Federation aimed at improving the mechanism for providing protected individuals with federal budget financed housing and vesting the government of the Russian Federation with the relevant powers.
The list of security measures that may be applied with regard to the individual being protected is contained in Article 6 of the Federal Law.
As regards the application of the security measure of relocation to another place of residence, the Federal Law merely contains a list of guarantees offered to the protected individual without specifying the procedure of implementation of the said measure by the relevant agencies.
Meanwhile the absence of a corresponding procedure of relocation of the protected individual creates problems with the implementation of this security measure. Current legislation regulating the issues of providing housing does not take into account the provisions of the Federal Law and does not ensure confidentiality of information about the person being protected in dealing with the relocation issues.
The draft law would introduce amendments to Part 1 of Article 10 of the Federal Law and grant the government of the Russian Federation with the authority to determine procedure for making available housing to relocated protected persons.
The financial, material and technical support of security measures with regard to protected individuals is rendered in accordance with the state programme for ensuring the security of victims, witnesses and other participants in criminal court proceedings approved by the government of the Russian Federation.
2. Training of Personnel for Local Government Bodies
Preparing a significant number of qualified personnel for local government bodies has assumed particular urgency with the start of the reform of the local government system. In accordance with the requirements of Federal Law No.131-FZ of October 6, 2003 On General Principles of the Organisation of Local Government in the Russian Federation, local government bodies throughout the territory of the Russian Federation were formed before January 1, 2006. At present the number of municipal entities is 24,210 (with the exception of the Republic of Ingushetia and the Chechen Republic where local government bodies are being formed pursuant to the provisions of Federal Law No.207-FZ of November 24, 2008 On Measures to Organise Local Government in the Republic of Ingushetia and the Chechen Republic where elections of local government bodies were held on October 11, 2009).
During the transitional period of implementing Federal Law No.131-FZ (until January 1, 2009) a legal framework was created for the development of the institution of the municipal service. Federal Law No.25-FZ On Municipal Service in the Russian Federation, adopted on March 2, 2007, includes among the basic rights of a municipal civil servant, under Article 11 the right to upgrade one's qualifications in accordance with a municipal legal act and at the expense of the local budget.
Eighty-two entities of the Russian Federation (with the exception of the Republic of Ingushetia) have adopted laws on municipal service as well as individual legal acts of the entities of the Russian Federation and municipal legal acts that specify and regulate a wide range of issues pertaining to municipal service.
In October, 2007 amendments were introduced to Federal Law No.184-FZ of October 6, 1999 On the General Principles of Organisation of Legislative(Representative) and Executive Bodies of the Entities of the Russian Federation whereby the powers of the executive bodies of an entity of the Russian Federation, with regard to matters under joint federal and regional jurisdiction exercised by such bodies independently and financed out of the budget of the entity of the Russian Federation (with the exception of subventions from the Federal budget), include decisions on participation in the training, retraining and upgrading of the qualifications of the persons who hold elective municipal office, as well as occupational training, retraining and upgrading of qualifications of municipal civil servants and employees of municipal institutions.
In the period 2006-2008, a total of 209,109 local government servants have been trained across the Russian Federation, of whom 130,263 were trained at the expense of the budgets of the entities of the Russian Federation and 78,846 at the expense of local budgets.
In addition, organisation of large-scale and quality training, retraining and upgrading of qualifications of municipal civil servants since 2005 became part of a federal targeted programme approved by Government Decree No.1394 of December 15, 1999 On the Federal Targeted Programme of Government Support of the Development of Municipal Entities and Creating Conditions for the Exercise of the Constitutional Powers of Local Government.
The Federal budget's provision for the formation of the system of training, retraining and upgrading of personnel and the system of support and monitoring of the activities of local government bodies, as well as the development of the system in the period from 2005 to 2009 amounted to 600,765,390 roubles.
In 2006-2009 more than 56,000 members of local government bodies were trained at the system's training and methodological centres and another 6,585 persons took upgrading courses within the system under a distance learning scheme.
In 2008 the training and methodological centres carried out a one-day seminar for the heads of urban and rural communities, the heads of local administrations of urban and rural communities, the heads of representative bodies of urban and rural communities and other elected and appointed local government officials under the study programme Current Issues of the Organisation of Local Government in the Russian Federation at the Time Federal Law No.131-FZ Comes into Full Force and Effect. A total of 43,242 persons in 80 entities of the Russian Federation took part in the programme.
Proceeding from the results of the monitoring of the situation concerning the provision of personnel for local government bodies in the entities of the Russian Federation and the analysis of the proposals of the executive bodies of the entities of the Russian Federation and the National Congress of Municipal Entities, the Ministry of Regional Development of Russia proposes to pursue the following activities in training personnel for the local government bodies:
I. Improving the system of training, retraining and upgrading of qualifications of the personnel and the system of support and monitoring of the activities of local government bodies.
II. Creating a national system for collecting, analyzing and disseminating best practices in organising local government and dealing with local issues (the estimated cost of organising and running this system is 5 million roubles a year in Federal budget money).
III. Stimulating more effective work of local government officials and municipal servants.
IV. Coordinating, at the federal level, the process of training personnel for local government bodies at educational institutions of the Russian Federation.
The implementation of the proposed measures would improve the legal framework for personnel training, retraining and upgrading of qualifications, and the support system for local government activities.
3. Draft Federal Laws On Clearing and Clearing Activities and On Introducing Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation in Connection with the Adoption of the Federal Law On Clearing and Clearing Activities● the draft law covers the rendering of clearing services under obligations with respect to money, including foreign currency, securities, goods and ownership rights arising from term transactions;
- non-cash security for performance of clearing obligations has been introduced (property, money in roubles and foreign currency, securities);
- a legal regime for guarantee funds formed by contributions of clearing transaction participants is introduced for the purpose of reducing the risk of default on transactions and the grounds and procedures for formation and use of such a regime are determined;
- guarantees of completion of settlements under clearing obligations are offered if events arise that signal a worsening of the financial status of a participant in a clearing transaction, or provide grounds for believing that the obligation cannot be fulfilled in a timely manner (foreclosure of the property of the participant in a clearing transaction, declaring a participant in a clearing transaction to be bankrupt, annulment of the clearing transaction participant's license, whose possession is a condition for rendering clearing services);
- uniform principles are established for regulating clearing activities: such activities are regulated by the federal executive body for financial markets regardless of the object of clearing obligations;
- regulation is introduced for the institution of the central partner (clearing or credit organisation) which is a party to the agreements obligations which are included in the clearing pool.
Considering the importance of the clearing organisation as an infrastructure institution, the draft law sets out the requirements that ensure proper performance of its tasks by that organisation. A clearing organisation is a business association created under the laws of the Russian Federation. A clearing organisation has no right to combine clearing activities with other types of activities with the exception of activities to organise trade in the securities market, commodity and currency exchange activities, brokerage, dealership and depository activities, banking activities (with the exception of transactions to attract the money of private individuals into deposits) and publishing activities.
The draft law regulates the issues that set the rules for contractual relations arising between a clearing organisation and participants in clearing activities.
Provisions on clearing services are contained in the rules of clearing activities which acquire contractual force through the conclusion of an accession agreement between the clearing organisation and a clearing activities participant.
Under the draft law, each clearing organisation is to develop detailed clearing activities rules, stipulating the terms of admission to participation in clearing activities, clearing procedures, the procedure of creating and using the guarantee fund and other ways of minimising risks in the process of a clearing organisation's activities.
The draft law contains provisions for the licensing of clearing activities, suspension and annulment of licenses, appointment of temporary management and sets down the rules of registration of clearing organisation documents which are essential for the purposes of clearing (the rules of clearing activities).
The draft federal law On Introducing Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation introduces amendments to several federal laws.
The amendments to the Federal Law On the Securities Market are aimed at confirming the definition of a derivative financial instrument, more precise definition of the procedure of brokerage activities and securities management activities in the course of transactions that constitute derivative financial instruments. The scope of authority of the federal executive body for financial markets with regard to derivative financial instruments and setting of requirements to the basic assets of financial derivatives are more clearly defined.
In accordance with the amendments to the federal law On Banks and Banking Activities credit organisations would have the right to effect transactions that are derivative financial instruments whose basic asset is a good, on condition that the obligation to deliver the good in kind terminates before the deadline for the performance of the obligation expires.
The Federal Laws on Non-Government Pension Funds, On Investment Funds, On Accumulative Mortgage System of Providing Servicemen with Housing, On Insurance of the Deposits of Individuals with the Banks of the Russian Federation and On the Procedure for the Formation and Use of the Targeted Capital of Non-Commercial Organisations are to be amended in order to harmonise the provisions of these laws with the new definition of a derivative financial instrument.
Chapters 21 and 25 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation update the procedure for charging value added tax on the transactions of clearing organisations and central partners (updating of the rules of applying tax exemptions) as well as the rules for determining the incomes and expenditure of clearing organisations and central partners in order to create a neutral regime for applying profit tax on transactions involving the exercise of their functions by such organisations, including in effecting transactions with guarantee fund assets.
The Federal Law On Insolvency (Bankruptcy) specifies the features of bankruptcy of participants in clearing activities.
In addition, amendments are introduced to the Law of the Russian Federation On Commodity Exchanges and Exchange Trade, the Federal Laws On Commercial Courts in the Russian Federation, On Insolvency (Bankruptcy) of Credit Organisations, On the Licensing of Certain Types of Activities and On Enforcement Proceedings.
4. Draft Federal Law On the Ratification of the Agreement between the Government of the Russian Federation and the Eurasian Development Bank on the Terms of the Presence of the Eurasian Development Bank on the Territory of the Russian Federation
The Eurasian Development Bank was created at the initiative of the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, and the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, pursuant to the Agreement on the Establishment of the Eurasian Development Bank of January 12, 2006. The Agreement came into force on June 16, 2006 after being ratified by the parliaments of both states. The Bank is an international organisation, a subject of international law and a legal entity under international law and has the right to conclude international treaties within its sphere of competence.
An inseparable part of the Agreement on the Establishment of the Bank is the Charter of the Bank, whereby the activities of the Bank on the territory of the states-participants in the Bank are determined by applicable international treaties, the Founding Agreement, the Charter, the Agreements concluded by the Bank with the governments of the states-participants in the Bank on the terms of the presence of the Bank on their territory as well as with Central Banks and other authorised agencies of the states-participants in the Bank and, in their absence or in areas not regulated by the above documents, by the laws of the states-participants in the Bank on whose territories such activities are pursued. The Agreement on the Terms of Presence creates conditions for effective functioning of the Bank, its branches and representative offices on the territory of the Russian Federation. The Agreement on the Terms of Presence determines the legal status of the Bank, establishes its rights, and the privileges and immunities of the officials and employees of the Bank.
The Agreement on the Terms of Presence contains rules that differ from those stipulated under the laws of the Russian Federation. Thus, in accordance with subclause A, Clause 1, Article 15 of the Federal Law On International Treaties of the Russian Federation, the Agreement on the Terms of Presence is subject to ratification.
5. Draft Federal Law On Ratification of the Protocol on Granting Tariff Preferences
The Protocol on Granting Tariff Preferences was signed by the heads of government of the states members of the Customs Union in Moscow on December 12, 2008.
The Protocol sets down the procedure whereby tariff privileges with regard to goods brought into the common customs territory in cases not stipulated in Articles 5 and 6 of the January 25, 2008 Agreement on Uniform Customs Tariff Regulation are granted exclusively by decision of the Customs Union Commission which compares the legislations of the member states of the Customs Union and organises negotiations between the member states of the Customs Union to achieve agreement on the application of the said tariff preferences.
Under Article 34 of the Law of the Russian Federation of May 21, 1993 No.5003-1 On Customs Tariff, tariff preferences are granted exclusively by decision of the government of the Russian Federation.
Pursuant to subclause A, Clause 1, Article 15 of the Federal Law On International Treaties of the Russian Federation, the Protocol is subject to ratification because it contains rules other than those stipulated under the laws of the Russian Federation.
The implementation of the Protocol would necessitate amendments to the Law of the Russian Federation of May 21, 1993 No.5003-1 On Customs Tariff which rules out the functions of the government of the Russian Federation in granting tariff preferences as well as declaring null and void the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of October 14, 2003 No.626 On Exempting Certain Goods (Equipment, Including Components and Spare Parts for It) from Customs Duties.
6. Draft Federal Law On Ratification of the Protocol on the Terms and Procedure of the Application, in Exceptional Cases, of Import Customs Duty Rates Different from the Rates Stipulated in the Consolidated Customs Tariff
The Protocol on the Terms and Procedure of the Application, in Exceptional Cases, of Import Customs Duty Rates Different from the Rates Stipulated in the Consolidated Customs Tariff was signed by the heads of government of the member states of the Customs Union in Moscow on December 12, 2008.
The Protocol establishes the procedure of the deliberations of the Customs Union Commission on the possibility of the application by one of the Customs Union member states of a higher or lower rate of import customs duty compared with the rate of the Consolidated Customs Tariff with regard to a good originating from third countries, and sets the conditions under which such a decision may be taken.
Article 3 of the Law of the Russian Federation of May 21, 1993 No.5003-1 On Customs Tariff stipulates that the rates of import customs duties are determined by the government of the Russian Federation.
Under Clause 1, Article 4 of the Protocol on the Terms and Procedure of the Application, in Exceptional Cases, of Import Customs Duty Rates Different from the Rates Stipulated in the Consolidated Customs Tariff, the Customs Union Commission is to assume some of the powers of the Russian Federation in deciding to apply a higher or lower import customs duty compared with the rate of the consolidated customs tariff by one of the parties with regard to a good originating in third countries.
In accordance with subclauses A and E , Clause 1 of Article 15 of the Federal Law of July 15, 1995 No. 101-FZ On International Treaties of the Russian Federation, the Protocol is subject to ratification because it contains rules other than those stipulated under the laws of the Russian Federation.
7. Draft Federal Law On Ratification of the Protocol on the Consolidated System of Customs Union Tariff Preferences
The Protocol on the Consolidated System of Customs Union Tariff Preferences was signed by the heads of government of the member states of the Customs Union in Moscow on December 12, 2008.
The Protocol establishes the procedure of the formation and approval by the Customs Union Commission of the lists of goods and countries eligible for the system of Customs Union tariff preferences.
Pursuant to subclause A, Clause 1, Article 15 of the Federal Law On International Treaties of the Russian Federation, the draft law is subject to ratification because it contains rules other than those stipulated under the laws of the Russian Federation as regards the transfer of the function of determining the procedure of granting tariff preferences to the Customs Union Commission.
To implement the Protocol, amendments must be introduced to the Law of the Russian Federation of May 21, 1993 No.5003-1 On Customs Tariff to cancel the powers of the government of the Russian Federation to determine the procedure of granting tariff preferences (formation of lists of goods and beneficiary countries of the Tariff Preferences System) and to declare null and void the Decree of the government of the Russian Federation of September 13, 1994 No.1057 On Approving the List of Countries-Beneficiaries of the Scheme of Preferences of the Russian Federation and Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of May 25, 2000 No.414 On Approving the List of Goods Originating from Developing and the Least Developed Countries with Regard to Which Tariff Preferences Are Granted for Import into the Territory of the Russian Federation.
8. Draft Federal Law On Ratification of the Agreement on the Terms and Mechanism of the Application of Tariff Quotas
The Agreement on the Terms and Mechanism of Applying Tariff Quotas was signed by the heads of government of the Customs Union member states in Moscow on December 12, 2008.
The Agreement regulates the terms and mechanism of establishing tariff quotas for the import from third countries into the common customs territory of the Customs Union member states of agricultural goods and similar goods to stimulate agricultural production in these states, to ensure the necessary volume of consumption of agricultural produce and promote international trade. The distribution of the shares of the tariff quota among the applicants will be based on equality regarding the apportioning of the shares of the tariff quota and non-discrimination on the basis of the form of ownership, place of registration and position in the market. The distribution of the tariff quota between third countries will, as a rule, be based on the results of consultations with all the significant suppliers from these countries, that is, those whose share in the import of a good into the common customs territory is 10% and more.
The implementation of the Agreement on the Terms and Mechanism of the Application of Tariff Quotas requires the transfer to the Customs Union Commission of the powers of the Russian Federation to establish tariff quotas for preferential import of agricultural produce and establishment of the rates of import customs duties for such goods brought into the common customs territory as part of the tariff quota.
9. On Submitting to the President of the Russian Federation the Agreement on the Secretariat of the Customs Union Commission for subsequent ratification
The Agreement on the Secretariat of the Customs Union Commission was signed by the heads of government of the member states of the Customs Union in Moscow on December 12, 2008.
The provisions of the Agreement confirm the functions of the Secretariat as the working body of the Customs Union Commission whereby the Secretariat organises the work of the inter-governmental EurAsEC Council, the supreme Customs Union body, the Customs Union Commission as well as the information and technical support of their activity. Some articles of the Agreement determine the organisational structure of the Secretariat, the procedure for recruiting personnel, the specific features of the activities of the employees as international servants, and aspects of regulation of labour relations.
In accordance with Article 9 of the Agreement, officials and employees of the Secretariat enjoy the privileges and immunities established under the Convention on Privileges and Immunities of the Eurasian Economic Community of May 31, 2001 for officials and employees of the bodies of the Eurasian Economic Community. In particular, Secretariat officials are exempt from tax on their salaries, the payment of customs duties when importing property for settling down, are exempt from criminal, civil or administrative liability for actions taken in their official capacity.
The employees of the Secretariat are not under the jurisdiction of any Russian judiciary or administrative body in relation to actions they perform in the line of their duty and are exempt from immigration restrictions and registration as foreigners.
Pursuant to Article 14 of the Agreement and Clauses 1 and 2, Article 15 of the Federal Law On International Treaties of the Russian Federation the Agreement is subject to ratification because it contains rules other than those stipulated under the laws of the Russian Federation.
10. Draft Federal Law On Introducing Amendments to the Code of the Russian Federation on Administrative Offences
The main goals of the draft law are:
- enhancing the responsibility of officials of the state control (supervision) bodies of the federal executive bodies and the executive bodies of the entities of the Russian Federation authorised to ensure government supervision;
- introducing amendments that would soften administrative liability for business entities and introduce administrative liability for failure to notify the state control (supervision) agencies about the start of entrepreneurial activities if such notification is stipulated under the law.
One of the circumstances that mitigate administrative liability for business entities is the addition of liability in the form of a warning. This norm is contained in 55 articles of the Code on Administrative Offences.
In this case the judge, agency or official authorised to deal with the case of administrative offence may choose a warning as a form of administrative punishment.
In addition, the decree of the government of the Russian Federation of July 16, 2009 No.584 on notification-based procedure of the start of certain types of entrepreneurial activities approves a list of federal executive bodies which accept and register notifications on the start of entrepreneurial activities (Rospotrebnadzor, FMBA of Russia and Rostransnadzor).
The draft would vest the federal executive bodies referred to above with powers to draw up protocols on administrative offences of violating the procedure of the start of entrepreneurial activities established under Federal Law No.294-FZ of December 26, 2008 On the Protection of the Rights of Legal Entities and Individual Entrepreneurs in the Process of State Control (Supervision) and Municipal Control as well as the power to consider the cases on administrative offences.
In addition, the draft makes officials of state control (supervision) agencies liable for violating the procedure of conducting control and supervision measures. A new article 19.6.1 is to be added to the Code on Administrative Offences of the Russian Federation, "Non-Compliance by Officials of State Control (Supervision) Bodies with the Provisions of the Law on State Control (Supervision)".
The introduction of this administrative offence is necessary for the implementation of Federal Law of December 26, 2008 No.294-FZ On the Protection of the Rights of Legal Entities and Individual Entrepreneurs in the Process of State Control (Supervision) and Municipal Control.
Moscow, October 14, 2009
* Press releases by the Press Service and Information Department contain materials submitted by the executive federal bodies for discussion by the government of the Russian Federation.