Classification of normative legal acts is made on various grounds: by legal force; by content; by the volume and nature of the action; to the entities publishing them.

According to their legal force, all normative legal acts are divided into laws and by-laws. The legal force of normative legal acts is the most significant feature of their classification. It determines their place and significance in the overall system of state regulatory regulation. In accordance with the theory and practice of law-making, acts of higher law-making bodies have higher legal force than acts of lower law-making bodies. The latter are issued on the basis of and in pursuance of regulations issued by higher law-making bodies.

Regulatory legal acts are also classified by content.

This division is to a certain extent arbitrary. This conditionality is objectively explained by the fact that not all normative legal acts contain norms of uniform content. There are acts containing norms of only one branch of rights (labor, family, criminal law). But along with industry regulations There are also acts of a complex nature. They include norms of various branches of law serving a certain area public life. Economic, trade, military, maritime legislation - examples of complex regulatory and legal acts

According to the scope and nature of action, regulatory legal acts are divided into:

For acts general action, covering the entire set of relations of a certain type in a given territory;

Acts of limited effect - apply only to part of the territory or to a strictly defined contingent of persons located in this territory;

For acts of exceptional (extraordinary) action. Their regulatory capabilities are implemented only upon the occurrence of exceptional circumstances for which the act is designed (military actions, natural disasters).

According to the main subjects of state law-making, regulatory legal acts can be divided into acts of legislative power (laws); acts executive power(regulations); acts of the judiciary (jurisdictional acts of a general nature).

This is the main and predominant legal act of the modern state. It contains legal norms that regulate the most important aspects of public and state life. The definition of a law can be formulated as follows: it is a normative legal act adopted by the highest representative body of the state in a special legislative manner, possessing the highest legal force and regulating the most important social relations from the point of view of the interests and needs of the country's population.

From this definition The following are signs of the law as the main source of law, as a normative legal act with supreme legal force:

1. laws are adopted by the highest representative bodies of the state or by the people themselves as a result of a referendum;

2. laws are adopted on the main most significant issues of public life, which require optimal satisfaction of the interests of the individual;

3. laws are adopted in a special legislative manner, which is not inherent in a subordinate legal act. The adoption of a law includes four mandatory stages: introducing the bill to the legislative body; discussion of the bill; adoption of the law; its publication. The adoption of a law as a result of a referendum is also carried out in accordance with the legislative procedure provided for by the Law on Referendum;

4. laws are not subject to control or approval by any other government body. They can only be repealed or amended by the legislature. A constitutional or similar court can declare a law passed by parliament unconstitutional, but only the legislature can repeal it;

5. Laws represent the core of the entire legal system of the state; they determine the structure of the entire set of regulatory legal acts, legal force each of them, the subordination of legal acts in relation to each other.

The leading and determining position of laws in the system of regulatory legal acts of the state expresses one of the basic requirements of legality - the supremacy of law in the regulation of social relations. No by-law can interfere with the scope of legislative regulation. It must be brought into compliance with the law or immediately repealed. In turn, laws are divided into constitutional and ordinary.

Constitutional laws determine the basic principles of the state and social system, the legal status of individuals and organizations. The entire system of normative legal acts is built and detailed on the basis of constitutional laws. Constitution in relation to others regulations, including the law, has supreme legal force.

Subordinate normative and legal acts.

These are law-making acts of competent authorities that are based on the law and do not contradict it. By-laws have less legal force than laws; they are based on the legal force of laws and cannot oppose them. Effective regulation of social relations occurs when common interests are consistent with individual interests. By-laws are precisely intended to specify the basic fundamental provisions of laws in relation to the uniqueness of various individual interests.

1. General by-laws.

These are normative and legal acts of general competence which apply to all persons within the territory of the country. Since their legal force and significance in the system of legal regulation, general by-laws follow the laws. Through by-laws, state management of society is carried out, economic, social and other issues of public life are coordinated. General by-laws include rule-making instructions of the highest executive authorities. Depending on the form of government, they are expressed in two types of by-laws.

Regulatory decrees of the President. In the system of by-laws, they have the highest legal force and are issued on the basis and in development of laws. The president's powers in law-making activities are determined by the country's constitution or special constitutional laws. They regulate the most diverse aspects of life related to public administration.

Government decree. These are by-laws adopted in the context of presidential decrees and are intended to necessary cases resolve more detailed issues of state management of the economy, social construction, healthcare, etc.

2. Local by-laws.

These are regulatory legal acts of local representative and executive authorities. They are published by local representative authorities and local self-government bodies. The effect of these acts is limited to the territory subject to them. Regulatory requirements local authorities state power and administration are mandatory for all persons living in a given territory. These can be regulatory decisions or resolutions of the council, municipality, mayor's office, prefect on a variety of local issues.

3. Gazette normative and legal acts (orders, instructions).

In a number of countries, certain structural units of government bodies (ministries, departments) are also vested with law-making functions, which are delegated by the legislature, the president or the government. These are normative legal acts of general effect, but they apply only to a limited sphere of public relations (customs, banking, transport, government credit, and others).

4. Intra-organizational by-laws.

These are the legal acts that are issued various organizations to regulate their internal issues and apply to members of these organizations. Within the framework determined by acts of supreme legal force, intra-organizational regulations regulate a wide variety of relationships arising in specific activities government agencies, enterprises, military units and other organizations.

And one last thing. In the normative regulation of social relations, the main and determining place is occupied by the law. By-laws play only a supporting and detailing role. In a rule-of-law state, the law covers all the main aspects of public life; it is the main guarantor of the fundamental interests, rights and freedoms of the individual.

Acts of the judiciary.

By the decision of the judicial authorities they acquire a normative character as a result of generalization judicial practice, which is basically individual, law enforcement in nature. Judicial practice acts as a source of law in cases where, due to ambiguity, inconsistency or uncertainty of normative regulations, the court is forced to specify or clarify the content of legal norms or create new norms due to discovered gaps in the law.

The law-making functions of courts are formed by judicial practice itself, by the needs of legal regulation of those common life cases that are not provided for by law. The accumulated experience of law enforcement practice allows courts to make decisions that are of generally binding significance when considering a particular group of legal cases. The highest bodies of the judiciary not only specify the existing rules of law, but also create, within their competence, new legal rules with the aim of guiding the clarification of the application of legislation on issues arising in the practical resolution of legal cases.

However, it must be borne in mind that the binding force of judicial practice does not lie in itself, but in the dictates of the legislative branch. The law-making activity of courts in a rule-of-law state is entirely based on their legal powers, within the framework of the legality and principles of a given system of law.

Our life consists of huge amount legal norms enshrined in various documents. In a general sense, they are called “laws” and are differentiated depending on the scope of application. However, the legislation itself is multifaceted and has a large number of institutions. One of the basic issues of jurisprudence is the difference between a legal act (LA) and a normative legal act (NLA). Understanding this problem is key to competent application of the law.

Definition

Regulatory legal act– this is an official document in the appropriate form, issued by an authorized body (President, Government, Parliament, etc.) within its competence. The legal acts should not contradict those legislative acts that have greater legal force. Mandatory conditions of such a document are repeated use, an indefinite number of persons, the establishment, modification or termination of certain legal relations. In other words, legal acts always give rise to a rule of law.

Legal act– a broader concept, which includes any legal documents issued by state and local authorities. In the literature, PA is used as a synonym for an individual legal act. This is a unilateral decision of a government body, addressed to specific subjects of legislation, and therefore not of a universal nature. A striking example is documents for official use that are removed from public access. They do not create any legal norms, but are only aimed at their individual application.

Comparison

Legal acts must be in the public domain, and all legal entities must be informed about the emergence of new laws, changes and repeal of old ones. PAs are one-time in nature; they do not establish new rules and regulations. Individual acts fall into Free access, others, on the contrary, are protected from distribution by appropriate solutions. Legal acts are addressed to an unlimited number of persons (individuals, legal entities, business entities, charitable organizations), and PA - to specific subjects of legal relations, up to a specific person (Decree of the President of the Russian Federation on awarding a military personnel with an order or medal, appointment to a particular position).

Conclusions website

1. Nature of application. If NPA is universal, then PA is individual.
2. Application area. PAs are addressed to a limited circle of persons, while legal acts are addressed to an unlimited circle of subjects.
3. Application time. The legal regulation is used until its effect is canceled or suspended. PA is oriented for one-time use - in a specific situation.
4. Establishment of the rule of law. A legal norm always generates a new legal norm or changes, supplements or cancels an old one, while a PA is a tool for implementing such a norm.

Normative act- an official document of a law-making body, which contains legal norms.

Regulatory acts are created mainly by government bodies that have the right to make regulatory decisions on those issues that are transferred to them for resolution. At the same time, they express the will of the state. This is where their authority, formality, authoritarianism, and commitment come from.

Regulatory acts are characterized by the following signs.

First of all, they have a law-making character: they contain rules of law or are installed, or change, or are cancelled. Normative acts are carriers, repositories, homes of legal norms, from which we draw knowledge about legal norms.

Secondly, regulations should only be issued within the competence law-making body, otherwise there will be several normative decisions on the same issue in the state, between which there may be contradictions.

Thirdly, normative acts are always clothed in documentary form and must have the following details: type of normative act, its name, the body that adopted it, date, place of adoption of the act, number. The written form helps to achieve a uniform understanding of the requirements of legal norms, which is very important, since sanctions may be applied for non-compliance.

Fourthly, every regulatory act must comply with the Constitution of the Russian Federation and not contradict those regulations, which have greater legal force in comparison with it.

Fifthly, all regulations must be subject to bringing to the attention of citizens and organizations, i.e. publication, and only after this the state has the right to demand their strict execution based on the presumption of knowledge of the law and impose sanctions.

Requirements for regulatory acts

1. To have greater regulatory power, regulations must be of high quality. This can be achieved if they do not represent a figment of the imagination or the desire of law-making subjects, but reflect objective reality. In principle, this requirement is more general in nature and applies to legal norms in general, but it is when legal acts are adopted that the possibility of making voluntaristic decisions becomes most obvious.

At the same time, the legislator’s freedom to make certain decisions is not unlimited. We have already spoken above about the objective conditioning of law by social relations. In the event that the adopted normative legal acts contradict objective reality, the norms contained in them will at least become “dead” and not applied in practice. In the event of an acute contradiction, the adoption of such an act is fraught with social upheaval. Any, even very good ideas cannot be implemented with the help of regulations if society has not “ripened” to them, if there are no necessary conditions. An example is the federal law 2005 “On the elections of deputies State Duma Federal Assembly Russian Federation", which introduced a proportional electoral system, i.e., representation of parties in parliament, in the absence of a developed and balanced party system in Russia.

2. Regulatory acts must have structure, rather than presenting a chaotic set of regulations. As a rule, a normative act has an introductory part called a preamble. It sets out the goals and objectives of the normative act and characterizes the socio-political situation existing at the time of its adoption. The first articles of a normative act may be devoted to defining the terminology used in the future. Then the construction of a normative act can fit into the following scheme: subjects of legal relations (for example, taxpayers and financial authorities), objects (received income), rights and obligations (obligation to pay taxes, the right to check the accuracy of their payment, etc.), benefits, incentive measures ( for example, exemption from the single social tax educational institutions) and sanctions (for tax evasion, a fine of 20% of the unpaid amount) This arrangement of regulatory material is used in non-codified acts, the presence of which is characteristic of “young”, recently emerging branches of law. “Old” branches of law are traditionally codified. Codes have a more complex structure.

3. Regulatory acts must be understandable citizens. Moreover, here the legislator should focus not on intellectuals, but on people of average or even below average intellectual level. Regulatory acts should be presented in simple, clear language, distinguished by rigor of style, comply with the laws of formal logic, and not be too abstract in nature, but at the same time not get bogged down in details. They should not contain complex legal terms.

Regulatory acts, when drafted intelligently and skillfully, are a powerful tool for transforming society. At the same time, a lot depends on their developers, who must take into account objective realities as much as possible and completely discard personal biases. If the stamp of subjectivism is excessively bright, then regulations can become a weapon of causing harm to the people. For example, the publication in 1991 of the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation, allowing freedom of trade, pursued a noble goal: to liberate citizens in the sphere of exchange. But the lack of thought in organizing its implementation led to undesirable consequences: unsanitary conditions in urban areas, a surge infectious diseases etc. Therefore, it will be extremely important to develop guidelines for the preparation of normative acts (law on the preparation of normative acts)

Types of regulations

Regulatory acts, depending on their legal force, can be divided into several levels. In this case, two large groups are distinguished: laws And regulations. The term “legislation” is used very often. The ϶ᴛᴏ concept includes all regulations issued by federal and regional state bodies. This terminological name is justified because the basis of an integral system of normative acts is formed by laws.

Let us list and briefly describe the main types of regulations (Fig. 2.6)

Laws— ϶ᴛᴏ normative acts adopted in a special manner by legislative authorities, regulating the most important social relations and having the highest legal force.

Laws are the most significant type of normative acts.

First of all, laws can be adopted by only one body - the parliament, which holds legislative power in the country. Thus, in the USA, federal laws are adopted by the US Congress, in Russia - by the State Duma of the Russian Federation.

Secondly, laws are adopted in a special order, which is called the legislative procedure.

Thirdly, laws regulate the most important relationships in society. In some countries, a strict list of issues has been established that must be resolved precisely with the help of law. In other states, for example in Russia, there is no such list, so the Federal Assembly can formally pass a law on any issue. However, it is unlikely that Parliament will consider it necessary to pass a law on an issue that is not of paramount importance.

Fourthly, laws have higher legal force compared to other types of regulations.

Figure No. 2.6. Types of regulations in the Russian Federation

According to their significance, federal laws are divided into groups:

1. constitutional laws, regulating issues of public life related to the subject of the Constitution of the Russian Federation (Federal Constitutional Law “On the Judicial System of the Russian Federation”, etc.) It must be remembered that such questions are in general outline regulated in the Constitution, but in constitutional laws they receive further development and detail. It is clear that constitutional laws should not contradict the Constitution of the Russian Federation;

2. current (ordinary) laws adopted to resolve all other important issues in society (for example, the Federal Law “On joint stock companies akh", Civil Code of the Russian Federation, Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, Law of the Russian Federation "On Education", etc.) Note that current laws should also not contradict the Constitution of the Russian Federation and federal constitutional laws.

Type of current laws - codes, which represent complex systematized acts. As a rule, the code contains all or the most important rules of any branch of law in a certain order. Thus, the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation contains all the rules on crime and punishment, and the Civil Code of the Russian Federation contains the most important rules regulating property relations. Codes are among the most high level legislation. Let us note that each code is, as it were, a developed “ legal economy", which should contain everything that is extremely important for regulating a particular group of social relations. Moreover, all this material is presented in unified system, distributed among sections and chapters, agreed upon. As a rule, the code consists of two parts: general and special. The general part contains norms that are important for the application of any norm of the special part, that is, for any relationship regulated by the code. Thus, the General Part of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation contains norms on the age at which criminal liability begins, the concept of a crime, a list of punishments, and the basic rules for their application. The Special Part of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation provides for specific acts and punishments for them.

Decrees is issued by the President of the Russian Federation on issues that fall within his competence, which is quite broad for him, since he will simultaneously be the head of state and, in fact, the head of the executive branch. If the decree contradicts the Constitution and laws of Russia, it may be declared invalid by the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation. Regulatory in nature will be the decrees of the President, in which he acts as a guarantor of the Constitution of the Russian Federation or regulates the procedure for exercising the powers granted to him by the Constitution, in particular, on issues of the structure of executive power, defense, protection of public order, citizenship, and awards. Decrees are published in the Collection of Legislation of the Russian Federation, as well as in the Rossiyskaya Gazeta.

Regulations published by the Government of the Russian Federation. The competence of the Government mainly includes resolving issues of a socio-economic nature (industry management, agriculture, construction, transport and communications, social protection of the population, external economic ties, organization of work of ministries, etc.) It is important to know that a large number of Government acts are associated with the development of a mechanism, a procedure for the implementation of laws adopted by parliament. “Launching” them into life is very important view law-making activities carried out by the Government, since if a mechanism for executing laws is not developed, they will lose their meaning. Resolutions are a mirror of the activities of the Government. Their analysis provides an answer to the question of whether the Government acted effectively, competently, and promptly. They are published in the same legal sources as laws.

Regulatory acts of ministries will instructions, orders, regulations, manuals, rules, charters etc. But it is the instructions that play the leading role. It is worth noting that they regulate the main types (forms) of official activities and the functional responsibilities of employees of a certain category. But there are instructions that are intersectoral in nature and apply not only to employees, but also to other organizations, to all citizens (instructions of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Health and Social Development of the Russian Federation, etc.) It must be remembered that such acts are subject to registration with the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation, where their legality is verified. Acts of ministries are published in the Bulletin of Normative Acts of Federal Executive Bodies.

Regulatory acts of legislative (representative) bodies of the constituent entities of the Federation -laws, ϶ᴛᴏ their most common name. Not all subjects of the Federation are actively involved in lawmaking. In this regard, the federal cities of Moscow and St. Petersburg, as well as the Sverdlovsk and Saratov regions, show themselves. Budget, taxes, privatization - these are the most serious issues of regional rule-making. Moreover, the adoption of an act of this kind requires the conclusion of the administration of the subject of the Federation.

Regulatory acts of governors of territories and regions (presidents of republics) are called decrees.

Regulatory acts of the administration of territories, regions (governments of republics) usually called regulations. It is worth noting that they can regulate various issues: the procedure for leasing premises, land plots, charging for travel on public transport, for training in children's music schools, etc.

Acts of both legislative (representative) and executive bodies of the constituent entities of the Federation are published in local newspapers.

Acts of local government bodies are usually called decisions. It is worth noting that they are published on issues of local importance concerning residents of cities, districts, villages, towns, villages (landscaping, landscaping, trade, public utilities, household services, etc.)

Corporate (intra-organizational, intra-company) regulations are those acts that are issued by various organizations to regulate their internal issues and apply to members of these organizations. Corporate acts regulate a wide variety of relations arising in the specific activities of enterprises (issues of the use of their financial resources, management, personnel, social issues etc.) In the process of reducing government interference in the affairs of enterprises and expanding their independence, corporate acts take on an increasing burden.

The concept of regulations

Legal act -϶ᴛᴏ a legal act adopted by an authorized body and containing legal norms, i.e. instructions of a general nature and permanent effect, designed for repeated application.

It is widely used in all modern legal systems (especially in the countries of the Romano-Germanic legal family)

The advantages of a normative legal act in comparison with other forms of law are associated, first of all, with the increased role of the state as a coordinator social life, identifying a common interest and ensuring its centralized implementation, with the ability to adequately and quickly respond to changes in public needs, with a written documentary form that allows the necessary information to be easily and quickly conveyed to the addressee, etc.

As follows from the name itself, ϶ᴛᴏ is an act that has a dual nature, i.e., both normative and legal. It should be distinguished from normative, but not legal acts (statutes of political parties, instructions for using household appliances, etc.) and from legal, but not normative acts (sentences and decisions of judicial bodies, orders on promotions, etc. ) It is worth saying for regulatory The act is characterized by the following features.

This is a power-volitional act emanating from the state (or recognized by it), the generally binding properties of which are derived from the powers of the body that adopted it, and therefore it occupies a certain place in the hierarchy of normative acts. With its help, the law-making body exercises powers in a certain area of ​​public affairs management.

This is an act of lawmaking, establishing, changing or repealing legal norms. The norms that make up the main content of a regulatory legal act are aimed at regulating the behavior of addressees with the help of mutually corresponding typical rights and obligations.

This is an official document having a clear structure and details. It is worth saying that for optimal storage and transmission of legal information, it is performed in a special style using specific legal terms, concepts and methods of constructing the text.

Preparation, adoption, implementation and repeal of a normative legal act take place in sequential order legal procedures, designed to optimize both the content and form of the act itself, and the procedure for its creation and implementation.

Achieving the goals of a regulatory legal act is ensured by the economic, political, organizational, informational and punitive power of the state. Violation of it entails legal liability.

It should be borne in mind that regulatory legal acts operating within the borders of a certain state are combined into a closed hierarchical system. Let us note that each of the elements of the system must correspond not only to the competence of the body, but also to the hierarchical connections of the system as a whole. That normative act which conflicts with the constitution or another act of higher legal force falls out of this system and essentially becomes a form of manifestation of an offense. So not any act of lawmaking containing rules of law will be a normative legal act.

Types of legal acts

According to their legal force, all regulations are divided into two large groups: laws and regulations.

Types of by-laws:

• presidential decrees and orders (the latter, unlike the former, are adopted more on procedural, current issues);
• government regulations and orders - acts executive body a state endowed with broad competence to manage social processes;
• orders, instructions, regulations of ministries and departments - acts regulating traditional social relations, which are within the competence of this executive structure;
• decisions and regulations of local government bodies;
• decisions, orders, resolutions of local government bodies;
• regulations of municipal authorities;
• local regulations - regulations adopted at the level specific enterprise, institutions and organizations (for example, internal labor regulations)

Taking into account the dependence on the specifics of the legal situation subject of lawmaking, all normative acts are divided into acts:

• government agencies;
• other social structures(municipal bodies, trade unions, joint-stock companies, partnerships, etc.);
• joint nature(state bodies and other social structures);
• adopted in a referendum.

Types of regulatory legal acts depending on the scope:

• federal;
• subjects of the federation;
• local government bodies;
• local.

Types of legal acts depending on the validity period

• indefinitely long-term action;
• temporary.

There are also such regulatory and legal acts as directives and regulations that are adopted by international organizations. Directives traditionally enable the state to specify the forms and methods of fulfilling their international obligations. The resolutions contain requirements that are subject to direct execution.

Question 4. What is meant by a normative legal act?

Answer: A legal act is the most characteristic and important source rights of the Russian Federation.

A normative legal act is understood as an act issued by an authorized government body and containing legal norms, i.e., regulations designed for long-term validity and repeated application, as well as regulations on changing or terminating (cancelling) the validity of these norms.

The very concept of “act” is generally used in legal theory in a double sense. First, an act is an action; secondly, an act is a material (written) medium of information - a document. It is in the latter sense that a normative legal act acts as a source of law. It should be emphasized that the term “normative legal act” cannot be abbreviated. The instructions, which define the rules for handling equipment, contain (technical) standards, but they are not legal. Thus, the term “normative legal act” cannot be replaced by the term “normative act”.

The same applies to the term “legal act”, since these, along with normative legal acts, include law enforcement acts (for example, a court verdict) and acts of interpretation of law (for example, numerous commentaries on laws).

Regulatory legal acts perform two equivalent functions: on the one hand, being carriers of legal norms, they act as a source of law; on the other hand, they express the state will, that is, they have legal force.

The concept of “legal force” indicates the place of a normative legal act in the legislative system, as well as the significance of the body that issued it.

According to their legal force, all normative legal acts are divided into laws and by-laws.

In the actual legal sense, a law is a normative legal act adopted in a special manner by the highest representative body of the legislative branch or by the direct expression of the will of the population (for example, by way of a referendum) and regulating the most important and stable social relations.

Laws occupy a leading place in the system of regulatory legal acts. They are divided into constitutional and ordinary. The first includes the constitution and constitutional laws that introduce amendments and additions to the constitution, as well as laws the need for publication of which is directly provided for by the constitution. The Constitution of the Russian Federation of 1993 names fourteen such constitutional laws. An example of the latter can be the laws on the Government of the Russian Federation (Article 114), on the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation (Article 128). For constitutional laws, a complex procedure has been established in comparison with ordinary laws for their passage and adoption in the Federal Assembly. An adopted constitutional law cannot be vetoed by the President.

Ordinary laws are divided into subordinate and current. By-laws include the Fundamentals of Legislation of the Russian Federation and codes. The Framework is a federal law that establishes principles and defines general provisions regulation of certain branches of law or areas of public life. A code is a law that combines, on the basis of common principles, norms that quite actively regulate a certain area of ​​social relations.

To all that has been said, it must be added that in a federal state there are differences between federal laws and the laws of the constituent entities of the federation. In particular, in Russia there are constitutions of republics and charters of territories, regions, cities of federal significance, as well as ordinary laws of constituent entities.

All laws are inherent special properties, defining their legal force and ensuring supremacy in the system of regulatory legal acts:

• 1. Laws are adopted by parliament - the highest representative and legislative body or by popular vote (referendum).
• 2. Laws are aimed at regulating the most important social relations in the spheres of politics, economics, and culture. For example, laws establish the system of legislative, executive and judicial authorities, the procedure for their organization and activities.
• 3. Laws are always normative and designed for repeated application.
• 4. Laws are distinguished by a clear structuring of normative material.
• 5. Laws are adopted in a special manner established by the constitution and parliamentary regulations.
• 6. Laws are subject to publication and are binding on all citizens, officials, government bodies, and public organizations.
• 7. Laws can be amended or repealed only in a special manner, similar to the procedure for their adoption.

Subordinate legal acts also form a significant group. The first place in terms of legal force among them is occupied by decrees of the head of state (in Russia - the President of the Russian Federation).

According to his legal status, the President of the Russian Federation has the right to issue orders and decrees. Orders are issued by the President usually on current issues of an operational nature and should not contain rules of law. Presidential decrees may have a normative nature. According to the Constitution of the Russian Federation, decrees of the President are binding on the entire territory of the Russian Federation; they must not contradict the laws. However, the Constitution of the Russian Federation does not require the President to issue decrees “on the basis and in pursuance of laws.” Essentially, the President is given the right to establish norms at the legislative level by his decrees. We are talking about a kind of filling in gaps in the law.

The decrees of the President are followed by decrees of the Government. They are published on the most important issues of economic and cultural development on the basis of and in pursuance of the Constitution, federal laws and presidential decrees. If Government decisions conflict with the above-mentioned acts, they can be canceled by the President.

The next type is acts of ministries and departments. These are orders, regulations, instructions. Departmental acts mainly contain norms that develop, specify and supplement the legal provisions of laws and government regulations. They are acts of special competence and usually extend their effect only to subordinate objects, although sometimes they can be intersectoral and even general in nature.

Acts of ministries and government departments can be canceled by the Government of the Russian Federation.

In the subjects of the federation, by-laws include normative legal acts of the heads of the subjects, their governments, as well as acts of their ministries and departments.

Regulatory legal acts of local government bodies (charters municipalities, regulations of representative bodies, orders and regulations of administrations) also refer to by-laws.

The last type of by-laws are local regulations, which are created to operate in specific organizations, institutions and enterprises, or are intended for a certain circle of persons in a certain territory. For example, specific charters, internal labor regulations, job descriptions refer to local acts.

Life, i.e. the action of regulatory legal acts, is characterized by three parameters: time, space and circle of persons.

The validity of regulatory legal acts continues in time from the moment of entry into force until the moment of its loss. The acts come into force:

• 1) either from the moment of their acceptance;
• 2) either from the time specified in the regulatory legal act itself or in a special act on its entry into force (for example, from the moment of publication);
• 3) or upon expiration of a certain period after their publication (disclosure).

Depending on the type of regulatory act, Russian legislation sets different deadlines for the entry into force of regulatory acts after their publication. Thus, the laws of the Russian Federation come into force throughout the entire territory of Russia after ten days from the date of their official publication. Acts of the President of the Russian Federation and the Government of the Russian Federation, which are of a normative nature, come into force on the territory of Russia seven days after their publication in an official source. Departmental normative acts come into force from the day they are assigned a serial number of state registration, unless a later date of entry into force is established in the act itself.

Regulatory acts lose legal force as a result of various circumstances. If the act was issued for a certain period, it ceases to be valid upon expiration of this period. In other cases, a regulatory legal act loses force as a result of its repeal. The repeal of a previous normative act is indicated in a new act replacing the old one, or in a special list of acts repealed in connection with the adoption of new acts. One can name a third situation, when a normative legal act actually loses force due to the issuance of a new act establishing a different procedure for legal regulation.

By general rule regulations do not have retroactive effect. In practice, this means the following: when, for example, a property dispute arises or a crime is committed at a time when a law that has not yet been repealed was in force, although at the time of consideration of the case the law was canceled or changed. Exceptions to the general rule are allowed in rare cases when the normative legal act itself provides that it can apply to events and actions that took place before its publication.

In Russian law, laws eliminating or mitigating criminal and administrative liability have retroactive force.

With regard to action in space, regulations differ depending on whether their effect extends to the entire territory of the country, or to any precisely defined part of it, or is intended to apply outside the country.

If we are talking about federal regulations, then they apply to the entire territory of the Russian Federation. The state territory of Russia means the part of the globe that is under its sovereignty. This includes land, internal and territorial waters, airspace above it, the bowels of the earth within state border. Objects equated to state territory are ships and aircraft, spaceships and stations flying the Russian flag, the territory of diplomatic missions abroad, submarine cables, pipelines and other objects belonging to Russia and located on the high seas or outer space.

Acts of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation are valid on the territory of republics, territories, regions, autonomous okrugs. And regulatory legal acts of local government bodies are valid only in the territory under their jurisdiction. Thus, the effect of regulatory legal acts is directly dependent on the body at what level this act was adopted.

It should be added to this that regulatory legal acts of federal government bodies can extend their effect only to a certain part of the country, if this is expressly stipulated in the regulatory legal act itself.

Finally, the norms of federal laws can also have extraterritorial effect, that is, they can be applied outside Russia. For example, with regard to the protection of citizens of the Russian Federation located outside of Russia, the rules provided for by the RSFSR Law of November 28, 1991 “On Citizenship of the RSFSR” apply. At the same time, citizens of the Russian Federation who have committed crimes abroad, if brought to trial, are held accountable not according to the laws of the place where the crime was committed, but according to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

If we are talking about clarifying the effect of a normative legal act on a circle of persons, then this means determining the addressee of the normatively expressed order.

Typically, regulatory legal acts extend their effect to all subjects of law ( individuals, legal entities, government bodies, public organizations) located in this territory. However, the scope of laws and regulations in space and among persons may not coincide. Thus, the norms of the mandatory electoral law throughout Russia in terms of active suffrage do not apply to minors, as well as to mentally ill people recognized by the court as incompetent, and/or on the day of Voting, those serving sentences in places of deprivation of liberty by a court verdict.

Regulatory legal acts can only apply to workers in a certain sector of the economy. Known, for example, established by law pension benefits for workers in the coal and metallurgical industries. Regulatory legal acts may not apply to all citizens, but only to those who occupy a certain official position.

General principle Russian law is that all individuals located on the territory of the Russian Federation are subject to its action. However, there are exceptions to this rule. Firstly, there are also areas of legal regulation where only a citizen of Russia can act as a subject of legal relations. Thus, service in the Russian Armed Forces is the responsibility exclusively of its citizens. Secondly, an exception is made for those foreign citizens who, according to current laws and international treaties concluded by Russia, enjoy diplomatic immunity. Such persons (and these are heads of state and government, ambassadors, envoys, chargés d'affaires, family members of diplomatic staff, etc.) if they commit offenses are not subject to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation.

To what has been said about the limits of validity of normative legal acts, it is necessary to add that the norms of one branch of law cannot extend their effect to relations regulated by the norms of another branch of law. Thus, acts regulating property relations are not designed to regulate relations between government bodies. This is the general effect of law on the subject of legal regulation.

According to their legal force, regulations are divided into two large groups: laws and regulations.

Regulatory acts in Russia are divided into:

1) Depending on the specifics of the legal status of the subject of lawmaking on:

regulatory acts of government bodies;

regulations of other social structures (municipal bodies, trade unions, joint-stock companies, partnerships, etc.);

normative acts of a joint nature (of government agencies and other social structures);

regulations adopted in a referendum;

2) depending on the scope of action, on:

federal;

regulatory acts of the subjects of the Federation;

local government bodies;

local.

3) depending on the validity period, for:

indefinitely long-term action;

temporary.

A law is a normative act of supreme legal force, adopted in a special manner by the highest representative body of state power or directly by the people and regulating the most important social relations.

Laws can also be adopted in referendums - during special procedure immediate, direct expression of the will of the population on this or that, as a rule, big issue public life. In terms of content, the law, as a rule, regulates the most important social relations.

The law, like any normative legal act, has certain characteristics:

• 1. A law is a legal document containing rules of law.
• 2. The law is the result of the law-making activity of the highest body of state power (parliament, monarch, etc.) or the entire people.
• 3. The law regulates the most significant, typical, stable relationships in society.
• 4. The law has the highest legal force, which is manifested in the impossibility of its repeal by another body other than the one that adopted it, and also in the fact that all other legal documents should not contradict the content of the law.
• 5. The law is a fundamental legal document. It serves as the basis, basis, and guideline for the rule-making activities of other government bodies and courts.

Considering the law as a normative legal act - a source of law, it is necessary to distinguish it from individual acts containing individual instructions on specific, “one-time” issues, for example, appointment to a position, instructions to transfer property and from interpreting acts, acts of interpretation, i.e. acts that provide only an explanation of existing standards, but do not establish new standards.

Laws in a democratic state should occupy first place among all sources of law, be the basis of the entire legal system, the basis of legality and strong legal order.

The laws are divided into:

• a) constitution, constitutional;
• b) ordinary.

Constitutional laws include, first of all, laws that introduce amendments and additions to the Constitution, as well as laws the need for publication of which is directly provided for by the constitution. The Constitution of the Russian Federation of 1993 names fourteen such constitutional laws. An example of the latter can be laws on the Government of the Russian Federation (Article 114), on the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation (Article 128), on changing the constitutional and legal status of a subject of the Russian Federation (Article 137 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation) . For constitutional laws, a more complex procedure has been established than for ordinary laws for their passage and adoption in the Federal Assembly. An adopted constitutional law cannot be vetoed by the President (Article 108 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation).

Ordinary laws - These are acts of current legislation devoted to various aspects of the economic, political, social, and spiritual life of society. They, like all laws, have the highest legal force, but they themselves must comply with the Constitution and constitutional laws.

Ordinary laws, in turn, are divided into codification and current. Codification includes the Fundamentals (Basic Principles) of the legislation of the Russian Federation and codes. The Fundamentals is a federal law that establishes principles and defines general provisions for the regulation of certain branches of law or areas of public life. A code is a law of a codification nature, which combines, on the basis of common principles, norms that regulate in sufficient detail a certain area of ​​social relations. The code most often refers to one particular branch of law (for example, the Criminal Code, the Civil Procedure Code, the Code of Administrative Offenses).

In a federal state, such as Russia, federal laws and laws of the constituent entities of the Federation differ. Thus, in addition to the federal Law “On the Languages ​​of the Peoples of the Russian Federation,” a number of republics (Karelia, Kalmykia, etc.) that are part of the Russian Federation have adopted their own laws on languages. Federal laws generally apply throughout the Federation. In case of discrepancy between the law of a subject of the Federation and the law of the Russian Federation, the federal law shall apply.

Constitution as the fundamental constituent legal act of the country, it is the main, “title” law that defines the legal basis of the state, principles, structure, main characteristics of the state system, rights and freedoms of citizens, form of government and government structure, justice system, etc.

The Russian Federation currently has a Constitution in force, adopted by referendum on December 12, 1993. The Constitution of the Russian Federation, in addition to a short preamble, contains the main, first, section of nine chapters:

• 1. Fundamentals of the constitutional system.
• 2. Rights and freedoms of man and citizen.
• 3. Federal structure.
• 4. President of the Russian Federation.
• 5. Federal Assembly.
• 6. Government of the Russian Federation.
• 7. Judicial power.
• 8. Local government.
• 9. Constitutional amendments and revision of the Constitution.

The special (second) section of the Constitution of the Russian Federation contains final and transitional provisions.

The very concept of “constitution” translated from Latin means establishment, establishment, structure. IN Ancient Rome This is how individual acts of imperial power were called.

The Constitution, as already noted, is the main source of law, containing the initial principles of the entire legal system. It has the highest legal force. The supremacy of the Constitution as the Basic Law is manifested in the fact that all laws and other acts of state bodies are issued on the basis and in accordance with it. Strict and precise observance of the Constitution is the highest standard of behavior for all citizens, all public associations, and all government bodies.

In accordance with the Constitution, constitutional laws also devoted to the legal foundations of the state and the political system. Constitutional laws are adopted on issues provided for by the Constitution (for example, the Law on state of emergency, Law on the Procedure of Government Activity). A federal constitutional law is considered adopted if at least two-thirds of the total number of voters votes for it. total number deputies of the State Duma and if it is approved by a majority of at least three quarters of the total number of deputies of the Federation Council. The adopted federal constitutional law must be signed by the President of the Russian Federation and promulgated within fourteen days.

Among the laws should be highlighted:

• a) federal laws - those that are adopted by the federal legislative body - the Federal Assembly - and apply to the entire territory of the Russian Federation,
• b) laws of the subjects of the Federation (republican laws, laws of regions, territories) - those that are adopted in accordance with the distribution of competence by republics and other subjects of the Federation and apply only to their territory.

The division of laws into branches of law is important. In accordance with this, sectoral laws should be differentiated . The most significant role in the legislative system (after constitutional laws) is played by: administrative laws; civil laws; marriage and family laws; criminal laws; land laws; financial and credit laws; labor laws; social security laws; procedural laws; environmental laws. In addition to sectoral ones, there are inter-industry laws, which contain norms of several branches of law (for example, health care laws, which contain norms of administrative, civil, and other branches of law).

The body of laws constitutes legislation. Therefore, when they talk about legislative acts, it means that we are talking about a system of laws in the narrow sense, and when they talk about acts of legislation, we can talk about not only laws.

Along with the most common form - the presentation of the law in a separate, isolated written act - the theory of law also identifies normative legal acts in the form of codes (collections, lists - lat.). Civil, criminal, family, labor and other codes are collections that unite an extensive set of legal norms under a single subject of regulation and, as a rule, method.

Code (codified act) is a single, consolidated, legally and logically integral, internally consistent law, other normative act that provides complete, generalized and systemic regulation of a given group of social relations.

Codified acts have different names - “codes”, “charters”, “regulations”, simply “laws”.

Essential in each code (codified act) are the “general part” or “general provisions”, where the initial principles and norms, general principles and “spirit” of this branch of legislation are enshrined.

Industry codes play the main role in the legislative system , those. codified acts that head the relevant branch of legislation. These codes gather into a single focus, bringing together the main content of a particular legislative branch. All other laws and other regulations in this industry are, as it were, adjusted to the industry code. Part one of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation directly states: “The norms of civil law contained in other laws must comply with this Code.”

In a number of cases, laws on individual problems, for example on issues of property, pledge, were previously issued as independent acts because the consolidated act - code (Civil Code) in which these problems would have received detailed and systematic regulation had not yet been adopted . It is therefore quite understandable, for example, that after the adoption of the Civil Code (Part One), most of the previously adopted individual laws were repealed.

By-laws are acts issued on the basis and in pursuance of laws that contain legal norms.

By-laws have less legal force than laws and are based on them. By-laws are also very important in the life of any society, playing a supporting and detailing role.

Highlight the following types by-laws:

• 1. Regulatory legal acts of the President of the Russian Federation. The President is the head of state, and in accordance with this, the regulatory legal acts (decrees) issued by him occupy the next place after the laws and are mandatory for execution throughout the entire territory of the Russian Federation. If the decree of the President contradicts the Constitution and laws of Russia on the basis of the opinion of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, the decree loses force. Compared to laws, decrees are relatively quickly adopted and come into force.
• 2. Regulatory legal acts of the Government. The Government of the Russian Federation exercises executive power in the country and, realizing this task, adopts resolutions and issues orders. Decisions of a normative nature or the most important are issued in the form of decrees.
• 3. Regulatory acts of ministries and other federal executive bodies (departments). Their peculiarity is that ministries and departments can issue orders and instructions containing legal norms in cases and within the limits provided for by the laws of the Russian Federation, Presidential decrees, and Government resolutions. Therefore, the publication of any departmental act should be based on a special instruction from higher authorities, although in practice it often happens differently.

The acts of this group are very numerous and varied. These include orders and instructions, resolutions, regulations, letters, charters, etc.

These acts come into force 10 days after the day of their official publication in the Rossiyskiye Vesti newspaper or in the Bulletin of normative acts of federal executive authorities.

4. Regulatory acts of government bodies of the constituent entities of the Federation. Local regulations. The authorities and management bodies of the subjects of the Federation, solving the problems that confront them, and according to their competence, make decisions, putting them into legal form. The regulatory legal acts they issue apply only to the territories of the relevant regions.

In the theory of law, local normative acts are also called legal documents containing rules of law adopted by the subjects of management at an enterprise, organization, etc. The regional and regional administrations of the constituent entities of the Federation (in some regions - the government) have the right to adopt resolutions, instructions, and orders. The head of the administration may issue decrees and orders on issues within his competence.

There are also local acts of state and non-state institutions and organizations various forms property. For legal registration and legal institutionalization, these organizations create various legal acts: orders issued by the head of the organization, charters and regulations on the basis of which they carry out their activities. Such acts constitute the lower level of by-laws and in most cases, in order to acquire legal force, must be registered with the relevant municipal authority. For example, the charter of a limited liability company (or other similar organization) acquires legal force only after registration with government agencies authorities.