The classification of normative legal acts is made on various grounds: by legal force; by content; by the volume and nature of the action; subjects publishing them.

In terms of legal force, all normative legal acts are subdivided into laws and by-laws. The legal force of normative legal acts is the most significant sign of their classification. It determines their place and significance in the general system of state regulatory regulation. In accordance with the theory and practice of law-making, acts of higher law-making bodies have a higher legal force than acts of lower law-making bodies. The latter are published on the basis of and in pursuance of normative acts issued by higher law-making bodies.

Normative legal acts are also classified by content.

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

In terms of the volume and nature of the action, regulatory legal acts are subdivided:

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

For acts of limited action - they apply only to a part of the territory or to a strictly defined contingent of persons located in this territory;

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

Regarding the main subjects of state lawmaking, normative legal acts can be subdivided into acts of legislative power (laws); executive power acts (bylaws); acts of the judiciary (general jurisdictional acts).

This is the main and predominant normative legal act of the modern state. It contains legal norms that govern the most important aspects of public and state life. The definition of the 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 order, which has the highest legal force and regulates the most important social relations in terms of the interests and needs of the country's population.

From this definition follow the 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 order, which is not inherent in a subordinate legal act. The adoption of a law includes four mandatory stages: submission of a bill to the legislature; discussion of the bill; adoption of a 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 body of the state. They can only be canceled or changed by the legislature. A constitutional or other similar court may declare a law passed by parliament unconstitutional, but only the legislature can overturn 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, the legal force of each of them, the subordination of regulatory legal acts in relation to each other.

The leading and defining position of laws in the system of normative legal acts of the state expresses one of the basic requirements of legality - the rule of law in the regulation of public relations. Not a single by-law can intrude into the sphere of legislative regulation. It must be brought in accordance with the law or immediately canceled. 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. The Constitution in relation to other normative legal acts, including the law, has supreme legal force.

By-laws and regulations.

These are legislative acts of the competent authorities, which 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 resist them. Effective regulation of social relations takes place when common interests are consistent with individual interests. By-laws are just intended to concretize the main fundamental provisions of the laws in relation to the originality of various individual interests.

1. General regulations.

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

Regulatory decrees of the president. In the system of bylaws, they have the highest legal force and are issued on the basis of and in the development of laws. The powers of the president in lawmaking are determined by the country's constitution or special constitutional laws. They regulate the most diverse aspects of life associated with public administration.

Government decree. These are by-laws, adopted in the context of presidential decrees and designed, if necessary, to regulate more detailed issues of state management of the economy, social construction, health care, etc.

2. Local regulations.

These are regulatory legal acts of local representative and executive authorities. They are published by local bodies of representative power and local self-government bodies. The effect of these acts is limited to the territory under their control. Regulatory instructions of local government and administration bodies are mandatory for all persons living in this area. These can be regulatory decisions or decisions of the council, municipality, city hall, prefect on a variety of local issues.

3. Vedomosti normative - legal acts (orders, instructions).

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

4. Intra-organizational by-laws.

These are such normative legal acts that are issued by various organizations to regulate their internal issues and apply to the members of these organizations. Within the framework defined by acts of higher legal force, intra-organizational normative acts regulate a wide variety of relations arising in the specific activities of state institutions, enterprises, military units and other organizations.

And the last thing. In the normative regulation of social relations, the main and decisive place is occupied by the law. By-laws, however, play only an auxiliary and detailed role. In a state governed by the rule of law, the law covers by its action all the main aspects of social 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 judiciary, they acquire a normative character as a result of the generalization of 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 ambiguity of regulatory prescriptions, the court is forced to concretize or clarify the content of legal norms or create new norms due to the discovered gaps in the law.

The law-making functions of the courts are formed by judicial practice itself, by the needs of the legal settlement of those general life cases that are not provided for by law. The accumulated experience of law enforcement practice allows the courts to make decisions that are generally binding when considering a particular group of legal cases. The highest bodies of the judiciary not only concretize the existing norms of law, but also create, within their competence, new legal norms with the aim of guiding 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 is not in itself, but in the dictates of the legislature. The law-making activity of courts in a state governed by the rule of law is entirely based on their legal powers, within the framework of the legality and principles of this system of law.

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

Definition

Normative legal act Is an official document in the appropriate form, issued by an authorized body (President, Government, Parliament, etc.) within its competence. The NLA should not contradict those legislative acts that have greater legal force. The prerequisites for such a document are repeated use, an indefinite circle of persons, the establishment, change or termination of certain legal relations. In other words, the LA always generates a rule of law.

Legal act- a broader concept, which includes any legal documents that are 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 state body, addressed to specific subjects of legislation, and therefore not universal. A prime example is documents for official use that have been removed from the public domain. They do not create any legal norms, but are only aimed at their individual application.

Comparison

The legal acts are obliged to be in the public domain, and all subjects of law must be informed about the emergence of new laws, changes and the abolition of old ones. PAs are ad hoc, they do not establish new rules and regulations. Certain acts are freely available, while others, on the contrary, are protected from distribution by appropriate solutions. RLA 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 certain person (Decree of the President of the Russian Federation on awarding a serviceman with an order or medal, appointment to a particular position).

Conclusions site

1. The nature of the application. If the NLA is universal, then the PA is individual.
2. Application area. PA are addressed to a limited number of persons, while LA is addressed to an unlimited number of subjects.
3. Application time. ABO 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. The LA always generates a new legal norm or changes, supplements or cancels the old one, while the PA is a tool for the implementation of such a norm.

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

Normative acts are created mainly by state bodies that have the right to make regulatory decisions on those issues that have been submitted to them for resolution. In addition, they express the will of the state. From this stems their imperiousness, formality, authoritarianism, and commitment.

Normative acts are characterized by the following signs.

First of all, they have a law-making character: in them the norms of law are either are established or change or canceled. Normative acts - ϶ᴛᴏ carriers, repositories, dwellings of legal norms, from which we draw knowledge about legal norms.

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

Thirdly, regulations are always clothed in documentary form and must have the following details: the type of the normative act, its name, the body that adopted it, the date, place of adoption of the act, number. The written form contributes to the achievement of a uniform understanding of the requirements of legal norms, which is very important, since for failure to comply with them, it is possible to impose sanctions.

Fourth, each regulation must comply with the Constitution of the Russian Federation and not contradict those normative acts that have greater legal force in comparison with it.

Fifth, all regulations must be subject to bringing to the attention of citizens and organizations, that is, publication, and only after it, the state has the right to demand their strict implementation on the basis of the presumption of knowledge of the law and to impose sanctions.

Requirements for regulatory enactments

1. To have great regulatory power, regulations must be of good quality. This can be achieved if they are not a product of fantasy or the desired law-making subjects, but reflect objective reality. In principle, this requirement is of a more general nature and refers 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. It has already been said above about the objective conditionality of law by social relations. In the event that the adopted normative legal acts contradict the objective reality, the norms contained in them will at least become “dead”, not being 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 normative acts, if society is not "ripe" for them, if there are no necessary conditions. An example is the 2005 Federal Law “On the Election of Deputies to the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation”, which introduced a proportional electoral system, that is, the representation of parties in the parliament, in the absence of a developed and balanced party system in Russia.

2. Regulations should 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, characterizes the socio-political situation that exists at the time of its adoption. The first articles of the normative act can be devoted to the definition of 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 (income received), rights and obligations (obligation to pay taxes, the right to verify the accuracy of their payment, etc.), benefits, incentives ( for example, exemption from the unified social tax of educational institutions) and sanctions (for tax evasion, a fine of 20% of the unpaid amount) The "old" industries are traditionally codified. Codes, on the other hand, have a more complex structure.

3. Normative acts should be understandable citizens. Moreover, here the legislator should focus not on intellectuals, but on people of average or even below average intellectual level. Normative acts should be stated in a simple, clear language, differ in strictness of style, adhere to the laws of formal logic, and also 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 reasonably and skillfully, are a powerful tool for transforming society. At the same time, a lot depends on their developers, who should take into account objective realities as much as possible and completely discard personal preferences. If the stamp of subjectivity is immeasurably bright, then the regulations can become a tool for causing harm to the people. For example, the publication in 1991 of the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation, authorizing the freedom of trade, pursued a noble goal: to liberate citizens in the sphere of exchange. But the ill-considered organization of its implementation entailed undesirable consequences: unsanitary conditions in the territories of cities, an outbreak of infectious diseases, etc.

Types of regulations

Normative acts, depending on their legal force, can be divided into several levels. At the same time, two large groups are distinguished: the laws and regulations. The term "legislation" is very often used. The ϶ᴛᴏ concept includes all regulations issued by federal and regional authorities of the state. Such a terminological name is justified because it is the laws that form the basis of an integral system of normative acts.

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

The laws- ϶ᴛᴏ normative acts adopted in a special order by the legislative authorities, regulating the most important social relations and possessing supreme legal force.

Laws are the most significant type of normative acts.

First of all, laws can be passed by only one body - the parliament, which holds the legislative power in the country. Thus, in the United States, federal laws are passed 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 a legislative procedure.

Third, laws govern the most important relationships in society. Some countries have established a strict list of issues that are subject to regulation precisely by law. In other states, for example in Russia, there is no such list, therefore the Federal Assembly can formally adopt a law on any issue. At the same time, the parliament is unlikely to consider it necessary to pass a law on an issue that is not of paramount importance.

Fourth, laws have higher legal force than other types of regulations.

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

According to their importance, 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 should be remembered that such issues are generally regulated in the Constitution, but in constitutional laws they are further developed and detailed. It is clear that constitutional laws should not contradict the Constitution of the Russian Federation;

2. current (normal) laws adopted to settle all other important issues in the life of society (for example, the Federal Law "On Joint Stock Companies", the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, the 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.

A kind of current laws - codes, which are complex systematized acts. As a rule, in the code all or the most important norms of any branch of law are arranged in a certain order. So, the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation contains all the rules on crime and punishment, the Civil Code of the Russian Federation contains the most important rules governing property relations. Codes belong to the highest level of legislation. Note that each code is a kind of developed "legal economy", which should contain everything that is extremely important for the regulation of a particular group of social relations. Moreover, all this material is brought into a single system, divided into sections and chapters, agreed upon. As a rule, the code consists of two parts: general and specific. 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. So, the General Part of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation contains norms on the age at which criminal responsibility comes, 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 published by the President of the Russian Federation on issues falling within his competence, which he has quite broad, 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 can be declared invalid by the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation. Presidential decrees will be normative in nature, 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 the structure of executive power, defense, public order, citizenship, and awards. The decrees are published in the Collected Legislation of the Russian Federation, as well as in the Rossiyskaya Gazeta.

Resolutions published by the Government of the Russian Federation. The competence of the Government mainly includes the solution of issues of a socio-economic nature (management of industry, agriculture, construction, transport and communications, social protection of the population, external economic relations, organization of work of ministries, etc.) It is important to know that a large number of Government acts are associated with development of a mechanism, an order of execution of laws adopted by parliament. "Launching" them in life is a very important type of lawmaking activity carried out by the Government, because if the mechanism for the implementation of laws is not developed, they will lose their meaning. Resolutions are a mirror of the Government's activities. Their analysis gives an answer to the question whether the Government acted efficiently, competently, and promptly. They are published in the same sources of the legal press as laws.

Ministries' regulations will be instructions, orders, regulations, instructions, rules, statutes and so on. But it is the instructions that play the leading role. It is worth noting that they regulate the main types (forms) of service activities, functional duties of employees of a certain category. But there are instructions that are cross-sectoral 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 checked. Acts of ministries are published in the Bulletin of Normative Acts of Federal Executive Bodies.

Normative acts of the legislative (representative) bodies of the constituent entities of the Federation -the laws, ϶ᴛᴏ their most common name. Not all subjects of the Federation are actively involved in lawmaking. In terms of this, the cities of federal significance Moscow and St. Petersburg, as well as the Sverdlovsk and Saratov regions, are showing 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.

Normative acts of the governors of territories, regions (presidents of republics) are called decrees.

Normative acts of the administration of territories, regions (governments of republics) it is customary to call regulations. It is worth noting that they can regulate various issues: the procedure for leasing premises, land plots, charging public transport fares, tuition fees for 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.

Local government acts are usually called solutions. It is worth noting that they are published on issues of local importance concerning residents of cities, districts, villages, townships, villages (landscaping, improvement, trade, utilities, consumer services, etc.)

Corporate (intraorganizational, intrafirm) regulations are such 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 using their financial resources, managerial, 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 regulatory legal acts

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

It is widely used in all modern legal systems (especially in 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 an increase in the role of the state as a coordinator of social life, identifying a common interest and ensuring its centralized implementation, with the ability to adequately and promptly respond to changes in social needs, with a documentary written form, allowing an accessible and quick delivery of the necessary information to the addressee, etc.

As follows from the name itself, ϶ᴛᴏ is an act that has a dual nature, that is, it is both normative and legal at the same time. It should be distinguished both from normative, but not legal acts (statutes of political parties, instructions for the use of household appliances, etc.) and from legal, but not normative acts (judgments and decisions of the judiciary, orders to move in the service, etc.). ) It should be said that the following features are characteristic of a normative legal act.

This is an imperious-strong-willed 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 implements ϲʙᴏand powers in a certain area of ​​public affairs management.

This is an act of lawmaking establishing, changing or canceling legal norms. The norms that make up the main content of the normative 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 should be said 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 cancellation of a normative legal act take place in the order of successive legal procedures, designed to optimize both the content and form of the act itself, and the procedure for its creation and implementation.

The achievement of the goals of the normative legal act is ensured by the economic, political, organizational, informational and punitive power of the state. Its violation entails legal liability.

It should be borne in mind that regulatory legal acts operating within the boundaries of a particular state are combined into a closed hierarchical system. It should be noted that each of the elements of the ϶ᴛᴏth system should correspond not only to the competence of the body, but also to the hierarchical connections of the system as a whole. The normative act that comes into conflict with the constitution or other 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 legal norms will be a normative legal act.

Types of regulatory legal acts

In terms of legal force, all normative acts are divided into two large groups: laws and by-laws.

Types of bylaws:

• decrees and orders of the president (the latter, unlike the first, are adopted more on procedural, current issues);
• decisions and orders of the government - acts of the executive body of the state, endowed with broad competence in managing public processes;
• orders, instructions, regulations of ministries and departments - acts regulating traditionally public relations, which are within the competence of this executive structure;
• decisions and decrees of local government bodies;
• decisions, orders, decisions of local government bodies;
• regulations of municipal authorities;
• local regulations - regulations adopted at the level of a specific enterprise, institution and organization (for example, internal labor regulations)

Given the dependence on the specifics of the legal situation of the subject of law-making, all normative acts are subdivided into acts:

• government agencies;
• other social structures (municipal bodies, trade unions, joint stock companies, partnerships, etc.);
• joint nature (government 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 regulatory legal acts depending on the validity period

• indefinitely long-acting;
• temporary.

There are also such normative legal acts as directives and decrees, which are adopted by international organizations. Directives traditionally enable the state to concretize the forms and methods of implementation of their international obligations. The decrees contain requirements that are directly enforceable.

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

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

A normative legal act is understood as an act issued by an authorized state body and containing legal norms, that is, prescriptions designed for long-term validity and repeated application, as well as prescriptions for changing or terminating (canceling) the effect of these norms.

The very concept of "act" is generally used in the theory of law in a double sense. First, an act is an action; secondly, an act is a material (written) carrier 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” should not be abbreviated. The instructions that define the rules for handling equipment contain norms (technical), 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, are law enforcement acts (for example, a court verdict) and acts of interpretation of law (for example, numerous comments on laws).

Normative 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 system of legislation, as well as the significance of the body that issued it.

In terms of legal force, all normative legal acts are divided into laws and by-laws.

In a strictly legal sense, a law is a normative legal act adopted in a special order by the highest representative body of legislative power 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 normative legal acts. They are subdivided into constitutional and ordinary. The first includes the constitution and constitutional laws that make changes and additions to the constitution, as well as laws, the need to issue which is directly stipulated by the constitution. The 1993 Constitution of the Russian Federation named 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). Compared to ordinary laws, constitutional laws have a complex procedure for their passage and adoption in the Federal Assembly. The adopted constitutional law cannot be vetoed by the President.

Ordinary laws are divided into bylaws and current ones. By-laws include the Fundamentals of Legislation of the Russian Federation and Codes. 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 in which norms are united on the basis of uniform principles that rather actively regulate a certain area of ​​social relations.

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

All laws have special properties that determine their legal force and ensure supremacy in the system of normative 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 field of politics, economics, and culture. For example, laws establish the system of legislative, executive and judicial authorities, the procedure for their organization and activity.
• 3. Laws are always normative and designed for repeated application.
• 4. Laws are distinguished by a clear structured normative material.
• 5. Laws are adopted in a special order established by the constitution and the rules of procedure of the parliament.
• 6. Laws are subject to publication and are binding on all citizens, officials, government agencies, and public organizations.
• 7. Laws can be changed or canceled only in a special order, similar to the order of their adoption.

By-laws also constitute a significant group. The first place in terms of legal force among them is taken by the 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 legal norms. Presidential decrees may be of a normative nature. According to the Constitution of the Russian Federation, presidential decrees 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 of and in pursuance of laws." In essence, the President is given the right to establish norms of the legislative level by his decrees. This is a kind of filling in the gaps in the law.

The decrees of the President are followed by the decrees of the Government. They are published on the most important issues of economic and cultural development on the basis of and pursuant to the Constitution, federal laws and presidential decrees. In the event of a conflict between the decisions of the Government and the named acts, they may be canceled by the President.

The next type is the acts of ministries and departments. These are orders, decrees, instructions. Departmental acts mainly contain norms that develop, concretize and supplement the legal prescriptions of laws and government decrees. They are acts of special competence and usually extend their action only to subordinate objects, although sometimes they can be cross-sectoral and even general in nature.

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

In the constituent entities of the federation, by-laws include regulations of the heads of the constituent entities, their governments, as well as acts of their ministries and departments.

Normative legal acts of local self-government bodies (charters of municipalities, regulations of representative bodies, orders and orders of administrations) are also referred to by-laws.

The last type of bylaws are local regulatory legal acts that are created to operate in specific organizations, institutions and enterprises, or are intended for a certain circle of people in a certain territory. For example, specific charters, internal labor regulations, job descriptions refer to local acts.

Life, that is, the effect of normative legal acts is characterized by three parameters: time, space and circle of persons.

The effect of normative legal acts in time lasts from the moment of entry into force until the moment of its loss. Acts come into force:

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

Depending on the type of normative act, Russian legislation sets different terms for the entry into force of normative acts after their publication. Thus, the laws of the Russian Federation come into force throughout the 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 regulatory nature, enter 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 specified in the act itself.

Normative acts lose their legal force as a result of various circumstances. If the act was issued for a certain period, it ceases to be valid after this period. In other cases, the regulation becomes invalid as a result of its cancellation. The cancellation of the previous normative act is indicated in a new act replacing the old one, or in a special list of acts canceled in connection with the adoption of new acts. It is possible to name a third situation when a normative legal act actually loses its force due to the issuance of a new act establishing a different procedure for legal regulation.

As a general rule, regulations are not retroactive. In practice, this means the following: when, for example, a property dispute or a crime occurs at a time when the law has not yet been repealed, although at the time of the consideration of the case, the law was canceled or amended. Exceptions without a general rule are allowed in rare cases when the legal act itself provides that it can be applied to events and actions that took place before it was issued.

In Russian law, laws that eliminate or mitigate criminal and administrative liability are retroactive.

Regarding the action in space, regulations differ depending on whether they apply to the entire territory of the country, or to some precisely defined part of it, or are intended to operate outside the country.

If we are talking about federal regulatory legal acts, then they apply to the entire territory of the Russian Federation. The state territory of Russia is understood to be the part of the globe under its sovereignty. It includes land, internal and territorial waters, the airspace above it, and the earth's interior within the state border. Objects equated to the state territory are ships and aircraft, space ships and stations carrying the Russian flag, the territory of diplomatic missions abroad, submarine cables, pipelines and other objects belonging to Russia and located in the open sea or space.

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

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

Finally, the norms of federal laws can also have extraterritorial effect, that is, they can also be applied outside Russia. For example, in relation to the protection of citizens of the Russian Federation who are outside Russia, the norms provided for by the Law of the RSFSR 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 they are brought to trial, are liable 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 in a circle of persons, then this means determining the addressee of a normatively expressed prescription.

Typically, regulations apply to all subjects of law (individuals, legal entities, government agencies, public organizations) located in a given territory. However, the scope of laws and regulations in space and in the circle of persons may not coincide. Thus, the norms of the electoral law that is compulsory throughout Russia in terms of active suffrage do not apply to minors, as well as to the mentally ill who are recognized by the court as incompetent, and / or on the day of the Voting who are serving their sentences in places of imprisonment by court verdict.

Normative legal acts can only apply to workers in a particular sector of the economy. Known, for example, statutory benefits in pension provision for workers in the coal and metallurgical industries. Normative legal acts may not apply to all citizens, but only to those of them who hold a certain official position.

The general principle of Russian law is that all individuals located on the territory of the Russian Federation are subject to it. However, there are exceptions to this rule. Firstly, there are also spheres of legal regulation, where only a citizen of Russia can act as the subject of a legal relationship. Thus, service in the Armed Forces of Russia is the sole responsibility of its citizens. Secondly, an exception is made for those foreign citizens who, in accordance with current laws and international treaties concluded by Russia, enjoy diplomatic immunity. Such persons (and these are the heads of state and government, ambassadors, envoys, chargé d'affaires, family members of diplomatic personnel, etc.) in the event 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 the normative legal acts, it must be added that the norms of one branch of law cannot extend their effect to relations regulated by the norms of another branch of law. Thus, the acts regulating property relations are not designed to regulate relations between government bodies. This is, in general, the effect of law on the subject of legal regulation.

In terms of legal force, normative acts are divided into two large groups: laws and by-laws.

Regulatory acts in Russia are subdivided:

1) Depending on the peculiarities of the legal status of the subject of law-making on:

regulatory acts of state bodies;

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

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

normative acts adopted at a referendum;

2) depending on the scope, on:

federal;

normative acts of the constituent entities of the Federation;

local government bodies;

local.

3) depending on the validity period, for:

indefinitely long-acting;

temporary.

A law is a normative act with supreme legal force, adopted in a special order 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 at referendums - in the course of a special procedure for the direct, direct expression of the will of the population on one or another, as a rule, major issue of 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. Law is a legal document containing the rules of law.
• 2. The law is the result of the lawmaking activity of the supreme body of state power (parliament, monarch, etc.) or the entire people.
• 3. The law regulates the most significant, typical, stable relations in society.
• 4. The law has supreme legal force, which is manifested in the impossibility of its cancellation by another body, except for the one that adopted, 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 a base, basis, guideline for the rule-making activity of other state bodies and courts.

Considering the law as a normative legal act - the source of law, it is necessary to distinguish it from individual acts containing individual instructions on specific, "one-off" issues, for example, appointment to a position, an order to transfer property and from interpreting acts, acts of interpretation, i.e. acts in which only an explanation of the existing norms is given, but new norms are not established.

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

Laws are subdivided into:

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

The constitutional laws include, first of all, laws that amend and supplement the Constitution, as well as laws, the need to issue which is directly stipulated by the Constitution. The 1993 Constitution of the Russian Federation named 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 constituent entity of the Russian Federation (Article 137 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation) . For constitutional laws, a more complicated procedure has been established for their passage and adoption in the Federal Assembly compared to ordinary laws. The 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 dedicated to various aspects of the economic, political, social, spiritual life of society. They, like all laws, have supreme legal force, but they themselves must comply with the Constitution and constitutional laws.

Ordinary laws, in turn, are divided into codification and current. The codification includes the Fundamentals (Basic Principles) of the legislation of the Russian Federation and codes. 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, in which norms are combined on the basis of uniform principles that regulate in sufficient detail a certain area of ​​social relations. The Code most often refers to any one branch of law (for example, the Criminal Code, the Civil Procedure Code, the Code of Administrative Offenses).

In a federal state, such as Russia, the laws of the federal and the laws of the subjects of the Federation differ. So, in addition to the federal law "On the languages ​​of the peoples of the Russian Federation" in a number of republics (Karelia, Kalmykia, etc.) that are part of the Russian Federation, adopted their own laws on languages. Federal laws apply, as a rule, throughout the Federation. In the event of a discrepancy between the law of the 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, the rights and freedoms of citizens, the form of government and state structure, the justice system, etc.

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

• 1. Foundations of the constitutional system.
• 2. Human and civil rights and freedoms.
• 3. Federated device.
• 4. President of the Russian Federation.
• 5. Federal Assembly.
• 6. Government of the Russian Federation.
• 7. The judiciary.
• 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, institution, structure. In ancient Rome, this was the name given to certain acts of imperial power.

The Constitution, as already noted, is the main source of law, containing the initial principles of the entire system of law. She has supreme 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 of and in accordance with it. Strict and exact observance of the Constitution is the highest standard of conduct for all citizens, all public associations, all state bodies.

In accordance with the Constitution, constitutional laws, also devoted to the legal foundations of the state, the state system. Constitutional laws are adopted on issues stipulated by the Constitution (for example, the Law on the State of Emergency, the Law on the Procedure for the Activities of the Government). A federal constitutional law is considered adopted if at least two thirds of the total number of deputies of the State Duma voted for it 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 within fourteen days is subject to signing by the President of the Russian Federation and promulgation.

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, other subjects of the Federation and apply only to their territory.

The division of laws into branches of law is of great importance. In accordance with this, sectoral laws should be distinguished . The most significant role in the legislative system (following the 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 laws, there are cross-sectoral laws, which contain the norms of several branches of law (for example, laws on health care, in which there are norms of administrative, civil, 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 a narrow sense, and when they talk about acts of legislation, we can talk not only about laws.

Along with the most common form - the statement 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 a wide range of legal norms on a single subject of regulation and, as a rule, by method.

Codex (codified act) is a single, consolidated, legally and logically integral, internally agreed law, another normative act that provides complete, generalized and systemic regulation of this group of social relations.

The codified acts have different names - "codes", "statutes", "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.

Sectoral codes play the main role in the legislative system , those. codified acts heading the relevant branch of legislation. These codes bring together in a single focus, bring together the main content of a particular legislative branch. All other laws, other regulations of 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 certain issues, for example, on property, pledge, were previously issued as independent acts because that consolidated act, the code (Civil Code), in which these problems should have received detailed and systemic regulation has 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 canceled.

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

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

There are the following types of by-laws:

• 1. Normative legal acts of the President of the Russian Federation. The President is the head of state, and in accordance with this, the normative legal acts (decrees) issued by him take the next place after the laws and are obligatory for execution throughout the territory of the Russian Federation. If the decree of the President contradicts the Constitution and the laws of Russia on the basis of the conclusion of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, the decree becomes invalid. Compared to laws, decrees are relatively quickly adopted and come into force.
• 2. Normative legal acts of the Government. The Government of the Russian Federation exercises executive power in the country and, in realizing this task, adopts resolutions and issues orders. Decisions that are of a normative nature or of greatest importance are issued in the form of regulations.
• 3. Normative legal acts of ministries and other federal executive bodies (departments). Their peculiarity lies in the fact that ministries and departments can issue orders and instructions containing the rules of law, in cases and within the limits provided for by the laws of the Russian Federation, presidential decrees, and government decrees. Therefore, the issuance of any departmental act should be based on a special instruction from higher authorities, although in practice it is often different.

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

These acts come into force 10 days after the day of their official publication in the newspaper Rossiyskie Vesti or in the Bulletin of Normative Acts of Federal Executive Bodies.

4. Normative acts of state authorities of the constituent entities of the Federation. Local regulations. The authorities and administrations of the constituent entities of the Federation, solving the tasks that confront them, and according to their competence, make decisions, putting them into a legal form. The normative legal acts issued by them apply only to the territory of the respective regions.

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

There are also local acts of state and non-state institutions and organizations of various forms of ownership. For legal registration, 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 link of bylaws 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 state authorities.