Annotations № 1 (166) / 2026

PUBLIC ISSUES AND POLITICAL SCIENCE

Arkhiereev N. (Ufa) Digital personal rights and ethical principles in the age of artificial intelligence

This article examines the ethical and legal issues arising from the use of artificial intelligence systems, as well as the development of digital individual rights. It emphasizes that algorithmic bias can reproduce and reinforce social inequality, posing new challenges to the legal system. Russian legislative mechanisms for protecting human rights and freedoms are analyzed. It is shown that existing legal mechanisms in Russia do not yet cover all aspects of discrimination caused by artificial intelligence, necessitating the development of a national doctrine and the implementation of specialized legal instruments. To address these legal challenges, it is proposed to use a new legal fiction – the quacher as a human intermediary between the real and digital worlds.

Key words: artificial intelligence, ethics, discrimination, algorithmic bias, digital rights, personal data, quacher

Dresvyanin D. (Moscow) The concept of legal design in the context of ensuring the availability of information about the activities of public authorities

The article considers the problem of applicability of the concept of legal design, which has become widespread in the activities of private law entities, to the activities of public authorities in context of increasing guarantees of accessibility of information about their activities. It is noted that in the context of the growth of the volume of information created and consumed in society, including in connection with the development of digital technologies, the existing legal guarantees of ensuring its accessibility become insufficient. This is due to the fact that the accessibility of information within the meaning of the current legal regulation does not mean its comprehensibility. At the same time, the provision of information about the activities of public authorities in an understandable form and written in an understandable language can significantly increase the effectiveness of communication between society and the state and the implementation by citizens of their rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution. In order to find ways to improve the comprehensibility of information, the concept of simple and clear language, common in world practice, and its legal regulation are studied. A conclusion is made about its connection with the concept of legal design, based on similar principles. Based on the results of studying approaches to understanding legal design and examples of the application of its individual techniques in the legal sphere of Russia, a conclusion is made about the possibility of a more active and systematic application of legal design in the activities of public authorities, which will increase the guarantees of the availability of information about their activities.

Key words: right to information, activities of public authorities, accessibility of information, clarity of information, plain language, digitalization, legal design

INTERNATIONAL LAW

Taira Nishi (Tokyo, Japan) Coincidence of selfish wills or common will? The German doctrine on the nature of international treaties

The difference between public decisions and contracts is a key factor that must be taken into account when analyzing the central structure of international law-international treaties. International treaties are similar to private law contracts: both are legally binding agreements between legal entities. This article examines the differences between the theories of agreement that existed in German international law doctrine in the late XIX and early XX century, which in historical research are traditionally grouped under the general heading of «the theory of absolute sovereignty» or «voluntarism». This study has shown that German authors analyzed the nature of international treaties in greater detail than is probably the case in contemporary scientific research, proposing several concepts (the international treaty as a contract, as an expression of common will, as a public decision). The author concludes that a multilateral approach (multilateralism) in international law can be justified in three ways: by a rational justification of harmony of interests; by introducing amendments to treaties that bridge the gap between the interests of major powers and multilateral treaties; and by qualifying multilateral treaties as public decisions.

Key words: international treaty, contract, common will, German doctrine of international law, history of international law

COMPARATIVE JURISPRUDENCE

Aldgem B., Fedosov I. (Saint-Petersburg) Mechanisms of the realization of the right to housing in the Islamic law

The article is devoted to the analysis of the concept of the right to housing from the point of view of the European interpretation of subjective human rights and their analogues in Islamic law. Parallels and comparisons are drawn between these concepts, the origin of the right to housing in the Islamic religion and Muslim law is traced and explained, historical and theological explanations of the origins of the emergence of the right to housing in the Islamic legal order are given. Based on the sources of Muslim law and scientific doctrine, the authors list the main mechanisms for implementing the right to housing in Muslim law and give examples of the practical implementation of this subjective right within the framework of the named civil law structures – contracts used in the Islamic economy and facilitating the implementation of this right.

Key words: Muslim law, civil law, Islam, Sharia, Fiqh, right to housing, murabaha, musharaka, mudaraba, istisna

Siryakov A. (Moscow) The constitutional guidelines for imprisonment in Spain

This article explores the constitutional nature of criminal punishment in Spain. According to the Spanish Constitution imprisonment and other security measures are aimed at re-education and social reintegration. Attention is drawn to the Spanish doctrine and the position of the Spanish Constitutional Court, as there is no legal definition of re-education and social reintegration in Spanish legislation. Answers have been formulated to some fundamental questions about the legal nature, obligation and range of individuals subject to re-education and social reintegration. Re-education and social reintegration are not the rights of convicts; they are goals of imprisonment, apply to the penitentiary system and do not require their achievement. The article attempts to compare the goals of criminal punishment in Spain, the RSFSR and modern Russia, taking into account the fundamental concepts of dealing with criminals. The ideas of «re-education – social reintegration » and «re-education – correction» have been replaced by the concepts of resocialization / non-desocialization (Spain) and correction (Russia). Attention is drawn to the stability of the constitutional norm on the purposes of punishment in Spain as a factor that makes it difficult to meet the modern demands of the state and society.

Key words: goals of punishment, re-education, social reintegration, resocialization, Spain

CONSTITUTIONAL LAW AND PROCEDURE

Poyarkov S. (Mendeleevo) Transformative constitutionalism and constitutional law: the drive towards a social project

The article analyzes the evolution of constitutional legal understanding from traditional normative constitutionalism towards the model of transformative constitutionalism, which views the Constitution not as a static document enshrining the existing order, but as an active instrument of social transformation aimed at realizing the values of equality, justice and inclusiveness. The author elucidates the essence of this emerging legal paradigm, shaped by globalization, digitalization and growing social inequality, emphasizing its contrast with classical liberal constitutionalism grounded in formal equality and legal neutrality. Drawing on examples from South Africa, Colombia, India and Latin American countries, the article demonstrates how judicial bodies become key agents of transformation by interpreting constitutional norms in terms of positive state obligations and enforcing socioeconomic rights. Special attention is given to the role of constitutional courts as institutions capable of transcending formal oversight and influencing public policy. Within the context of the Russian legal reality, the article examines the prerequisites, potential and limitations for adopting elements of transformative constitutionalism, including the axiological orientation of the 1993 Constitution and the 2020 amendments, as well as the restrained nature of judicial practice. It is noted that the realization of transformative potential in Russia is hindered by institutional conservatism, a weak legal culture and insufficient societal engagement. The conclusion emphasizes the necessity of reinterpreting the Constitution as a living, dynamic social project requiring institutional maturity, strategic planning and dialogue between the state and society to effectively implement just transformations.

Key words: transformative constitutionalism, normative order, social project, constitutional transformation, legal inclusiveness

Gorbacheva S. (Nizhny Novgorod) Guarantees of citizens’ rights in the context of digitalization: legal protection mechanisms and accessibility of electronic services

The article examines modern legal mechanisms for ensuring and exercising the constitutional right of citizens to petition public authorities in the context of digitalization. It analyzes recent legislative changes related to the transition to electronic petitions, including the mandatory identification of applicants through official state information systems. The author explores the new challenges posed by the digital environment, such as threats to personal data confidentiality, the risks of formalized petition review caused by the use of artificial intelligence and algorithmic systems and the problem of digital inequality that limits access to electronic services for certain social groups. The study substantiates the need for a comprehensive renewal of legal guarantees, including the establishment of the right to «human participation» in automated petition processing, the introduction of shortened timeframes for electronic petitions, the strengthening of personal data protection and the development of mechanisms for digital inclusion. The author proposes the adoption of a new Federal Law on Digital Petitions to comprehensively regulate issues of identification, data protection, accessibility and procedural timing. The paper concludes that digitalization should enhance citizens’ trust in the state and ensure equal opportunities for all in exercising their right to petition. The concept of new digital guarantees is presented as a necessary condition for preserving justice and the effectiveness of the petitioning institution in the XXI century.

Key words: right to petition, digitalization, electronic services, personal data, artificial intelligence, accessibility

Polyakov S., Komarovskaya S. (Perm) Constitutional lottery

In the article the authors present results of an abortive search for juridical technical grounds for the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation to accept for consideration citizens’ appeals against unconstitutional nature of law provisions in the sense, which is given them by the official or another interpretation, including resolutions of specific cases or by existing law enforcement practice. In the resolution part of the Constitutional Court judgements, adopted on the ground of the part 2 of the Art. 74 of the Federal Constitutional Law № 1-FCL dated 21 July 1994 «About the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation», one can see conformation of constitutional nature of literal interpretation of law provisions and indication that changes made by judicial practice contradict constitutional interpretation. The authors reveal in these judgements that judicial practice has made changes in structural elements of logical legal norm presented in contested law provisions. However, the Constitutional Court adopts negative admissibility decisions for many appeals against judicial lawmaking contra legem in spite the fact that they clearly indicate that judicial practice has changed logical legal norm structural elements presented in law provisions.

Key words: logical legal norm, law, judicial lawmaking, judgement, admissibility decision, Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation

LOCAL SELF-GOVERNMENT AND MUNICIPAL LAW

Somikov K. (Nadym) Regulation of interaction of local self-government bodies in the field of crime prevention

This article provides a brief analysis of the implementation of the provisions of the Law of the Russian Federation on the Amendment to the Constitution of the Russian Federation dated 14 March 2020 No. 1-FKZ «On Improving the Regulation of Certain Issues of the Organization and Functioning of Public Authority» in terms of legal and organizational and procedural problems in the field of the prevention of offenses arising in the activities of local governments, based on the provision in the system of public authorities. The article analyzes in aggregate the multilaterally interrelated norms of laws that establish the general principles of organizing local self-government and the foundations of the crime prevention system, which may have been the harbingers of certain amendments to the Constitution of the Russian Federation, expressed in the consolidation of the term «interaction». Due to the lack of a definition of the concept designated by this term in the legislation, an attempt has been made to determine its content based on the need to clarify the constitutional and legal meaning as fundamental. The context of the use of the term «interaction» in Federal Law dated 6 October 2003 No. 131-FZ (as amended on 13 December 2024) «On the General Principles of Organizing Local Self-Government in the Russian Federation » and in Federal Law dated 23 June 2016 No. 182-FZ (as amended on 8 August 2024) «On the Fundamentals of the Crime Prevention System in the Russian Federation» is compared, as a result of which the difference in its content from that given in the Constitution of the Russian Federation is obvious. Partially effective from 19 June 2025 Federal Law dated 20 March 2025 No. 33-FZ «On the General Principles of the Organization of Local Self-Government in the Unified System of Public Authority», which develops the novelties of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, did not clarify the understanding of the term «interaction» in relation to local governments. The significant impact of decisions taken as a result of the interaction of public authorities on the execution of their powers requires legal regulation of this process. In legislation regulation of this area is incomplete due to its limitations and fragmentation. Being an integral element of the system of public authorities, local self-government bodies in the field of crime prevention only rarely act as independent entities and are able to exercise a number of powers exclusively jointly with state authorities (federal and regional). The article also touches upon the legal problems that arise in the activities of a significant number of collegial bodies of «law enforcement and preventive orientation», referred to in legislation as municipal coordinating bodies in the field of crime prevention.

Key words: local government bodies, interaction, coordination, municipal coordination bodies

CRIMINAL LAW AND PROCEDURE

Dubrovin V., Dubrovina E. (Moscow) Competition of norms in the criminal legislation of the Russian Federation: on the example of Art. 75 and part 1 of Art. 76.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and notes to Art. 198–199 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation

Modern criminal legislation contains a number of norms that regulate similar social relations and may be in competition with each other, even in matters of exemption from criminal liability that are subject to several articles from the General and Special Parts of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. This article focuses on the relationship between the provisions of Art. 75, part 1 of Art. 76.1 and the notes to Art. 198–199 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, which regulate the issues of exemption from criminal liability for tax crimes, taking into account the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation, the Tax Code of the Russian Federation and the explanations of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation.

Key words: criminal law, tax crimes, exemption from criminal liability, active repentance, compensation for damage to the budget system, competition of norms, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation

Azarenok N. (Yekaterinburg) The use of videoconferencing systems in the preliminary investigation of domestic criminal proceedings as a guarantee of ensuring a balance of public and private interests

Domestic criminal proceedings have historically formed as a production of a mixed (Romano-Germanic) type and therefore are subject to improvement not on the basis of its restructuring into an adversarial process of the Anglo-Saxon model, but in the direction of ensuring a balance of public and private interests. This is the methodological basis for the introduction of all modern digital technologies into criminal procedural activity, including videoconferencing systems. The article considers the issues of using a remote format in a modern preliminary investigation. Based on the formal and legal analysis of the current legislation, the positions of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation and the criminal procedural doctrine the author’s approach to further improving the use of videoconferencing systems in preliminary investigation is proposed. It is also substantiated that both investigative actions and other procedural actions at the stage of preliminary investigation can be carried out in this order.

Key words: balance of public and private interests, videoconferencing systems, procedural actions, investigative actions, preliminary investigation

CIVIL LAW AND PROCEDURE

Pikin V. (Yekaterinburg) To the question of reviewing the amount of judicial penalty

Nowadays judicial penalty is increasingly discussed among legal scholars as a measure of responsibility, driven by its active use in the Russian legal system. Courts when awarding a sum of money to a creditor upon their application fulfill one of the main goals of legal proceedings – the protection and restoration of the violated rights of the interested party. However situations are possible where the awarded amount of judicial penalty does not motivate the debtor to perform the obligation in kind, which creates problems both in theory and practice. Furthermore, the doctrine does not unequivocally resolve the issue of the possibility of reviewing the established amount of judicial penalty. This article also examines the problem of changing the awarded amount of judicial penalty and defining the appropriate procedure for its modification. The author believes that a review of the judicial penalty amount is permissible through the filing of a separate, independent application for the award of a judicial penalty, rather than through the mechanism of changing the method of enforcement of the court judgment. In addition it seems advisable to introduce into the Russian legal system the French model of establishing the amount of judicial penalty, which initially allows for the award of a preliminary judicial penalty, followed by a final judicial penalty if the debtor fails to comply with the court order.

Key words: judicial penalty, review, enforcement, size, proportionality, reasonableness

Rusinova E. (Yekaterinburg) New claims in the court of appeal

The article investigates the phenomenon of emergence of new claims in the appellate court as a result of violation of the rules of procedural law by the court of first instance in connection with the plaintiff’s exercise of the right to clarify the claim. The reasons for the lack of a unified approach in the explanations of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation to the recommended procedural actions of the appellate court in response to this judicial error in civil, arbitration and administrative proceedings are studied. The ways of correcting a judicial error leading to the emergence of new claims at the stage of appellate review are investigated from the point of view of the right to judicial protection and a fair trial, the rules of concentration of the process, the purposes of appellate proceedings. When formulating conclusions about the preferable model for correcting judicial errors associated with limiting the plaintiff’s right to formulate a claim in the court of first instance that fully satisfies his legal interest, the tendency to combine the features of a complete and incomplete appeal in modern procedural law is taken into account.

Key words: appellate proceedings, judicial error, change of subject or basis of claim, change of amount of claim, going beyond stated claims, powers of appellate court

ECONOMICS AND LAW

Bakirey A. (Moscow) Legal regulation of demand-responsive transport: the experience of the European Union and prospects for the Russian Federation

The development of digital technologies has led to the development of new forms of transport services, among which demand-responsive transport (DRT) holds a special place. Characterized by the absence of strictly fixed routes, stopping points, and/or schedules, DRT can flexibly respond to fluctuations in travel demand. Unlike a number of foreign countries, the Russian Federation lacks legal regulation for DRT, which hinders its development. Taking into account international experience and the specific characteristics of the current status of various types of transportation in Russian legislation forms the basis for developing proposals to address this legal gap. The research employed the comparative legal method to analyze the legislation of EU member states and the Russian Federation, as well as the formal legal method to interpret legal norms. The comparative legal analysis revealed the absence of a unified approach to the legal regulation of DRT in the EU. As a rule, DRT is classified as public transportation. However, in some states it is defined as an independent type of transportation, while in others it is considered a subtype of regular services. Requirements for routes, schedules and stopping points also vary. Based on the conducted analysis and the correlation of its results with the current model of legal regulation for passenger road transport in the Russian Federation, specific proposals for the legal regime of DRT have been formulated. A key proposal is to establish a two-tier regulatory model: enshrining basic definitions and principles at the federal level and detailing the regulations for DRT at the regional level.

Key words: demand-responsive transport (DRT), regular services, public transportation, European Union, comparative legal analysis

PROCURACY SUPERVISION

Ergashev E., Konev Yu. (Yekaterinburg) The prosecutor’s decision to initiate disciplinary proceedings: realities and prospects

The article presents a study of the grounds for fixing in the legislation on the prosecutor’s office of the Russian Federation the prosecutor’s decision to initiate disciplinary proceedings as a separate act of prosecutorial response. The purpose of the article is due to the problems existing in the legislation that negatively affect the competence of the prosecutor’s office to ensure the rule of law. The authors reveal the problems of modern legal regulation of the powers and legal means of the prosecutor’s office, which deprive the supervisory authority of the ability to effectively ensure the rule of law. They highlight and analyze the positions of other researchers on the issue of disciplinary prosecution by the prosecutor of an employee who committed violations of the law. It is proposed to amend the Federal Law «On the Prosecutor’s Office of the Russian Federation» and the Labour Code of the Russian Federation, reflecting in them certain powers of the prosecutor and the means of prosecutorial response in the form of a specific supervisory act of the prosecutor – the decision to initiate disciplinary proceedings.

Key words: prosecutor’s office, prosecutor, employer, employee, competence of the prosecutor’s office, powers of the prosecutor, legal means, means of prosecutorial response, act of prosecutorial response, resolution on initiation of disciplinary proceedings, Law on the Prosecutor’s Office of the Russian Federation, Labour Code of the Russian Federation

LABOUR AND SOCIAL LAW

Safonov V. (Saint-Petersburg) Relations in the sphere of social partnership: legal nature

The article examines social relations regulated in the process of cooperation between representatives of subjects of social partnership, as well as social relations arising during the implementation of this cooperation. The practice of social partnership in the Russian Federation is not limited to the regulation of labour relations and other relations directly related to them, expanding the subject of collective bargaining regulation to include not only economic but also other relations that have only an indirect impact on labour relations. The totality of these relationships, arising from the organization and use of hired labour, ensuring its protection and efficiency, is commonly referred to as social and labour relations. In turn, relationships arising from the participation of employee representatives in labour management, particularly in connection with their participation in establishing working conditions, are considered a special group of relationships within the system of labour law. Based on the analysis of the names of the terms describing these relations, the author comes to the conclusion that it is necessary to call these relations collective organizational and labour relations. As a result of the conducted research, the author comes to the conclusion that these relations arising between representatives of employees and employers are of a private law nature. Relationships regarding contractual regulation of social and labour relations, in which public authorities participate, have a dualistic nature, combining elements of public and private law.

Key words: social partnership, employee representatives, employer, public authorities, social and labour relations, private law

PROBLEMS OF LEGAL SCIENCE AND EDUCATION

Smakhtin E. (Tyumen) Formation of general theoretical understandings of criminalistics by Lomonosov Moscow State University scholars

The article provides a brief summary of the main scientific ideas of forensic scientists at Lomonosov Moscow State University, who were at the origins of forensic science. I. N. Yakimov was the first head of the Department of Forensic Science at Lomonosov Moscow State University. The scientist is associated with the naming of the science and the formation of its sections: forensic technique and forensic tactics. Ivan Nikolaevich also anticipated the emergence of forensic methodology, as he was one of the first forensic scientists to identify the general method for crime investigation and its application to specific categories of offenses. Sergey Aleksandrovich Golunsky strengthened the department’s staff and methodologically substantiated the prospects for the development of criminalistics as a science and academic discipline in one of the first textbooks on forensic science published in 1959. Alexander Nikolaevich Vasilyev headed the department from 1960 to 1985. During this period, there were active discussions about the subject and nature of criminology, as well as its methodology. Professor A. N. Vasilyev methodologically substantiated the legal nature of criminology and determined its relationship with other criminal law disciplines. From 1985 to 2012 the department was headed by Nikolai Pavlovich Yablokov, a follower and continuator of A. N. Vasilyev’s scientific ideas. During this period the understanding of the subject, nature and methodology of forensic science was deepened and expanded. A significant amount of both scientific and educational literature was published. In 2012 I. V. Alexandrov became the head of the Department of Forensic Science. Igor Viktorovich developed a methodology for investigating tax crimes and initiated the publication of a five-volume textbook on criminalistics. Since 2020 the department has been headed by Igor Mikhailovich Komarov, who has carefully preserved the traditions of the department and has creatively enriched the most important general theoretical concepts of criminalistics related to its subject, language and criminalistic-based thinking.

Key words: criminology, subject, object, methodology, tactics, technique