ON THE INVIOLABILITY AND INDIVISIBILITY OF A TERRITORY OF THE SUBJECT OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION

Constitutions (charters) of subjects of the Russian Federation affirm that a territory of these subjects is uniform and indivisible. Besides that, it is an integral part of the territory of the Russian Federation. This means that any part of the territory of the subject of the Russian Federation can’t be detached without its consent. It is necessary to conclude an agreement between heads of relevant subjects of the Russian Federation in order to change their territory, and then this agreement should be adopted by related laws of the subjects of the Russian Federation. There is often the need to hold a referendum in the subject of the Russian Federation to express consent to the change of the territory of this subject. However, the procedure of the establishment of borders between the subjects of the Russian Federation is not governed by law, and this leads to constitutional disputes as was witnessed in the Republic of Ingushetia. The authors welcome the judgment by the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Ingushetia, which has found unconstitutional the Law on the adoption of the Agreement on the establishment of borders between the Republic of Ingushetia and the Chechen Republic due to the infringement of a procedure of its acceptance. At the same time, the authors think that the judgment by the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, where the mentioned Agreement is found to be consistent with the Constitution of the Russian Federation, is not reasonable.