CONSTITUTIONAL CONTROL IN THE CONSTITUENT ENTITIES OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION: PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE

At the end of 2020, the federal legislator decided to abolish the constitutional (statutory) courts of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, but retained the abstract possibility of restoring regional constitutional control in a different form. The federal constitutional law provides for the right of the constituent entity of the Russian Federation to create constitutional (statutory) councils under the representative (legislative) authorities of the constituent entity, but the status of these bodies is not explained. The great importance of constitutional review (including regional one) for any progressive state is undoubted. However, it is obvious that constitutional control in the constituent entities of the Russian Federation cannot be restored until the reasons for the abolition of regional constitutional justice have been revealed. The article considers the following preconditions for the abolition of the constitutional (statutory) courts: the federal legal regulation, the status of courts (including issues of overlapping competence), the number of cases under consideration, and funding. The article analyses the circumstances that contributed to the abolition of the constitutional (statutory) courts, and also formulates proposals concerning the status of future constitutional (statutory) councils of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation.