THE CONGRESS OF PEOPLE'S DEPUTIES

Concept of Law Enforcement Reform in the Russian Republic

  • Working document

    19.03.2024

A working group has been set up to finalize the document

I. Law enforcement agencies

The Homeland Security Service of the Russian Republic to be formed, which shall carry out counterintelligence and anti-terrorist activities on the territory of the Russian Republic in accordance with the law adopted by the Congress of People's Deputies.

The Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (FSB) to be liquidated. Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation is to transfer its property and documents to the Homeland Security Service of the Russian Republic.

The Homeland Security Service of the Russian Republic shall, within two months of its establishment, open public access to the archives of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation and subdivisions of the Main Directorate for Countering Extremism of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation with regard to information on the activities of informants, full-time and freelance agents of the above-mentioned bodies who carried out operational and investigative activities with political purposes [with regard to persons covered by the Rehabilitation Act]. Organize public access to information on the aforementioned informants and agents, including materials of their personal files, via the Internet.

Eliminate the Main Directorate for Countering Extremism and its subdivisions within the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation (Center “E” of MVD RF).

To reorganize by transformation the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation and its subordinate structures into the Department of Internal Affairs of the Russian Republic, which shall perform the functions of protecting public order and controlling compliance with the law on the territory of the Russian Republic, in accordance with the law adopted by the Congress of People's Deputies.

The Department of Internal Affairs shall establish within its structure:

  • Traffic police;
  • Drugs enforcement police to control trafficking of prohibited substances;
  • Cyber Police;
  • National Guard (to be created on the basis of the Rosgvardia).

The functions of public order protection and patrol services are transferred to the municipal level. In order to ensure law and order and public safety at the level of municipalities, local self-government bodies create local militia. The local militia is financed from the budget of the municipality.

The head of the local militia is the Commissioner of militia. Police Commissioners are elected by citizens by direct elections. A citizen of the Russian Republic permanently residing on the territory of the municipality, over 21 years of age, may become a police Commissioner.

The rights and powers of the local militia are determined by the legislation of the region (state) of the Russian Republic.

II. Investigative bodies

Transform the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation (Sledcom) into the Federal Bureau of Investigations of the Russian Republic, which shall investigate serious criminal incidents committed on the territory of the Russian Republic or affecting the interests of citizens of the Russian Republic, in accordance with the law adopted by the Congress of People's Deputies.

The head of the Federal Bureau of Investigations of the Russian Republic shall be approved and dismissed by the Parliament by nomination by the Attorney General – Minister of Justice of the Russian Republic.

The investigators of the Federal Bureau of Investigations of the Russian Republic shall work together and under the general direction of state attorneys – representatives of the Department of Justice of the Russian Republic, appointed in the manner prescribed by federal law, and who shall represent the position of the Russian Republic in the event that criminal cases are brought to court.

Investigations of offenses not falling under the jurisdiction of the Federal Bureau of Investigations of the Russian Republic shall be conducted by the police authorities of the regions of the Russian Republic in accordance with the regional legislation.

Subdivisions engaged in operational and investigative activities of serious crimes of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation and its subordinate structures shall be transferred to the Federal Bureau of Investigations of the Russian Republic.

The subdivisions of the Attorney General’s Office of the Russian Federation engaged in support of investigative activities shall be transferred to the Federal Bureau of Investigations of the Russian Republic.

[Units dealing with economic and information security] shall be transferred from the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation to the Federal Bureau of Investigations of the Russian Republic.

III. Representation of the state in courts and during law enforcement

The Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation shall be reorganized into the Department of Justice of the Russian Republic, acting in accordance with the law adopted by the Congress of People's Deputies.

The Department of Justice (Attorney General’s Office) of the Russian Republic shall be a single federal centralized system of bodies responsible for representing the Russian Republic to:

  • ensure compliance with the Constitution of the Russian Republic and the federal legislation,
  • preserve human and civil rights and freedoms,
  • supervise criminal prosecution in accordance with its powers,
  • represent the Russian Republic in national and international courts, and to provide legal support for its activities.

The powers and functions of the Attorney General’s Office of the Russian Republic, its organization and procedures shall be determined by federal law.

Functions and personnel of the Office of the Public Prosecutor of the Russian Federation and its subordinate structures shall be transferred to the Department of Justice of the Russian Republic. Prosecutor's Office of the Russian Federation shall be liquidated. The leadership of the Prosecutor's Office of the Russian Federation shall transfer its property and documents to the Department of Justice of the Russian Republic.

The head of the Department of Justice shall be the Attorney General – Minister of Justice of the Russian Republic. The heads of the regional offices of the Department of Justice in the regions (states) of the Russian Republic shall be the regional Federal Attorneys of the Russian Republic.

The Attorney General – Minister of Justice of the Russian Republic shall be appointed and dismissed by the Senate of the Russian Republic. Federal Attorneys in the regions (states) of the Russian Republic, Military Attorneys and other specialized Attorney's offices equal to Federal Attorneys of the regions (states) of the Russian Republic, special Attorneys in cases of great public importance shall be appointed by the Attorney General – Minister of Justice of the Russian Republic.

Attorneys – public representatives of the Russian Republic – shall be citizens of the Russian Republic who have a higher legal education and at least five years' experience of legal practice or being a member of the federal Parliament.

Federal Attorneys of the regions (states) of the Russian Republic shall be approved by the legislative bodies of the regions (states) of the Russian Republic and shall represent their interests in courts in accordance with the regional legislation.

Local (city, district and other) Attorneys shall be appointed by the local authorities of the Russian Republic and shall represent them in the courts in accordance with the regional legislation of the regions (states) of the Russian Republic on whose territory these municipalities are located.

The Federal Service for the Execution of Punishments shall subordinate to the Department of Justice.

The Federal Service for the Execution of Punishments shall organize the detention of citizens in respect of whom the relevant court decision has entered into force, in accordance with federal law.

Department of Justice of the Russian Republic shall immediately release the political prisoners in places of detention and imprisonment in accordance with the Rehabilitation Act.

The Federal Bailiff Service shall be subordinated to the Supreme Court of the Russian Republic.

IV. Other law enforcement and security services

The Federal Border Guard Service of the Russian Federation shall be separated from the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation and subordinated to the Department of Internal Affairs of the Russian Republic.

The State Communications and Information Service of the Russian Republic shall be separated from the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation with the following functions:

  • Ensuring the security of government and military communications
  • Ensuring secure storage of government data
  • Enabling e-government services provided by the federal state agencies of the Russian Republic

The Security Service of the President of the Russian Federation shall be subordinated to the Department of Internal Affairs of the Russian Republic and reorganized into the State Personal Protection Service of the Russian Republic, responsible for the protection of members of the Government, speakers of the chambers of the Parliament, judges of the Supreme Court, the Supreme Justice of the Supreme Court of Appeals, official foreign guests of the Russian Republic and other persons in respect of whom a decision has been made to provide personal state protection.