The Presidential Council on Developing Local Self-Government
The Presidential Council on Developing Local Self-Government, hereinafter referred to as the Council, is a deliberative assembly aiming at streamlining state policy in local self-government. The creation of this Presidential Council is no coincidence. Under Article 80 of the Russian Constitution, the President charts the state's domestic policy and foreign policy guidelines, including state policies in local self-government.
The approval of Presidential Decree No. 1451 dated November 2, 2007 and the Council Statute create an effective mechanism for facilitating state policies in local self-government and the well-coordinated function and cooperation of institutions of state authority and local self-government bodies.
The Council is chaired by the Russian President, who also approves its line-up. The Council comprises leaders of the Russian Federation's constituent and municipal entities, appointed for a period of one year, Public Chamber members, State Duma deputies and the Regional Development Minister.
The Council's deliberative assembly status determines a range of its tasks:
- preparing proposals regarding the implementation of state policy in self-government development and charting high-priority aspects of its implementation;
- examining issues regarding cooperation between federal bodies of state authority, those of the Russian Federation's constituent entities and local self-government bodies of municipal entities;
- examining federal bills and other national regulatory documents relevant to local self-government.
The Council's Presidium, headed by the Prime Minister, considers organisational, information-analytical, expert and other routine aspects of Council activities. The President approves the line-up of the Council's Presidium.
From the history of establishing councils on developing local self-government
The first 77-member Council on Developing Local Self-Government was established in 1995 by a presidential decree and was headed by the Prime Minister. Municipal entities received an opportunity to directly inform top institutions of state authority about their concepts without the State Duma's cumbersome administration.
However, the Council's work proved ineffective. In 1997, a revamped 59-member Council was established by another presidential decree and played the part of a coordinating centre for local authorities. Elective local self-government officials accounted for 51% of its members. The Council was headed by the President.
The 21-strong Presidential Department for Local Self-Government was established to facilitate the Council's activities and to draft decisions at its meetings and the relevant analytical materials used to pass regulatory documents, including Provisions of State Policy Regarding the Development of Local Self-Government in the Russian Federation that formalise a common system of concepts pertaining to the goals, high-priority aspects, tasks and principles of state policies in local self-government development and the specific mechanisms of their implementation.
