Vol 5, No 19 (2021)

The subject of research is the issues of improving the legislation on the judicial system, legal proceedings types, further unification of duties of general jurisdiction courts and analysis of requirements for a procedural representative. The modern legal doctrine contains legislative regulations governing various spheres of social activity. One of these areas is the regulation of the structure and regulatory legal framework of the activities of judiciary, administering justice and implementing in practice the basic principles of the legal state. Method, research methodology: we illustrate the need to improve the legislation on the judicial system and legal proceedings based on the application of comparative legal and systemic research methods. The novelty of research, main conclusions: we consider social trends leading to judicial changes, we present the corresponding opinions of scientists on this issue. As a result of the conducted scientific research, we establish that some normative legal acts regulating the types of legal proceedings, the duties of general jurisdiction courts, as well as the institution of procedural representation, need to be amended in order to bring them into line with constitutional provisions and establish precise legal and technical formulations. We especially note that this study makes it possible to assess how optimal the judicial and procedural legislation is at present and how effectively it allows for judicial protection of violated or disputed rights and simplifies citizens' access to justice.

We draw attention to the problem of excessive restriction risk of human and civil rights and freedoms in the process of establishing and applying the institution of legal responsibility by the state. We consider general theoretical issues of the concept and functions of legal responsibility. We substantiate the position on the need to separate the restrictive function from legal liability. As an intersectoral institution of Russian legislation, legal responsibility is characterized by the performance of the following functions: restrictive, preventive, guaranteeing, restorative and educational. We draw attention to the issues of legal liability proportionality in relation to its restrictive function. We disclose the content of proportionality principle in relation to legal responsibility as an intersectoral institution of legislation. We imagine that the remedy actively used in the legal policy of the state in the form of legal punishment and legal responsibility in general should correspond to the maximum extent to proportionality principle in order to prevent arbitrary and excessive restriction of rights and freedoms. Various kinds of deviations, deviations from the principle of proportionality of legal responsibility are supposed to be interpreted in theory as one of the most important prerequisites for the formation of dysfunction and imbalance of the institution in question. Violation of proportionality principle of responsibility in law is proposed to be interpreted as its dysfunction.

The study actualizes the issues of achieving drug safety for individuals and society in the context of the prevalence of methods of “hybrid” impact on their culture, consciousness and life, associated with new information technologies using social networks, the darknet, web markets, shadow types of communications. In reality, this cumulatively reinforces the antagonism of a deep conflict between state and existing international drug trafficking market. The manifestations of drug expansion, the dynamic introduction of the drug subculture, the moral disorientation of young people in the context of the global information and social processes taking place in the 21st century contribute to the strengthening of the dangerous trend of drug addiction in society. From the standpoint of the geopolitical approach and its principles, we indicate the urgency of the need for the formation of a national drug control strategy through the creation and functioning of the state anti-drug system with the implementation of a legal policy to counter the spread of drug addiction and illegal drug trafficking. This is fully answered by an integrative approach with the definition of such important components in this system as: regulatory and legal, scientific and theoretical, organizational and managerial, information, control and analytical. The study presents the forms of anti-drug activities at the federal, regional and local levels to build a systemic counteraction to drug trafficking in Russia.

At all stages of the existence of the state, one of its main tasks is the care and protection of the health of the people and the preservation of its gene pool. The solution to this problem is impossible without the direct participation of the state in creating a full-fledged and healthy family, as well as taking direct measures to prevent the birth of children with congenital diseases and diseases transmitted by inheritance, which is expressed in the legal regulation of medical examination of persons entering into marriage. We analyze the legislation of foreign countries. We state two approaches to regulating this issue, where some states adhere to the position that premarital medical examination is a right, not an obligation, while others hold the exact opposite opinion. We establish contradictions between the norms of family law and the norms of the family code with the norms of federal regulations. We identify the reasons for the lack of a mechanism for exercising the right to free medical examination of persons entering into marriage. Taking into account foreign legislation and on the basis of the identified problems of the implementation and protection of the right to free medical examination of persons entering into marriage, we propose amendments and additions to the Family Code of the Russian Federation.

We investigate the institution of term in security relations, used in the provisions of state (municipal) contracts concluded for the procurement of goods, works, services to meet state and municipal needs. The main goal is to analyze the provisions of the legislation on the contractual system in terms of comprehending the existing approach to securing in law the security obligations of counterparties of the state customer, the periods during which one or another method of securing the execution of the contract is valid, and the period during which it is provided by the supplier, contractor, executor securing both the contractual obligation and the guarantee obligation following it. We pose the problem of inconsistency in the legal regulation of the named legal institution and legal uncertainty in the application of its individual aspects, an explanation is given for this state of affairs, and we give examples of the possible formulation of conditions on the duration of security obligations in a contract. In particular, it shows cases of a “legal vacuum” in a situation with the return of funds contributed as a security for the performance of a contract, a case of a gap in the law regarding a condition on the term of provision of a guarantee, etc. The work is practice-oriented and contains examples of the possible formulation of the terms of contracts in terms of the effect of interim measures. The research methodology is based on methods of analysis and synthesis, formal legal and comparative legal methods.

We consider the features of criminal law qualification of occupying the highest position in the criminal hierarchy. We analyze the provisions of Article 210.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, as well as the points of view of legal scholars about the specifics of establishing the highest criminal status of a person. As a result of this study, it is concluded that the establishment of the place of a specific subject in the criminal hierarchy is possible in those cases when the person confirms his criminal status or the persons involved as witnesses confirm that this person has a higher position in the criminal hierarchy. We believe that when determining the subject of a given crime, it is necessary to establish such signs as the subject’s opinion regarding this status; the opinion of the persons who were part of this criminal organization regarding the position of this person in it; his possession of “powers” of an administrative nature in relation to members of this criminal group or other persons adhering to “thieves’ concepts”; the opinion of other persons with the highest position in the criminal hierarchy regarding the criminal status of the subject. At the same time, it should be recognized that there is an urgent need for a judicial interpretation of the issues of qualification of a crime provided for in Article 210.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, which necessitates the preparation of an appropriate resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation.

Dedicated to a topical topic for the penitentiary system of the Russian Federation (hereinafter referred to as the PS of the Russian Federation) – increasing the level of security, which is considered in the framework of a criminological analysis of the reasons for escaping from places of detention by a particularly considered category of convicts who are granted the right to travel without an convoy or escort. The commission of such a crime as escape not only disorganizes the activities of institutions executing punishment in the form of imprisonment, but also endangers public safety. The actions of the penitentiary system to organize a special operation to search for and arrest escaped criminals requires large material and physical costs. All this speaks of the relevance of the study, which can help in organizing preventive measures to prevent escapes. The purpose of the study was achieved by analyzing the criminal and penal legislation of the Russian Federation, analyzing official statistics, questioning and interviewing the heads of correctional institutions of the PS of the Russian Federation, as well as the special contingent; analysis of some decisions in criminal cases related to Article 313 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation for the period 2010–2020. As a result of the study, the characteristic reasons (objective and subjective) of the escapes of the investigated group of convicts were revealed, features are identified, which will allow in the future to organize preventive measures aimed at preventing and preventing escapes among convicts, who were allowed by the administration of the institution to have the right to leave the correctional institutions in order to economic service.

The study attempts to expand the content of the definition of the adversarial process in civil proceedings. Conclusion: the adversarial process in civil proceedings includes three components, which include the pre-trial activities of the parties to resolve the material legal conflict that has arisen, the direct judicial consideration of the material legal conflict that has arisen, and the activities of the parties after the judicial resolution of the conflict. Examining the content of the adversarial process when considering and resolving the material legal conflict that has arisen by the court, it is concluded that, by managing the process, the court is the organizer of the adversarial process at all stages of the consideration of the case in the court of first instance. The role of the parties in the adversarial process is limited to their participation in the proving process. Examining the adversarial process of the parties to resolve a substantive conflict before going to court, it is proposed to the legislator to expand the list of categories of cases in which the use of the pre-trial procedure for resolving a dispute is mandatory. Investigating changes in the procedural form of civil proceedings concerning the obligation of the plaintiff to refer other persons involved in the case, copies of the statement of claim and the actions of the parties to disclose evidence, we consider it expedient to secure by the legislator the application of these rules in the adversarial process of the parties before they apply judicial forms of protection.

We study the issues arising in connection with the presentation of a counterclaim by the defendant in the arbitration process. The content of the concept of a counterclaim is disclosed, its connection with the right to judicial protection is determined, and the features characteristic of this institution are highlighted. The conditions for filing counterclaims are considered. We identify some problems that arise in judicial practice when using a counterclaim as a means of protecting the defendant. It is shown that legal uncertainty leads to the lack of a common opinion among the courts regarding compliance with all the criteria necessary for filing a counterclaim, which leads to a complicated process and poor-quality consideration of the case. The inadequate level of legal regulation of the institution in question also creates problems related to the return of a counterclaim and with the appeal of the relevant court ruling. We study the judicial practice devoted to the solution of the mentioned issues. It is concluded that the right to file a counterclaim actually depends entirely on the discretion and will of the court, which often leads to its violation. Practical recommendations have been developed aimed at overcoming legal gaps in this area, optimizing and improving the current legislation in terms of filing a counterclaim.