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In parallel, Vladimir Putin issued an instruction appointing Andrei Klishas, Pavel Krasheninnikov and Taliya Khabriyeva, co-chairs of the working group to prepare proposals for amending the Constitution of the Russia Federation, Presidential representatives at the discussion of the draft law in the two houses of the Federal Assembly of Russia.

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The draft law amending the Constitution has been prepared based on the proposals submitted by the working group to prepare amendments to the Constitution of the Russian Federation.

The draft law amending the Constitution provides for changing the text of the document to formalise mandatory requirements to officials whose responsibilities are directly connected with ensuring national security and sovereignty, including restrictions related to foreign citizenship or residence permit or any other document that allows them to live permanently in a foreign state.

For example, under the proposed amendments, candidates for the post of President of the Russian Federation must reside in Russia permanently for at least 25 years prior to the election and must hold no foreign citizenship, residence permit or any other document that allows them to live permanently in a foreign state, at the time of the election or any other time in the past.

Based on the principle of integrity of the system of state authority, similar requirements – the absence of foreign citizenship, residence permit or any other document that allows them to live permanently in a foreign state – shall be introduced to senior officials of the Russian Federation constituent entities, Federation Council members, State Duma deputies, the Prime Minister and deputy prime ministers of Russia, federal ministers and heads of other federal government bodies, as well as judges.

To protect the social rights of citizens and ensure equal opportunities for them throughout the country, Article 75 of the Constitution is to be complemented with provisions setting forth the minimum wage in the amount not lower than the subsistence minimum of the economically active population throughout the country, guaranteeing the indexation of pensions, social benefits and other social payments, and setting out the basic principles of nationwide retirement benefits.

To protect national sovereignty, it is proposed in the draft law that the decisions of interstate bodies based on the provisions of international treaties signed by the Russian Federation shall not be implemented in Russia if their interpretation contradicts the Constitution of the Russian Federation.

To make interaction between the representative and executive branches of power more effective, to strengthen the role of the State Duma and parliamentary parties, as well as to enhance the responsibility of members of the Government, it has been proposed that the Constitutional provisions on the procedure for appointing the Prime Minister and deputy prime ministers of Russia be amended to stipulate that candidates for these posts are appointed by the President following their approval by the State Duma.

A similar procedure has been proposed for the appointment of the heads of ministries whose operation is supervised by the Government.

To increase the transparency of operations of the security services and law enforcement agencies, as well as the independence of prosecution authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, the heads of federal executive authorities whose operation is supervised by the President of Russia, as well as the prosecutors of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, shall be appointed following consultations with the Federation Council.

In addition, the Federation Council is to have the power to terminate the powers of judges of the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court of Russia, the judges of the courts of cassation and appeal upon the recommendation of the President of Russia, if they are found guilty of acts that defame the honour and dignity of judges, as well as in other cases described in the federal legislation according to which the said persons can no longer perform their duties.

The role of the Constitutional Court is to be strengthened by giving it the power to analyse, at the request of the President of Russia, compliance with the Constitution of laws adopted by the two houses of the Federal Assembly before they are signed by the President.

To ensure a coordinated operation and interaction of the bodies of state authority of Russia, as well as determine the main areas of the domestic and foreign policy of Russia and the key priorities of the country’s socioeconomic development, the President of Russia shall appoint members of the State Council of the Russian Federation.

In accordance with the draft law, local governments and the bodies of state power of the Russian Federation shall constitute an integral system of public authority and shall interact with the aim of more effectively exercising their powers of nationwide importance.

The proposed amendments to the Constitution of the Russian Federation are to be put to a nationwide vote.