Our Opinion

COMPLAINT

on violations of the rights of citizens in Russia to:

— freedom of thought;

— association with others;

— freedom of opinion and expression;

in view of:

— illegal restriction of human rights activities in Russia;

— unjustified persecution of independent human rights organizations.

PDF version of Complaint is here

The Human Rights Council

CP@ohchr.org

The Human Rights Committee

Petitions@ohchr.org

Special Rapporteur

on the situation of human rights defenders

defenders@ohchr.org

Special Rapporteur

on the rights to freedom of

peaceful assembly and of association

freeassembly@ohchr.org

Special Rapporteur

on the promotion and protection of

the right to freedom of opinion and expression

freedex@ohchr.org

Special Rapporteur

on the independence of judges and lawyers

srindependencejl@ohchr.org

Special Rapporteur

on the promotion of truth, justice,

reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence

srtruth@ohchr.org

Independent Expert

on the promotion of a democratic

and equitable international order

ie-internationalorder@ohchr.org

COMPLAINT

Information concerning the author of the communication

NGO Х — NGO Yakutia — Our Opinion

in Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations

First Name, Last Name of Chief of NGO Yakutia — Our Opinion: Stepan Petrov

Nationality: Sakha, indigenous people of Russian Federation

Address for correspondence on this complaint:

box 70, post office 27, Yakutsk, Republic Sakha (Yakutia), Russian Federation 677027

Tel: +7(914)224-24-11

E-mail: post@yakutian.org, nashe_mnenie@mail.ru

Website: http://yakutian.org

Submitting the complaint:

On the author’s own behalf: Х

Complaint is made in the interest of Stepan Petrov, citizen of Russian Federation, whose rights guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights has been violated.

Information on the State concerned

Russian Federation

SUMMARY OF VIOLATIONS

3.1. The essence of violations

A critical situation has arisen in Russia with human rights and, in particular, with the rights of those who protect them.

Many independent human rights organizations are currently being unreasonably harassed. They are subjected to significant fines, restrictions on participation in public life and forced closure.

Officials staged a real terror against non-governmental organizations and civil society in Russia.

In the Russian Federation, there are violations of the rights of citizens to:

— freedom of thought;

— association with others;

— freedom of opinion and expression;

in view of:

— illegal restriction of human rights activities in Russia;

— unjustified persecution of independent human rights organizations.

At national level, effective measures are not taken to eliminate them.

In these circumstances the rights and freedoms of individuals and citizens guaranteed by international law, as reflected primarily in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, are violated.

3.2. Articles of the Covenant or Convention alleged to have been violated

I, Stepan Petrov state that my following rights are violated:

— the right to freedom of thought;

— the right to association with others;

— the right to freedom of opinion and expression

(this right includes freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas by any means and regardless of frontiers).

These rights are guaranteed by Articles 18, 19, 20 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Articles 18, 19, 22 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

It also violates article 29 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which provides that everyone shall be subject only to such limitations as are determined by law solely for the purpose of securing due recognition and respect for the rights and freedoms of others and of meeting the just requirements of morality, public order and the general welfare in a democratic society

in view of the fact that restriction of human rights activities in Russia, persecution of civil activists and independent human rights organizations are unjustified.

Exhaustion of domestic remedies

For a long time, representatives of civil society and non-governmental organizations in Russia have appealed to the Russian state authorities with proposals to eliminate these violations.

However, it was denied.

Moreover, repressive laws and punitive law enforcement practices against the human rights community in Russia are only getting stronger.

These and other urgent problems require solutions at the state level.

But their solution at national level is difficult because the state administration system is not interested in real solving problems and protecting the rights of citizens.

I have appealed with Statements on abolition of repressive laws (in the form of anti-corruption examinations) to the relevant authorities:

-state authorities: the General Prosecutor’s Office of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation, the State Duma of the Russian Federation, the Federation Council of the Russian Federation;

-interested bodies: Commissioner for Human Rights, Presidential Council for the Development of Civil Society and Human Rights;

-The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation.

However, it was refused everywhere.

Facts of the complaint

Russian state bodies are not able to ensure the rights of citizens, and independent human rights defenders are subjected to unlawful prosecution.

Powerlessness of the population is amplified in the conditions of widespread corruption in all state bodies and of systematic destruction of independent human rights organizations — one of the few forces that can resist corrupt officials, law enforcement officials and judges.

One of the reasons for this situation is that

currently in Russia the priorities of policy of countering threats to state security are incorrectly set.

The activities of a number of human rights organizations have been unlawfully and unreasonably ranked as such threats.

The fallacy of this lies in the fact that their activities are aimed at protecting the legitimate rights of Russian citizens and interests of the state.

The activities of human rights organizations, by definition, cannot be contrary to state interests, but rather help to strengthen the rule of law in the country.

However, in recent years, a number of unlawful legislative changes have been adopted that restrict the activities of human rights organizations of Russia.

Unfortunately, some officials pose an imaginary threat from independent NGOs and initiate their pressure through repressive laws and punitive law enforcement practices.

As a result, instead of helping people, human rights organizations of Russia are forced to fend off unjustified attacks by state bodies.

The real threat to Russia’s state security is posed by extremist and terrorist organizations, as well as international transnational crime, and not non-governmental organizations.

In general, the Russian law enforcement agencies effectively counter extremist, terrorist and criminal threats.

Russian authorities maintain a register of extremist and terrorist organizations.

The Russian Ministry of Justice publishes lists of organizations recognized by the courts as extremist.

The Federal Security Service of Russia publishes the Unified Federal List of organizations, including foreign and international organizations, recognized in accordance with the legislation as terrorist.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia together with Interpol keeps records of international criminals and works to counteract their illegal activities.

Thus, all potentially dangerous entities are registered. The country has a comprehensive system of preventive deterrence measures, including the monitoring of sources of financing for extremist, terrorist organizations and of channels for legalizing criminal proceeds.

All current threats to Russia’s state security are successfully regulated within the framework of the existing criminal law and other special laws.

And there is no need to adopt any additional laws and measures.

However, some officials unlawfully attribute independent human rights organizations and individual Russian civil activists to threats to state security that mislead the public.

One of the main justifications for adopting laws restricting the activities of independent human rights organizations is the need to counter influence from outside, that is, from foreign states, primarily the United States and Western European countries.

Allegedly independent human rights organizations are working to realize the interests of foreign states. But that is not true.

The activities of most independent human rights organizations in Russia are aimed at realizing the rights and freedoms of citizens guaranteed by Russian and international law.

In the context of international human rights work, we are talking about the influence of independent NGOs on the Russian authorities with the aim of observing and implementing the international legal obligations assumed within the framework of ratified international treaties and of membership in international organizations.

However, some senior officials are engaged in legal nihilism and voluntarism, unilaterally rejecting the obligations assumed by Russia and denying the universally recognized international principles of law.

It simply discredits Russia in the eyes of the world community and has nothing to do with protecting national interests.

This is comparable, for example, with a situation where a driver who violates the traffic rule will deny his guilt, not recognize the laws and blame “imaginary enemies” for everything.

Thus, the actions of some Russian officials to discredit and pressure independent human rights organizations do not have any reasonable justification.

They are only illegal attempts to hide gross violations of human rights in Russia.

In fact, independent human rights organizations that reveal violations of human rights in Russia through national and international legal instruments are urgently needed by the state, as they:

-show opposition to legal nihilism and voluntarism;

-oppose the arbitrariness and lawlessness of corrupt officials, law enforcement officers and judges;

-reveal problem areas and offer solutions to problems;

-provide a balance of interests between state and society.

Therefore, the accusations by some Russian officials against independent human rights organizations that they work for foreign states and Western intelligence agencies are untenable, pursuing the goal of avoiding responsibility and hiding their inaction.

Simply put, officials guilty of misconduct or unwilling to work properly blame independent human rights defenders revealing their violations and shortcomings in illegal activities.

Leading human rights organizations in Russia have been unlawfully persecuted.

In November 2019, the following NGOs were illegally liquidated:

-the All-Russian Public Movement «For Human Rights», the head is Lev Ponomarev;

-the Interregional Public Organization “Center for Assistance to Indigenous Minorities of the North”, the head is Rodion Sulyandziga.

On November 1, 2019, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation liquidated the NGO “For Human Rights”.

The Ministry of Justice demanded to liquidate the movement «For Human Rights» for violations discovered by it in the framework of an unscheduled inspection and which the NGO did not eliminate in due time. It was also mentioned about the administrative fines imposed under the law on «foreign agents».

According to the expert of the Council under the President of Russia for the Development of Civil Society and Human Rights Sergei Krivenko, violations are insignificant and cannot serve as a reason for the closure of NGOs.

The following violations were the reasons for the liquidation:

Differences in the address of location of the Movement.
The OKVED codes of the Movement are incorrectly indicated in the Unified State Register of Legal Entities.
Violations in the minutes of the Congress.
Incorrect execution of regional protocols on the election of delegates to the congress.
The movement does not provide complete and reliable information about its regional branches.
The Ministry of Justice has not received information about the local branches of the Movement.
The protocol (decision) on the convocation of the VIII Extraordinary Congress, determination of the quota for the representation of delegates at this Congress has not been submitted to the Ministry of Justice.
The minutes of the meeting of the Council of the Movement do not reflect the issues discussed by the Council.
An auditor instead of the Control and Auditing Commission.
Regional branches of the Movement did not submit information to the Ministry of Justice about the change in the name of the Movement.
The Ministry of Justice is not satisfied with the register of participants presented by the Movement.
Submission of documents during the inspection.
Inconsistency of the norms of the Movement’s charter with the current legislation.

The organization has repeatedly made efforts to eliminate violations: it made the necessary changes to the Unified State Register of Legal Entities, brought the organization’s charter in accordance with current legislation, and so on, but all of them were rejected by the state registrar.

At the court session, the lawyers petitioned to postpone the consideration of the case and hold the trial after the next congress of the NGO, at which the organization could eliminate some of the violations. However, this was refused.

The leadership of the Movement said that this is a political order to liquidate an independent human rights organization that has achieved results in a number of high-profile cases.

On November 6, 2019, the Moscow City Court ruled to liquidate the Interregional Public Organization «Center for Assistance to Indigenous Minorities of the North».

The reason for the liquidation was formal violations related to the legal address of the organization, the inconsistency of the Charter with new legislation, and the conduct of educational courses.

The organization has repeatedly made efforts to eliminate violations: the Center provided documents to eliminate these shortcomings, but the Moscow City Court refused to give time to make changes.

The leadership of the NGO stated that the real reason for the liquidation was the restriction of human rights activities to defend rights of the peoples of the North, Siberia and the Far East.

In both cases, the following points should be emphasized that indirectly indicate the formation of a negative targeted policy to suppress civil society:

1.) formal insignificant violations became the reasons for their liquidation;

2.) organizations made every effort to eliminate violations: they submitted all the necessary documents and substantiated all their arguments , which indicates that there was no intent to violate the requirements of the law;

3.) the court and officials refused to give time to eliminate violations, showing a formalist and malicious approach;

4.) the leadership of the organizations assesses the liquidation as unjustified, illegal and carried out with the aim of suppressing independent human rights organizations;

5.) the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation deliberately and unreasonably abandoned acceptable measures of influence, for example, suspension of activities until the deficiencies are eliminated.

Also, the insolvency of claims against these organizations was proved by me as a result of the independent anti-corruption examination of Federal Law No.82 «On Public Associations», Order of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation No.456 on December 30, 2011.

I analyzed the situation and made an objective, well-grounded conclusion that the law enforcement practice of the Ministry of Justice of Russia on liquidation of NGOs contradicts the Constitution, instructions from the highest judicial bodies of Russia and the norms of international law.

The main reasons for the unjustified compulsory liquidation of NGOs are the absence in the legislation of:

1.) clarification of the concepts of “repeated and gross violations”;

2.) reasonable deadlines for submitting documents for verification and elimination of violations.

This not only violates the rights of public organizations, but also violates the instructions of the highest judicial bodies of Russia:

-of the Presidium of the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation on the inadmissibility of liquidation of a legal entity in the event that the violations committed by it are of an insignificant nature or the harmful consequences of such violations have been eliminated;

— of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation on the inadmissibility of liquidation of a legal entity only on a formal basis — due to repeated violations of mandatory legal acts.

As a result, this leads to arbitrary unjustified compulsory liquidation of NGOs in violation of Articles 30, 55 and 46 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation.

We need to stop the repressive policy towards independent human rights organizations — the last bastion of civil rights in Russia.

It is they who are able to direct the protest mood into a constructive legal channel.

Now social apathy, distrust of the authorities and sense of hopelessness are growing among the Russian population. Amid worsening socioeconomic status, chronic violation of civil, economic, social and other human rights, the situation becomes critical.

Protest moods are growing, people are driven to despair and are ready for any destructive actions.

Situation in Russia may simply get out of control and become uncontrollable, which can lead to massive uncontrolled acts of violence.

In this case, the entire burden of responsibility for the situation in the country will fall on the highest authorities of Russia.

Based on the foregoing

I propose abolishing repressive laws and ending punitive law enforcement practices in relation to independent human rights organizations in Russia.

Violation of my rights to:

— freedom of thought;

— association with others;

— freedom of opinion and expression

(this right includes freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas by any means and regardless of frontiers)

is that:

I am not allowed

to unite (exercise freedom of association with others) and

to express freely thoughts and opinion (freely seek, receive and impart information and ideas by any means and regardless of frontiers)

together with other civil society subjects such as:

-independent human rights organizations,

-independent human rights defenders,

-independent politicians,

-citizens with an active civil position,

-officials involved in combating corruption,

as their rights are violated by the following 9 repressive laws, which:

— create opportunities for unlawful restriction of activities of objectionable non-governmental organizations, including those with international participation:

Federal Law No.82 «On Public Associations», the subordinate legal act — Order of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation No.456 on December 30, 2011

which create conditions for unjustified forced liquidation of NGOs and

which led to liquidation of the human rights organizations «For Human Rights» and “Center for Assistance to Indigenous Minorities of the North”;

Federal Law No.7 «On Non-Profit Organizations»

which creates conditions for arbitrary, unjustified and unlawful prosecution of any objectionable NGO with foreign funding and

which led to liquidation of a number of the independent human rights organizations in Russia;

Federal Law No.272 »On measures to influence individuals involved in violations of fundamental human rights and freedoms, rights and freedoms of citizens of the Russian Federation»

which creates conditions for arbitrary, unjustified and unlawful prosecution of citizens and organizations for interacting with foreign or international non-governmental organizations and

which led to liquidation of a number of the independent human rights organizations in Russia;

— create opportunities for illegal criminalization of human rights activities at international and national level:

Article 282 of the Criminal Code of Russia

which creates conditions for illegal arbitrary qualification of human rights activities at the national level as extremist activities and

which led to illegal prosecution of a number of independent human rights defenders;

Article 275 of the Criminal Code of Russia

which creates conditions for illegal arbitrary qualification of human rights activities at the international level as high treason and espionage and

which led to illegal prosecution of a number of independent human rights defenders;

Draft norm on liability for aiding imposition of sanctions

which creates conditions for unlawful arbitrary qualification of human rights activities at the international level as hostile activities that constitute a criminal act and

which could lead to illegal prosecution of a number of independent human rights defenders;

— create opportunities to limit free elections, freedom of picketing, anti-corruption initiative of officials:

Federal Law No.67 «On Basic Guarantees of Electoral Rights and the Right to Participate in a Referendum of Citizens of the Russian Federation»

which creates conditions for gross and massive violations of the principle of free and fair elections and

which led to non-admission and removal of a number of independent politicians;

Federal Law No.54 «On meetings, rallies, demonstrations, marches and pickets»

which creates conditions for arbitrary, unjustified and unlawful prosecution of bona fide picketers due to intentional malicious actions of third parties and

which led to illegal prosecution of a number of citizens with an active civil position;

Federal Law «On the State Civil Service of the Russian Federation»

which creates conditions for illegal prosecution and dismissal of officials who report corruption and require the restoration of legality and

which led to illegal prosecution and dismissal of a number of officials.

In particular, I can not organize effective and socially useful interaction with the leading human rights organizations in Russia:

— «For Human Rights»,

— «Center for Assistance to Indigenous Minorities of the North»,

as legal entities due to their liquidation.

Thus, the heads of the human rights organizations «For Human Rights» Lev Ponomarev and the Interregional Public Organization «Center for Assistance to Indigenous Minorities of the North» Rodion Sulyandziga

as officials, were repeatedly, unlawfully and unreasonably subjected to various types of punishment

in violation of article 29 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which provides that everyone shall be subject only to such limitations as are determined by law solely for the purpose of securing due recognition and respect for the rights and freedoms of others and of meeting the just requirements of morality, public order and the general welfare in a democratic society.

I have appealed with Statements on abolition of repressive laws (in the form of anti-corruption examinations) to the relevant authorities:

-interested bodies: Commissioner for Human Rights, Presidential Council for the Development of Civil Society and Human Rights;

-The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation.

However, it was refused everywhere.

Excerpts from anti-corruption examinations are provided below as annexes.

There are also links to their full version.

Some of the government’s responses are available at

https://bit.ly/2EuLYUQ (in russian).

In some cases, there were simply no responses to requests.

Most of the replies are simple snide response.

I tried to appeal in court against one of the repressive laws No.272, but the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation refused to consider the case on formal grounds.

Taking into account the bias of the Russian justice system, it is possible to predict further unsuccessful attempts to change repressive laws in court.

The statement of claim to the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation and the judgment are available at

https://bit.ly/2Ypn68j (in russian).

Measures for redress

Based on the above, I, Stepan Petrov, as the Chief of the Applicant – NGO «Yakutia — Our Opinion», offer to appeal to the Russian government:

To amend the legislation in accordance with proposals based on the results of anti-corruption examinations of 9 laws illegally restricting human rights activities in Russia (the proposals are presented below).
To invalidate the forced liquidation of the All-Russian Public Movement for the Protection of Human Rights «For Human Rights» and the Interregional Public Organization “Center for Assistance to Indigenous Minorities of the North”,

revise the court decisions on their liquidation, taking into account the results of the independent anti-corruption examination of Federal Law No.82 «On Public Associations», Order of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation No.456 on December 30, 2011, the instructions of the highest judicial bodies of Russia.

To stop the unreasonable prosecution of independent human rights organizations in Russia, carried out in the form of conducting unreasonable audits, unlawful prosecution, imposing significant fines and other repressive measures.

LIST OF DOCUMENTS

1.) Proposals on the results of anti-corruption examinations of 9 laws illegally restricting human rights activities in Russia.

DECLARATION AND SIGNATURE

I hereby declare that the information furnished in the complaint is true and correct

to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Stepan Petrov

Yakutsk, Russian Federation

24 August , 2020

* * * * *

Annex

Proposals

on the results of anti-corruption examinations of 9 laws

illegally restricting human rights activities in Russia

Proposals are presented as excerpts from anti-corruption examinations.

Below is a list of 9 laws on which anti-corruption examinations have been carried out.

After each law, the essence of the violation and a hyperlink to the electronic version of the anti-corruption examination with an accompanying article in Russian are given.

The following are excerpts from anti-corruption examinations — proposals to amend legislation.

All anti-corruption examinations in Russian are presented in one file (in russian) at

https://drive.google.com/file/d/13KqlUyU8ztFtpALMz5cQHCf6moruGU6Y/view?usp=sharing

Rules of law,

creating opportunities for unlawful restriction of activities of objectionable

non-governmental organizations, including those with international participation

Federal Law No.82 «On Public Associations», the subordinate legal act — Order of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation No.456 on December 30, 2011 which create conditions for unjustified forced liquidation of NGOs

http://stepanpetrov.blogspot.com/2019/11/blog-post.html (in russian)

Federal Law No.7 «On Non-Profit Organizations» which creates conditions for arbitrary, unjustified and unlawful prosecution of any objectionable NGO with foreign funding

http://stepanpetrov.blogspot.com/2019/05/blog-post.html (in russian)

Federal Law No.272 »On measures to influence individuals involved in violations of fundamental human rights and freedoms, rights and freedoms of citizens of the Russian Federation» which creates conditions for arbitrary, unjustified and unlawful prosecution of citizens and organizations for interacting with foreign or international non-governmental organizations

http://stepanpetrov.blogspot.com/2019/06/272.html (in russian)

Criminal law

creating opportunities for illegal criminalization of

human rights activities at international and national level

Article 282 of the Criminal Code of Russia which creates conditions for illegal arbitrary qualification of human rights activities at the national level as extremist activities

http://stepanpetrov.blogspot.com/2018/12/282.html (in russian)

Article 275 of the Criminal Code of Russia which creates conditions for illegal arbitrary qualification of human rights activities at the international level as high treason and espionage

http://stepanpetrov.blogspot.com/2018/12/275.html (in russian)

Draft norm on liability for aiding imposition of sanctions which creates conditions for unlawful arbitrary qualification of human rights activities at the international level as hostile activities that constitute a criminal act

http://stepanpetrov.blogspot.com/2018/12/284-2_61.html (in russian)

Rules of law

creating opportunities to limit free elections,

freedom of picketing, anti-corruption initiative of officials

Federal Law No.67 «On Basic Guarantees of Electoral Rights and the Right to Participate in a Referendum of Citizens of the Russian Federation» which creates conditions for gross and massive violations of the principle of free and fair elections

http://stepanpetrov.blogspot.com/2019/09/blog-post.html (in russian)

Federal Law No.54 «On meetings, rallies, demonstrations, marches and pickets» which creates conditions for arbitrary, unjustified and unlawful prosecution of bona fide picketers due to intentional malicious actions of third parties

http://stepanpetrov.blogspot.com/2019/05/20-2019.html (in russian)

Federal Law «On the State Civil Service of the Russian Federation» which creates conditions for illegal prosecution and dismissal of officials who report corruption and require the restoration of legality

http://stepanpetrov.blogspot.com/2019/05/blog-post_9.html (in russian)

The following are excerpts from the anti-corruption examinations of 9 laws —

proposals to amend the law.

Conclusion

on the results of independent anti-corruption examination of

Federal Law No.82 «On Public Associations», Order of the Ministry

of Justice of the Russian Federation No.456 on December 30, 2011

The existence of corruption factors is connected with two aspects:

1.) the lack of clarification of the concepts of “repeated and gross violations” in the law;

2.) the lack of reasonable deadlines for submitting documents for verification and elimination of violations.

Aspect 1. The lack of clarification of the concepts of “repeated and gross violations” in the law

In order to eliminate identified corruption factors,

it is necessary:

to add to article 44 the following text:

“In the case of repeated violations of the law, a public association cannot be liquidated if the violations committed by it are of a minor nature or the harmful consequences of such violations are eliminated.

In the case of gross violations, the federal state registration body or its territorial body must prove that the violations are significant, violate the rights of citizens and legal entities, and pose a threat to state security.

The liquidation of a public association must be justified by information about:

— the nature of violations, their duration and subsequent activities of a legal entity after the violation;

— all material circumstances of the case, including an assessment of the consequences caused by violations.”

Aspect 2. The lack of reasonable deadlines for submitting documents for verification and elimination of violations.

In order to eliminate identified corruption factors,

it is necessary:

to make the following changes to the Administrative Regulation approved by Order of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation of December 30, 2011 No. 456 by:

-addition to paragraph 11:

The head, other official or authorized representative of a non-profit organization during the audit have the right:

7) to apply for an extension of the deadlines for eliminating violations, stating the reasons for not eliminating the violations within the established time limits, and confirming the concrete measures taken to eliminate them.

-additions to paragraph 7:

Specialists of the central office (territorial body), when conducting an audit, are required:

15) to extend the deadlines for eliminating violations if there is a petition from a non-profit organization stating the reasons that did not allow eliminating the violations within the established time limits and confirming concrete measures taken to eliminate them.

— replacement of the text in paragraph 40:

«40. The specialist draws up a notice of the inspection (hereinafter — the notice).

The notice indicates the deadline for the non-profit organization to provide the documents necessary for the audit, taking into account part 5 of Article 11 of the Federal Law “On the Protection of the Rights of Legal Entities and Individual Entrepreneurs in the Implementation of State Control (Supervision) and Municipal Control” ”

with the following text:

«40. The specialist draws up a notice of the inspection (hereinafter — the notification).

The notice shall indicate the deadline for the non-profit organization to provide documents within 30 days from the date of receipt of the notice. ”

to make the following changes to Federal Law No.82 «On Public Associations» by adding:

— to article 44 the following text:

“If necessary, a representative of a public association has the right to petition for an extension of the deadlines for eliminating violations, stating the reasons that did not allow to eliminate the violations within the established time limits, and confirming specific measures taken, and specialists of the federal state registration body or its territorial body must extend the deadlines for eliminating the violations” .

— to article 38 the following text:

“When conducting an audit, the deadline for the submission of documents by a non-profit organization is set within 30 days from the date of receipt of the notification.”

Conclusion

on the results of independent anti-corruption examination of

Federal Law No.7 «On Non-Profit Organizations»

In order to eliminate the revealed corruption factors, it is proposed to replace paragraph 6 of article 2 of Federal Law No.7 «On Non-Profit Organizations» with the following text:

“A non-profit organization, with the exception of a political party, is recognized as participating in political activities carried out in the territory of the Russian Federation, if, regardless of the goals and objectives specified in its constituent documents, it participates (including through financing) in organizing and conducting actions that directly pursuing the following goals:

-changes in the constitutional system and state structure of the Russian Federation;

-changes in the status and powers of subjects of state power (the President of the Russian Federation, the Federal Assembly (Council of the Federation and the State Duma), the Government of the Russian Federation, the Courts of the Russian Federation, other federal bodies of state power, bodies of state power of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, local governments, political parties).

Political activity does not include activities aimed at:

-changing the current legislation of the Russian Federation and law enforcement practice in order to bring it in accordance with international law;

-exposure to the adoption of government bodies decisions aimed at changing their state policy, shaping public opinion, conducting public actions (rallies, demonstrations, marches, pickets, distribution of campaign materials) in order to comply with the laws of the Russian Federation and international law;

-critical consideration and contesting decisions made by state bodies in violation of the legislation of the Russian Federation and international law.

Also, political activities do not include activities that are carried out to achieve the statutory goals of a nonprofit organization in the following activities:

1) social support and protection of citizens;

2) preparing the population to overcome the consequences of natural disasters, environmental, industrial or other disasters, to prevent accidents;

3) providing assistance to victims of natural disasters, environmental, technological or other disasters, social, national, religious conflicts, to refugees and internally displaced persons;

4) environmental protection and animal welfare;

5) protection and, in accordance with established requirements, the maintenance of objects (including buildings, structures) and territories of historical, cult, cultural or environmental significance, and burial places;

6) provision of legal assistance free of charge or on a preferential basis to citizens and non-profit organizations, legal education of the population, activities to protect the rights and freedoms of a person and of a citizen;

7) prevention of socially dangerous forms of behavior of citizens;

8) charitable activities, as well as activities in the field of promoting charity and volunteering;

9) activities in the field of education, enlightenment, science, culture, art, health care, prevention and protection of citizens’ health, promoting a healthy lifestyle, improving the moral and psychological state of citizens, physical culture and sports, and promoting these activities, as well as promoting the spiritual development of the individual ;

10) encouraging public attitudes of intolerance towards corruption

11) development of interethnic cooperation, preservation and protection of identity, culture, languages and traditions of the peoples of the Russian Federation;

12) activities in the field of patriotic, including military-patriotic, education of citizens of the Russian Federation;

13) conducting search work aimed at identifying unknown military graves and unburied remains of defenders of the Fatherland, establishing the names of those who died and disappeared while protecting the Fatherland;

14) participation in the prevention and (or) extinguishing of fires and emergency rescue operations. ”

Conclusion

on the results of independent anti-corruption examination of

Federal Law No.272 «On measures to influence individuals involved in violations of fundamental human rights and freedoms, rights and freedoms of citizens of the Russian Federation»

In order to eliminate identified corruption factors, the following measures must be taken.

In order to eliminate the corruption factor “Regulatory Collisions” and the focus of the law against the United States, since the United States does not pose a threat to Russia,

it is necessary:

to replace the words “United States of America” by the words “foreign states” throughout the text of the law.

In order to eliminate the corruption factor “Regulatory Collisions” and violation of the right of Russian children with disabilities to life due to the ban on their adoption by US citizens,

it is necessary:

to exclude article 4 which established a ban on the transfer of children who are citizens of the Russian Federation for adoption by US citizens from the law.

In order to eliminate the corruption factors “Regulatory Collisions”, “Lack or incompleteness of administrative procedures”, “Latitude of discretionary powers” and violation of the principle of equality of stakeholders (balance of interests of the state and society),

it is necessary:

3.1. in order to expand the circle of entities entitled to amend the list to include the subjects of civil society, to add paragraph 3 of article 2 with the text “subjects of civil society”;

3.2. in order to introduce a judicial procedure for compiling lists of undesirable organizations and citizens who are prohibited from entering the Russian Federation, a clear definition of NGOs posing a threat to the state and participating in political activities, to state the first sentence of paragraph 1 of Article 3 as follows:

«1. Activities of non-profit organizations

who participate in political activities carried out on the territory of the Russian Federation, receive money and other property free of charge from citizens (organizations) of foreign states and implement projects, programs or carry out other activities on the territory of the Russian Federation that pose a threat to the foundations of the constitutional system of the Russian Federation and defense country or state security, are suspended by court order.

A non-profit organization is recognized as participating in political activities carried out on the territory of the Russian Federation if it participates in organizing and conducting actions that directly pursue the following goals:

-changes in the constitutional system and state structure of the Russian Federation;

Political activity does not include activities aimed at:

-changing the current legislation of the Russian Federation and law enforcement practice in order to bring it in accordance with international law;

-critical review and contesting decisions made by government bodies in violation of the laws of the Russian Federation and international law. ”

3.3. in order to exclude the unlawful inclusion of certain elements of the electoral process as part of threats to the state security, to exclude the part of the text on the electoral process and state paragraph 1 of Article 3.1 as follows:

“1. The activities of a foreign or international non-governmental organization that pose a threat to the foundations of the constitutional system of the Russian Federation, the country’s defense capability or state security may be recognized as undesirable in the territory of the Russian Federation”.

3.4. in order to exclude the possibility of making arbitrary and unreasonable decisions by a limited circle of persons, violating the principle of the presumption of innocence and the formation of a conflict of interest:

— to state paragraph 4 of Article 3.1 as follows:

«4. The activities of a foreign or international non-governmental organization that pose a threat to the foundations of the constitutional system of the Russian Federation, the country’s defense or state security,

may be declared undesirable in the territory of the Russian Federation only in court ”;

-to add paragraph 1 of Article 2 with the following text:

“A citizen of a foreign state may be included in the list of citizens of foreign states who are prohibited from entering the Russian Federation, only in court.”

It is necessary:

to make appropriate changes to other articles of the law.

Conclusion

on the results of independent anti-corruption examination of

Article 282 of the Criminal Code

Article 282. Arousal of hatred or enmity,

as well as humiliation of human dignity

«The Criminal Code of the Russian Federation» dated June 13, 1996 N6З (as amended on November 12, 2018)

Actions aimed at inciting hatred or enmity, as well as humiliating the dignity of a person or group of people on the grounds of sex, race, nationality, language, origin, religion, as well as belonging to any social group, committed publicly or with using the media or information and telecommunication networks, including the Internet,

shall be punishable by a fine in the amount of three hundred thousand to five hundred thousand rubles, or in the amount of the wage or other income of the convicted person for a period of two to three years, or by forced labor for a term of one to four years with the deprivation of the right to hold certain posts or engage in certain activities for a term of up to three years, or imprisonment for a term of two to five years.

(as amended by the Federal Law of 06.07.2016 N375)

The same acts committed:
a) with the use of violence or with the threat of its use;
b) by a person using his official position;
c) by an organized group, —

shall be punished by a fine in the amount of three hundred thousand to six hundred thousand rubles, or in the amount of the convict’s salary or other income for a period of two to three years, or by forced labor for a term of two to five years with deprivation of the right to hold certain posts or engage in certain activities for a term of up to three years, or imprisonment for a term of three to six years.

In order to eliminate identified corruption factors, it is proposed:

1.) to add the article with a note as follows:

«Note.

Actions containing the elements of a crime provided for in this article and committed by a person carrying out activities of human rights or anti-corruption orientation in the course of counteracting corruption offenses committed by employees of state authorities, law enforcement bodies and judges by informing the public and otherwise disseminating information about cases initiated by him at the stage of verification measures, preliminary investigation, judicial review, do not constitute a corpus delicti and cannot be the basis for initiating a criminal case against him. ”

2.) It is necessary to clarify the phrase «any social group”, that is, to indicate specific and unambiguously understood groups of the population, united by certain signs.

Conclusion

on the results of independent anti-corruption examination of

Article 275 of the Criminal Code

Article 275. High Treason

The Criminal Code of the Russian Federation of 13.06.1996 N63

(as amended on 11/12/2018)

Treason, i.e., espionage committed by a citizen of the Russian Federation, issuance of information constituting a state secret entrusted to a person or became known to him through service, work, study or in other cases stipulated by the legislation of the Russian Federation to a foreign state, international or foreign organization or their representatives or rendering financial, material, technical, consulting or other assistance to a foreign state, international or foreign organization or their representatives in activities against the security of the Russian Federation, —

shall be punished by imprisonment for a term of twelve to twenty years, with a fine in the amount of up to five hundred thousand rubles or in the amount of the wage or other income of the convicted person for a period of up to three years or without it, and with restriction of liberty for a term of up to two years.

In order to eliminate identified corruption factors, it is proposed:

1.) to add the article with the text “with the exception of international organizations of which the Russian Federation is a member”;

2.) to delete or clarify the phrases «or in other cases stipulated by the legislation of the Russian Federation» and «or other» to

and state the text of the article as follows:

Article 275. High Treason

or in other cases stipulated by the legislation of the Russian Federation (note: delete or clarify),

to a foreign state, international or foreign organization or their representatives or

rendering financial, material, technical, consulting

or other (note: delete or clarify),

assistance to a foreign state, international or foreign organization or their representatives, with the exception of international organizations of which the Russian Federation is a member, in activities against the security of the Russian Federation, —

Conclusion

on the results of independent anti-corruption examination of

draft article 284² of the Criminal Code

Article 284². Restriction or denial of ordinary business operations or transactions in order to facilitate the implementation of restrictive measures introduced by a foreign state, a union of foreign states or an international organization

The performance of actions (inaction) in order to implement the decision of a foreign state, union of foreign states or an international organization on the introduction of restrictive measures, if these actions (inaction) entailed a restriction or refusal of ordinary business operations or transactions by citizens of the Russian Federation, legal entities registered in the Russian Federation, The Russian Federation, constituent entities of the Russian Federation or municipalities, as well as persons under their control (Russian private and public entities, as well as entities under their control) —

shall be punishable by a fine in the amount of up to six hundred thousand rubles or in the amount of the convict’s salary or other income for a period of up to four years, or restriction of liberty for a term of up to four years, or forced labor for a term of up to four years, or imprisonment for a term of up to four years with a fine in the amount of up to two hundred thousand rubles or in the amount of wages or other income of the convicted person for a period of up to one year or without it.

The commission by a citizen of the Russian Federation of deliberate actions conducive to the introduction by a foreign state, a union of foreign states or an international organization of restrictive measures against Russian private and public entities, as well as persons under their control, including by providing recommendations and transmitting information that led or could lead to the introduction of restrictive measures against Russian private and public entities, as well as persons under their control —

shall be punishable by a fine in the amount of up to five hundred thousand rubles or in the amount of the convict’s salary or other income for a period of up to three years, or restriction of liberty for a term of up to three years, or forced labor for a term of up to three years, or arrest for a term of up to six months, or imprisonment for a term of up to three years with a fine in the amount of up to two hundred thousand rubles or in the amount of wages or other income of the convicted person for a period of up to one year or without it.

In order to eliminate identified corruption factors, it is proposed

to make the following changes to the second part of the article:

1.) to include in the article the text “with the exception of international organizations of which the Russian Federation is a member” after the word “organization” in order to exclude a direct violation of the norms of Russian and international law in terms of monitoring the implementation of international obligations undertaken by Russia;

2.) to include in the article the requirement for the presence of a document of a foreign state, a union of foreign states and an international organization (or its accompanying documents — an explanatory note, rationale, comment, etc.) as mandatory evidence of a citizen’s guilt, which contains:

-information on the introduction of restrictive measures;

-the name of the citizen, his personal data and the essence of the information and recommendations transmitted;

3.) to specify the methods of committing a crime under the article, clarify specifically the essence of criminal acts, the forms and methods of providing recommendations and transferring information;

4.) to delete from the article the text “or could lead» taking into account the fact that these unfinished actions are mainly part of human rights activities, not criminal acts, and this type of crime, difficult to prove, was not an illegal act before;

5.) to supplement the article with the norm on the criminal liability of other accomplices — organizers, performers and instigators, which should be applied to leaders and representatives of foreign states, unions of foreign states and international organizations that are introducing restrictive measures.

Conclusion

on the results of independent anti-corruption examination of

Federal Law No.67 «On Basic Guarantees of Electoral Rights

and the Right to Participate in a Referendum of Citizens of

the Russian Federation»

In order to eliminate identified corruption factors, the following measures must be taken.

In order to eliminate the corruption factors “Lack or incompleteness of administrative procedures”, “Latitude of discretionary powers” “Regulatory Collisions”, as a result of which:

— there are conditions for the impossibility of challenging the expert’s opinion on the recognition of voters’ signatures as invalid,

— there is no direct indication of the possibility of using the testimony of voters during the verification of the signatures of voters in pre-trial and judicial order,

it is necessary:

to supplement paragraph 3 of Article 38 with the following text:

“Expert opinions, which became the basis for considering information on voters, referendum participants and their signatures contained in the subscription lists as unreliable and (or) invalid,

can be challenged in election commissions and courts, including on the basis of voter testimonies. ”

In order to eliminate the corruption factors “Lack or incompleteness of administrative procedures”, “Latitude of discretionary powers” “Regulatory Collisions”, as a result of which:

— there is no norm for presence of all forms of documents and instructions for filling them out, used in the interaction of election commissions and state bodies (internal affairs bodies, justice institutions, military commissariats, citizens registration bodies and others) during the audit , in Federal Law No. 67 as annexes,

-the election participants have difficulty in verifying compliance with the law due to the fact that the forms of documents contained in various sources (cooperation agreements, departmental guidance materials and others) are not published properly and due control is not exercised,

it is necessary:

to supplement paragraph 3 of Article 38 with the following text:

“All forms of documents and instructions for filling them out, used in the interaction of election commissions and state bodies (internal affairs bodies, justice institutions, military commissariats, citizens registration bodies and others) during the audit,

shall be given as annexes to this law. ”

It is necessary:

to make appropriate changes to other articles of the law in pursuance of the proposed changes.

Conclusion

on the results of independent anti-corruption examination of

Federal Law No.54 «On meetings, rallies, demonstrations,

marches and pickets»

In paragraph 1.1. article 7 of Federal Law N54 «On meetings, rallies, demonstrations, marches and pickets«, which has the following content:

“Notification of picketing by one participant is not required, unless this participant intends to use a prefabricated collapsible construction.

The minimum permissible distance between the persons performing the specified picketing is determined by the law of the subject of the Russian Federation. The specified minimum distance may not be more than fifty meters. »

There are the corruption factors included in Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No.96 of February 26, 2010 in this law.

In order to eliminate identified corruption factors, it is proposed:

to supplement paragraph 1.1. of article 7 of Federal Law N54 with text:

“In case of violation of the norm that establishes the minimum permissible distance between the picketers, a person or several persons who started picketing later than the first picket participant are liable.

The first participant of the picket is the person who began to picket in this place in the absence of other participants of the picket, that is, earlier in chronological order than other persons who joined the picket later.

The fact of the start of the picketing by the first participant and later joining the picketing of other persons must be supported by evidence that can be presented in the form of photo and video recordings, testimonies of witnesses and other factual data. ”

Conclusion

on the results of independent anti-corruption examination of

Federal Law «On the State Civil Service of the Russian Federation»

In paragraph 10 of part 1 of article 17 of the Federal law «On the state civil service of the Russian Federation», which establishes a ban related to the passage of the state civil service, and has the following content:

“It is prohibited to make public statements, opinions and evaluations, including in the media, regarding the activities of state bodies, their leaders, including decisions of a higher state body or state body in which a civil servant have the civil service position, if it is not included in his job responsibilities ”.

There are the corruption factors included in Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No.96 of February 26, 2010 in this law.

In order to eliminate identified corruption factors, it is proposed:

to supplement paragraph 10 of part 1 of Article 17 of the Federal Law «On the State Civil Service of the Russian Federation» with the following text:

“Except in cases where the violation of this prohibition:

-conditioned by the implementation of state or public interests;

-leads to the prevention of damage to state or public interests;

-touches on issues affecting the problems of socio-economic development, improving the work of public authorities, fight against corruption and crime, and other socially significant issues”.