Liability statute power amnesty supreme law legislation prisoners judges fundamentals amend Constitutionism Adopted by national referendum on 12 December 1993 with 54.5% of the vote, the Constitution took effect on the day it was published – 25 December of the same year. It set out the 1 of government as well as proclaiming the rule of law, the ideological neutrality of the state, political pluralism, competitive elections and a separation of power, guaranteeing fundamental human rights to the Russian people. The Constitution 63 establishes a semi-presidential system that encompasses strong executive 2 and increased independence for the president. Since its adoption in a 1993 referendum the Russian Constitution is considered to be the 3 of the land. Article 15 of the Constitution reads that it ―shall have supreme legal force and have direct effect, and shall be applicable throughout the entire territory of the Russian Federation.‖ Courts are guided by the Constitution and it trumps federal and local laws. Amendments Few amendments have been made to the Constitution since its adoption. The most significant of these was made in 2008. It concerned the term of office to be held by the President of the Russian Federation, which was increased from four to six years. 20th anniversary Constitution Day of December 2013 was the culmination of anniversary events that continued throughout the entire year. A special 4 resolution was devoted to the 20th anniversary of the Constitution, releasing from criminal 5 those citizens who had committed crimes as minors, women with dependent children, pregnant women, women over the age of 55 and men over the age of 60, persons with disabilities, participants in the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Station rescue operation, military service members, internal affairs staff members and other individuals who have defended Russia. It granted freedom to around 25, 000 6, including Khodorkovsky, punk protest group Pussy Riot and Greenpeace Arctic Sunrise ship case demonstrators. Constitutional laws Constitutional laws cannot become part of the constitution or 7 parts of it absent a special legal act on 64 constitutional amendment. They are typically enacted in important areas of constitutional law, such as Article 56 which allows for the passage of the constitutional laws necessitated by a state of emergency. Statutes Statutes are the predominant legal source of Russian law, and may only be enacted through the legislative process. Codes are the basis for law on a matter, and they are usually supplemented with 8 to develop certain provisions. There are gaps in some of the codes, but even still the 9 will find a basis for deciding the case in a given code. Codes are interpreted flexibly, and interpretation may be based on enumeration of ―general principles‖ of the codes. General principles are usually articulated at the beginning of the codes in the first chapter to outline the reason for the legislation. Reasoning by analogy is also allowed. The Russian Civil Code is the ―constitution‖ of the market economy, and is special in the hierarchy of codes, since it will supplant contradictory text in other codes. New codes and laws supersede old ones, unless a 10 expressly preserves the old law. Judicial decisions, judicial practice and explanations of supreme courts Russia is a civil law country; and, strictly speaking, decisions rendered by courts are not binding on other courts. However, the lower courts generally follow the principles established by the supreme courts. Moreover, according to Art.308.8 of the Code of Procedure in Commercial Courts, the Supreme Court can set aside a decision of a lower court on the grounds that this decision contravenes uniformity in interpretation of law as established by case law. In practice, but not in theory, precedents of the higher courts are becoming an important Russian law.