03 June 2002 00:00
RUSSIAN STATE DUMA CHAIRMAN GENNADY SELEZNYOV MEETS WITH BEVERLY MCLAUGHLIN, THE CHIEF JUSTICE OF THE SUPREME COURT OF CANADA (BASED ON MATERIALS OF THE DUMSKOYE OBOZRENIYE NEWSLETTER, NO. 72 (1226), MAY 30, 2002)
Gennady Seleznyov, Chairman of the State Duma of Russia's Federal Assembly, met with a delegation of the Supreme Court of Canada led by its Chief Justice, Beverly McLaughlin. Also present at the meeting were the Chairman of the Russian Constitutional Court, Marat Baglai, and the Chairman of the Duma Legislation Committee, Pavel Krasheninnikov.
"We are concluding the spring session and intend to finish it on July 1," Seleznyov said. "The Duma's legislative portfolio is filled to overflowing. This is explained in part by the fact that there are more than 700 holders of the right of legislative initiative in Russia . Another reason is that the new Russian Constitution was adopted in 1993, and in compliance with it, we have to review the entire legislative base. Actually we consider 100-120 bills during a session, which creates strain in the deputies' work."
Beverly McLaughlin stressed that she and the members of the Canadian delegation were struck by the enormous volume of work done in Russia since the adoption of the new Constitution.
The participants in the meeting discussed a question relating to the priority of the passage of bills through the House. Seleznyov noted that bills designated as priorities are President-submitted bills. Then follow government initiatives. And then come documents introduced by all other holders of the right of legislative initiative.
Answering questions from Canadian delegation members, Seleznyov told also about the system of elections to the State Duma, principles governing the formation of factions and deputies' groups, the impact of debates on budget approval, and the advantages of the introduction in the Russian Federation of a single 13-percent tax.
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