Russian constitutional amendments to bolster separation of powers: Former PM Medvedev

SOCHI, RUSSIA - JANUARY 18, 2020: Deputy Chairman of Russia's Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, during an interview with Channel One Russia. Dmitry Astakhov/POOL/TASS. Sketched by the Pan Pacific Agency.

MOSCOW, Jun 25, 2020, TASS. Russia’s constitutional amendments will expand the role of parliament in creating the government, thus bolstering the separation of powers principle, Deputy Security Council Chairman Dmitry Medvedev said on Thursday (Jun 25), TASS reported.

“If these amendments are passed, the parliament, in particular, the State Duma (lower house), will have a much more significant role in forming the government,” Medvedev said, noting that “this concerns both the government and the presidential bloc.”

“In my view, this gives an additional boost to the separation of powers principle, which is a general principle of the operation of democratic states while our country remains a presidential republic, which I believe is absolutely necessary just for its existence,” the former prime minister emphasized.

Medvedev recalled that when serving as the Russian president, he “suggested not only increasing the terms of power of the president and the parliament, but also that the government should report [to the State Duma], what is an important guarantee and another confirmation of the principle of the separation of powers.” “Those amendments, which have been introduced now, expand the application of this principle in the political sphere.”

The deputy security council chairman stated that so far “the government was appointed at the suggestion of the president — the chairman of government was appointed and then the government was formed — without any involvement of the State Duma.”

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