 The Constitution begins: "We, the multinational people of the Russian Federation, united by a common fate on our land, establishing human rights and freedoms, civic peace and accord, preserving the historically established state unity, proceeding from the universally recognized principles of equality and self-determination of peoples, revering the memory of ancestors who have conveyed to us the love for the Fatherland, belief in the good and justice, reviving the sovereign statehood of Russia and asserting the firmness of its democratic basic, striving to ensure the well-being and prosperity of Russia, proceeding from the responsibility for our Fatherland before the present and future generations, recognizing ourselves as part of the world community, adopt the CONSTITUTION OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION." Chapter Two of the Constitution deals with 'Rights and Freedoms of the Person and Citizen' [Articles 17 - 64]. Articles 17, 18 and 19 read as follows: 1. In the Russian Federation recognition and guarantees shall be provided for the rights and freedoms of the person and citizen according to the universally recognized principles and norms of international law and according to the present Constitution. 2. Fundamental human rights and freedoms are inalienable and shall be enjoyed by everyone since the day of birth. 3. The exercise of the rights and freedoms of man and citizen shall not violate the rights and freedoms of other people. Article 18 The rights and freedoms of the person and citizen shall be directly operative. They determine the essence, meaning and implementation of laws, the activities of the legislative and executive authorities, local self-government and shall be ensured by the administration of justice. Article 19 1. All people shall be equal before the law and court. 2. The State shall guarantee the equality of rights and freedoms of the person and citizen, regardless of sex, race, nationality, language, origin, property and official status, place of residence, religion, convictions, membership of public associations, and also of other circumstances. All forms of limitations of human rights on social, racial, national, linguistic or religious grounds shall be banned. 3. Man and woman shall enjoy equal rights and freedoms and have equal possibilities to exercise them. Chapter One of the Constitution deals with the 'Fundamentals of the Constitutional System' [Articles 1 - 16] Article 15 reads as follows: Article 15 1. The Constitution of the Russian Federation shall have the supreme juridical force, direct action and shall be used on the whole territory of the Russian Federation. Laws and other legal acts adopted in the Russian Federation shall not contradict the Constitution of the Russian Federation. 2. The bodies of state authority, the bodies of local self-government, officials, private citizens and their associations shall be obliged to observe the Constitution of the Russian Federation and laws. 3. Laws shall be officially published. Unpublished laws shall not be used. Any normative legal acts concerning human rights, freedoms and duties of man and citizen may not be used, if they are not officially published for general knowledge. 4. The universally-recognized norms of international law and international treaties and agreements of the Russian Federation shall be a component part of its legal system. If an international treaty or agreement of the Russian Federation fixes other rules than those envisaged by law, the rules of the international agreement shall be applied. 'Constitution of Russia,' Wikipedia |
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