The judiciary and the executive
otherwise conflict ’ . 2 Justices, acting accordingly to their decision that prorogation was unlawful, ruled that ‘ the prorogation was also void and of no effect. Parliament was not prorogued ’ . 3 In the past two centuries, Parliament had only been prorogued three times, and the prorogation in 2019 would have been the fourth one, had it not been for the UK Supreme Court. 4 The importance of this decision was paramount, as it clearly highlighted the significance of the UK justice system in providing checks and balances to the UK government. The fact that Gina Miller, a regular citizen without a position of power, began a legal case against the UK government which resulted in her winning and a government decision being overturned is evidence that the UK legal and justice systems allow citizens to achieve justice even against the country’s government, which is one of the main principles of democracy. On the other hand, in constitutional dictatorships such as Russia, it is not as easy to use the justice and judicial systems to make sure the government stays within the limits of law. This was highlighted by the Russian constitutional changes of 2020. The significance of these changes to the constitution stems from the fact that although the constitution has been amended several times in favour of Putin during his 20-year rule, no amendments have been as extensive and radical as these ones. The main change adopted in 2020 w as the extension of Putin’s eligibility to run for President. His re -election in 2018 meant that this term, ending in 2024, would be his last as the President, but these constitutional changes allow Putin to run for office two more times, meaning that he can be President until 2036. The constitutional changes were approved by Parliament with only ‘ one vote against ’ 5 , as the Russian Parliament’s lower house, the State Duma, and upper house, Federation Council, are largely pro -Putin and lack opposition presence. After receiving the approval of the Parliament, the amendments to the constitution were reviewed by the highest court in Russia, the Constitutional Court. The changes were heard and reviewed by 15 judges of the Russian Constitutional Court, who concluded that the changes were ‘ lawful ’ . This clearly highlights the difference between the two cases: while the UK Supreme Court ruled against the Prime Minister and the UK government, when they attempted to exercise their power and step outside the limits of law, the Russian Constitutional Court decided that the constitutional changes, which would greatly increase the power of the President by bending the law in his favour, and allow Putin to remain in office for another twelve years, were ‘ lawful ’ . After receiving the ‘ approval ’ of the constitutional court, the changes were once again ‘ approved ’ in a country-wide referendum. However, there were reasons to believe that the results of the referendum were manipulated in favour of Putin. 6 The other changes to the Russian constitution included granting the President the right to ‘ to remove federal justices, to remove Supreme Justices following approval by the Federation Council. ’ 7 These amendments to the constitution further extend the powers of Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia. The fact that the President can now remove judges places significant question marks over the independence of the judiciary and the checks and balances to the government. Thus, it is quite clear that in a country like Russia, where the judiciary is far from independent, where the President has the Parliament firmly within his grip, allowing him to amend the constitution and legislation at his will, the government and the President do not have to worry about having to abide by the law, as they are free to make whatever laws they wish and with no constraints on their power whatsoever. 2 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prorogation_in_the_United_Kingdom. 3 https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/putin-approves-law-power-2036-69595393. 4 https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jul/02/vladimir-putin-wins-russia-vote-that-could-let-him-rule- until-2036. 5 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_Russian_constitutional_referendum. 6 https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-49663001. 7 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justice_of_the_Supreme_Court_of_the_United_Kingdom.
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