Monitoring of the Federal Legislation dated 12.04.2006

Decision of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation No. 3-P of April 6, 2006 on the Case of Constitutionality of Individual Provisions of the Federal Constitutional Law on the Military Courts of the Russian Federation, Federal Laws on the Jurymen of the Federal Courts of General Jurisdiction in the Russian Federation, on the Entry into Force of the Code of Criminal Procedures of the Russian Federation and the Code of Criminal Procedures of the Russian Federation Pursuant to the Request of the President of the Chechen Republic, Appeal of Citizen K.G.Tuburova and Request of the North Caucasian District Military Court

The Constitutional Court checked the constitutionality of the provisions of the legislation regulating the procedure of processing with participation of the jury of criminal cases of specially heavy crimes against life committed by servicemen on the territory of the Chechen Republic.

The court came to the conclusion that the norm of the Federal Law on the entry into force of the Code of Criminal Procedures of the Russian Federation specifying the time limits for introduction of the jury in the Chechen Republic (from January 1, 2007) does not contradict the Constitution of the Russian Federation. Such restriction of the constitutional right for participation in the jurisdiction for citizens living in the Chechen Republic is of temporary nature an is stipulated by circumstances of organisational, material and technical nature and the need to create conditions providing for unbiased and objective case processing with participation of the jury. The cases of specially heavy crimes against life envisaging a death sentence must be processed by another court - without the jury - taking into account the prohibition to apply the exclusive measure.

Besides, the Constitutional Court expressed their position pertaining to opportunities of attracting to cases of crimes committed by servicemen on the territory of the Chechen Republic of jurymen from other subjects of the Russian Federation. The actual legislation does not envisage opportunities of processing of criminal cases of specially heavy crimes against life by the district military court with the jury consisting of persons other than those living permanently on the territory of the subject of the Russian Federation where the crime has been committed.

The board of jurymen must be formed of citizens permanently living on the territory of the subject of the Russian Federation where the crime has been committed on the basis of the general and the reserve list of candidates. If it is impossible to form the board of jurymen on such basis, appropriate criminal cases must be processed by the district military court of another composition specified in the law without participation of the jury, taking into account that the death sentence is not permitted. However, according to the Constitutional Court, the federal legislator, while defining the jurisdiction of cases with the military courts, may introduce other rules of forming of lists of candidates of the jury.

Decision of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 201 of April 10, 2006 on the Procedure of Keeping of the Joint Register of Issued Compliance Certificates, Providing Information from the Mentioned Register and Payment for the Provided Information

The Joint Register of Issued Compliance Certificates is a federal information resource and is federally owned. The functions of keeping of the register are vested in the Federal Agency of Technical Regulation and Metrology and its territorial bodies.

The keeping of the Joint Register includes collection of information on compliance certificates, entry of information on compliance certificates in the Joint Register, its storage, systematisation, actualisation and amendments. The grounds to enter information on compliance certificates in the Joint Register is the decision on the issue of the certificate, suspension or termination of it adopted according to established procedure.

Information on compliance certificates available in the Joint Register shall be provided at cost to requests of natural persons, as well as legal entities other than the bodies of state power and the bodies of local government. The bodies of state power and the bodies of local government shall get information on compliance certificates available in the Joint Register free of charge.

The Regulation is entered into force from September 1, 2006.

Decision of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 199 of April 10, 2006 on the Endorsement of the Rules of Granting Subsidies from the Federal Fund of Co-Financing of Social Expenses for Partial Reimbursement of Expenses of the Budgets of the Subjects of the Russian Federation to Grant Subsidies to Citizens to Pay for the Dwelling Space and Communal Services

Defines the procedure of granting subsidies from the Federal Fund of Co-Financing of Social Expenses for partial reimbursement of expenses of the budgets of the subjects of the Russian Federation pertaining to subsidies for the payment for the dwelling space and communal services to citizens including specialists of public health, education and agriculture permanently living in rural localities, as well as the procedure of calculation of the amount of the given subsidies.

The subsidies to the budgets of the subjects of the Russian Federation shall be allocated by the chief administrator of resources of the federal budget on the quarterly basis according to the summary budget list of the federal budget within the limits of the budget obligations for these purposes. The amount of the subsidy allocated to the budget of each subject of the Russian Federation is calculated using the specified formula. The calculation takes account of the coefficients of correspondence with the federal standards of the average regional level of payments of citizens for the maintenance and repair of the dwelling space and provided communal services (K1) and the regional standard of the maximum permissible share of own expenses of citizens of the payment for the dwelling space and communal services in the aggregate family incomes (K2).

The Decision specifies the values of the mentioned coefficients for each subject of the Russian Federation.

Also defines the levels of reimbursement of expenses to the budgets of the subjects of the Russian Federation for the subsidies provided to citizens to pay for the dwelling space and communal services taken into account in the estimate.

Specifies the forms and time limits for submission of information by the bodies of executive power of the subject of the Russian Federation to the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation on the level of payments of citizens for the maintenance and repair of dwelling space and provided communal services, regional standard of the maximum permissible share of own expenses of citizens to pay for the dwelling space and communal services in the aggregate family incomes, regional standard of the cost of the housing and communal services proceeding from the family size, as well as information on the amount of resources provided form the regional budget to pay for the subsidies to citizens.

Direction of the Central Bank of Russia No. 1678-U of April 7, 2006

From April 10, 2006, introduces a fixed interest rate for the deposit operations of the Bank of Russia carried out with credit organisations in the currency of the Russian Federation using the Reuters dealing system and the system of electronic tenders of the Moscow Interbank Currency Exchange on standard terms "tom next", "spot next", "on demand", in the amount of 1.5% annual and on standard terms "one week", "spot week", in the amount of 2% annual. From March 6, 2006, the similar rates amounted to 1% and 1.5% annual respectively.

Order of the Central Bank of Russia No. OD-164 of April 5, 2006 on the Adjustment Coefficients of the Bank of Russia

Introduces adjustment coefficients used to correct the market cost of the bonds of the Agency of Mortgage Housing Crediting, OAO Megafon and commercial bank Moscow Mortgage Agency accepted as a security for the credits of the Bank of Russia.

Letter of the Central Bank of Russia No. 47-T of April 4, 2006 on the Rouble Equivalents for the Figures Envisaged in the Direction of the Bank of Russia No. 1346-U of December 1, 2003

In the II quarter of 2006, the rouble equivalent of the registered capital for created banks as of the day of submission of the documents must make at least Rbl 167.367 million (in the I quarter of 2006 - at least Rbl 170.8685 million). The same amount is envisaged for the operating credit organisations requesting the general license and for non-bank credit organisations requesting the status of a bank.

For created non-bank credit organisations, the rouble equivalent of the registered capital makes 10 times less the amount.

Letter of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation No. 03-03-02/74 of March 30, 2006

When the taxpayer hands over securities in payment for the initially placed shares of the closed-type shared investment fund, there appears to be no profit (loss) with the taxpayer for taxation purposes. The cost of the shares of the closed-type investment fund for taxation purposes is recognised to be equal to the cost of transferred securities determined from information of the tax records as of the date of transfer of the property right for the mentioned securities.

Amendment to the Regulation on the Committee of Bank Enforcement of the Bank of Russia (Endorsed by the Decision of the Board of Directors of the Central Bank of Russia of March 27, 2006 (Protocol of Session 5)

The Committee of Bank Enforcement of the Bank of Russia is empowered with the right to investigate proposals of interested structural divisions of the Bank of Russia to determine economic essence, principles of acknowledgement, assessment and the financial result of bank operations and other transactions of credit organisations, as well as to take recommendations on these issues and submit them for endorsement to the Board of Directors of the Bank of Russia.

The amendment is entered into force 10 days after the day of its official publication in the Herald of the Bank of Russia.

Decision of the Management Board of the State Corporation Deposit Insurance Agency of March 30, 2006 (Protocol 18) on the Amendments to the Procedure of Payment of Insurance Contributions Endorsed by the Decision of the Management Board of the State Corporation Deposit Insurance Agency of February 5, 2004 (Protocol 2)

The amendments specify the procedure of payment of insurance contributions in cases of termination of bank activities because of reorganisation.

The duty to pay insurance contributions (penalties) for the reorganised bank, as well as the rights of use of excessively paid insurance contributions (penalties) by it shall transfer to the successor (successors) of the reorganised bank under an act of transfer or separation balance sheet. The Decision provides particulars of calculation of insurance contributions and registration of received amounts of payments.