Powers of local deputies. Sobyanin gave - Sobyanin took away

A bill that establishes the procedure for removing the speaker from office Legislative Assembly Primorsky Territory, his deputy, chairmen of standing committees and their deputies, deputies working on a permanent basis, were introduced into parliament by the regional prosecutor's office. The document will still be discussed at meetings of relevant committees, but deputies have already found a number of controversial issues there.

The supervisory authority monitored the regional legislative framework and found out that there was a gap there. Local legislators did not provide for the issue of removing from office their colleagues who, due to illegal activities, had lost the trust of citizens, law enforcement or other departments. Since the federal law “On Combating Corruption” includes such a measure as the dismissal of the chairman of parliament who has committed misconduct, the prosecutor’s office decided to bring the Primorye legislation into line with the federal one. According to the supervisory authority, the lack of norms and rules that define the grounds for dismissal of a servant of the people hinders the work to combat corruption in the region. The law will also make changes to the document “On the status of a deputy of the Legislative Assembly of the Primorsky Territory.” It will legitimize the procedure for verifying information about the failure of parliamentary deputies to fulfill their obligation to take measures to prevent and resolve conflicts of interest.

A source in the Legislative Assembly told the correspondent. “K” that the bill arrived at the regional parliament last week and will be discussed, primarily at meetings of two specialized committees - on regional policy and legality, as well as on regulations, parliamentary ethics and organization of work of the Legislative Assembly of the PC. “The legislative initiative of the Primorsky Territory prosecutor’s office may be a consequence of the anti-corruption work carried out by General Prosecutor's Office. The idea of ​​​​bringing regional legislation in accordance with the postulates of federal practice may have been brought down from above,” suggested K’s interlocutor.

At the same time, he believes that the bill is “crude”, there are many ambiguities there. In particular, the document contradicts the very status of a deputy. After all, the people's representative is not an official, he is chosen by the population. This means that only voters can “dismiss” a deputy. And the chairman of the Legislative Assembly of the PC and the heads of the committees are, in turn, elected officials from among the deputies. “How can they be deprived of the status that their colleagues assigned? And what happens if a deputy who works on a permanent basis is removed from office, what is his status now? Does he no longer receive a salary or does he not attend meetings? At the same time, we have deputy chairmen of committees who do not work on a permanent basis. How to deal with them?” - the AP PCs are now asking questions.

Until now, in the Primorye parliament, positions were both received and deprived only by the decision of the deputies themselves. In May 2012, the previous speaker of the Primorye parliament, Evgeny Ovechkin, voluntarily resigned, which his colleagues accepted. At that time, Ovechkin was under house arrest on charges of stealing fuel worth 50 million rubles. In the fall of 2013, investigators suspended the investigation of the criminal case due to serious illness accused, preventing participation in investigative actions. In July last year, the “Ovechkin case” was terminated due to the statute of limitations.

Meanwhile, in October last year, the Constitutional Court allowed investigative bodies and courts to temporarily remove chairmen of regional parliaments from office without the permission of deputies. This determination of the Constitutional Court was a response to an appeal from the Murmansk Regional Duma, whose chairman Vasily Shambir was suspected of embezzling 42 million rubles. In February 2014, he was temporarily removed from office by the court at the request of the Investigative Committee. “The temporary removal from office of the chairman of the legislative body does not entail the suspension of his deputy status and does not prevent parliament from appointing another person who will temporarily perform these duties,” the Constitutional Court explained.

After the State Duma adopted a bill on raising the retirement age in the first reading, as well as a law on increasing VAT to 20%, many began to wonder: can citizens recall the elected representatives of the people back, closer to the ground?

The wave of indignation is quite understandable and is directed at the ruling party - United Russia. As we said earlier, having received more than two-thirds of the seats in the Duma, it is United Russia that now bears full responsibility for everything that happens in the country. Constantinople decided to figure out what mechanisms exist for voters to influence deputies and senators.

So, those wishing to study the issue in detail should refer to the federal law “On the status of a member of the Federation Council and the status of a deputy of the State Duma.” So there is not a word about the recall procedure itself. Such an initiative was once made by various opposition parties, including the Communist Party of the Russian Federation. But, as you understand, such initiatives did not go further than discussion and were blocked by the parliamentary majority.

With things - on the way out

Article 4 of the above-mentioned law specifies cases in which early resignation of a people's representative is possible.

Instructions: is it possible to recall a State Duma deputy?

This can happen, for example, with a written statement from a parliamentarian. If, say, a person is tired.

Also, the deputy must resign if he is elected to the regional legislative body or receives some kind of government post.

A deputy or senator will also have a hard time if it turns out that he has accounts and property abroad, and also if he does not promptly submit information about the income and property of his family.

You will have to forget about lawmaking in the event of the loss of Russian citizenship or acquisition of citizenship of another country, as well as the entry into force of a court conviction, or if it is suddenly recognized that the parliamentarian is incompetent.

It will also not be possible to remain a deputy after death or leaving the faction or party on whose lists the deputy was elected.

And, finally, the powers of a deputy can be terminated early at the initiative of the faction or committee of which he is a member. This was done, apparently, to be able to control those undesirable.

So the choice of legal instruments is not that big.

But what if you know something about your deputy that the authorized bodies do not know?

From indirect, but very effective ways It can be noted that citizens are informed locally. Thus, residents of Yaroslavl hang banners with the names of deputies from United Russia who were elected from their region and voted for the pension reform.

By and large, this kind of civil action is the only thing that can be done here and now. It’s not that difficult to find a representative from your constituency in the long list of deputies of United Russia and tell your neighbors about how the people’s representative behaved. But when doing this, do not forget that everything must be strictly within the law, and do not allow disrespectful statements addressed to the deputy. Otherwise you will fall under Article 43:

Article 43. Showing disrespect for a member of the Federation Council or a deputy of the State Duma

Disrespect for a member of the Federation Council, a deputy of the State Duma, expressed in the commission by anyone of actions indicating a clear disregard for Federal Assembly Russian Federation or to the rules established by this Federal Law, entails liability provided for by administrative legislation.

So remember that the deputy may answer you with a lawsuit.

But, you see, this is not a reason to give up.

At the end of 2015 it was adopted the federal law dated November 3, 2015 No. 303-FZ “On amendments to certain legislative acts Russian Federation", which extended a number of anti-corruption requirements and responsibilities for all municipal deputies of Russia, including those who work without interruption from their main activities and receive a deputy salary (according to official terminology, “exercise their powers on a non-permanent basis”).
In particular, changes were made to the following federal laws:

• dated 06.10.2003 No. 131-FZ “On general principles organizations of local self-government in the Russian Federation";


• dated December 25, 2008 No. 273-FZ “On Combating Corruption”;


• dated 03.12.2012 No. 230-FZ “On control over the compliance of expenses of persons holding public positions and other persons with their income”;


• dated 05/07/2013 No. 79-FZ “On the ban individual categories persons to open and have accounts (deposits), store cash and valuables in foreign banks located outside the territory of the Russian Federation, own and (or) use foreign financial instruments.”

Therefore, this manual contains comprehensive information about the changes made, which will help you navigate further actions. This manual is a guide only and contains links to all necessary materials(often quite voluminous) for specific responsibilities. All information provided can be verified against the mentioned official legal acts.

1. Submission of declarations of income, expenses and property

Now All municipal deputies must submit a declaration (more precisely, a certificate) about their income, expenses and property (hereinafter referred to as the Certificate). And also for your spouse and your minor children.

Firstly, each representative body (Council of Deputies) must adopt its own normative act (Procedure, Regulations) regulating the rules for submitting Certificates ( there are no rules established from above). The most important of these rules are when and where to submit Certificates. Everywhere at the municipal level, a deadline is set - no later than April 30. There is more diversity with the body receiving the Certificate. Thus, the State Duma Committee on Federal Structure and Issues of Local Self-Government recommends submitting these Certificates directly to the Council of Deputies. But often provision is made for the submission of Certificates to the local administration or any of its structural units (usually personnel). Therefore, the first task is not to miss the adoption of the specified normative act and to find out from it when and where the Certificates need to be submitted.

Secondly, the Certificate form is uniform and approved by Decree of the President of Russia dated June 23, 2014 No. 460. It is best to download it yourself from any reference and legal system (Garant, Consultant) in order to be sure of the correctness of this form (they may deliberately slip in the wrong one). For convenience, we publish the Help form in two versions: Word, Excel.

Thirdly, the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of Russia has prepared 44 pages (they can also be downloaded on the ministry’s website) on how to fill out the Certificate. They must be carefully studied, because the lengthy form of the Certificate contains a lot of ambiguous points that you yourself may not pay attention to.

Let's briefly look at the main points. For each person (himself, spouse, each of the minor children - who was a family member as of December 31), a separate Certificate is filled out and submitted. All income is indicated, and in the amount before withholding income tax individuals. To avoid mistakes, the easiest way is to obtain a 2-NDFL certificate for each place of receipt of income. Expenses are indicated only for very large ones (for almost everyone this section will remain empty), or more precisely, in the following case:
for each acquisition transaction land plot, another piece of real estate, a vehicle, securities, shares (participatory interests, shares in the authorized (share) capitals of organizations), committed by a deputy, his wife (husband) and (or) minor children during the calendar year preceding the year of submission of information, If total amount of such transactions exceeds the total income of the person and his spouse for the three preceding years.

It is very important to list all bank accounts, even those with zero balances. Moreover, it is important to indicate even the accounts of the 20-year-old savings books that are dusty in the closet, in which there are 3 rubles left. Information about all accounts must be remembered, found, and requested from banks. It will not be superfluous to have a document from the bank, which in case of a dispute will allow you to prove that the deputy is right. Foreign currency and metal accounts are converted into rubles at the exchange rate of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation as of December 31.

The property is indicated not only as owned, but also in use (a separate section is provided for this in the Certificate). For example, a rented apartment or an apartment owned by a spouse.

The certificate is filled out on a computer, printed and signed on each sheet. Within the prescribed period, you must submit the Certificate and receive an acceptance mark on its copy.

This ban is established only for a relatively narrow group of municipal deputies (as well as their spouses and minor children), namely for those holding positions in representative bodies municipal districts And urban districts. Let's take a closer look at what this means (let's say right away that all Moscow deputies do not belong to this group).

Firstly, in Russia there are several types of municipalities. Among them there are municipal areas And urban districts(there are none in Moscow, including Troitsk and Shcherbinka intra-city municipalities - city districts, but not city ​​districts). As a rule, deputies know the type of their municipality, and if not, they can always clarify it in the Charter.

Secondly, a new definition appeared in the law:
a deputy holding a position in a representative body of a municipal formation is the chairman of a representative body of a municipal formation, his deputy (deputies), the chairman of a permanent and temporary commission (committee) and his deputy (deputies), a deputy holding other positions in a representative body of a municipal formation in accordance with with the charter of the municipality.

Thus, the ban applies to those holding any position (except for the position of a deputy) in a representative body of one of the two types of municipalities. The ban itself is formulated as follows:
It is prohibited to open and have accounts (deposits), store cash and valuables in foreign banks located outside the territory of the Russian Federation, own and (or) use foreign financial instruments.
Sanctions for violation of this prohibition may be applied from 02/05/2016.

In addition, the above persons must, when providing a Certificate (clause 1 of this instruction) indicate information about the sources of funds used to purchase foreign real estate(deputy, spouse, minor children), if such real estate exists.

3. Statement of personal interest

Duty added: report in the manner prescribed by regulations legal acts Russian Federation, on the emergence of personal interest in the execution job responsibilities which leads or may lead to a conflict of interest, as well as take measures to prevent or resolve such a conflict.

Conflict of interest is a rather complex concept, which in practice receives a variety of interpretations. In addition, by its nature, deputy activity is inextricably linked with constant conflicts of interest (for example, the neighbors of a deputy vote for him so that he defends the interests of their common home). Therefore, in particular, the introduction of the need to prevent conflicts of interest in the activities of deputies does not fully correspond to the legal nature of representative power.

In practice, it is advisable to submit a notice and abstain from voting when considering issues that directly benefit the deputy personally, his relatives and business partners (improving one’s yard, demolishing one’s shopping facility, etc.). The form of the notification and the procedure for its submission must be determined by a regulatory legal act adopted by the Council of Deputies.

The heads of municipalities exercising their powers on a non-permanent basis are subject to some prohibitions that have long been in force for those exercising their powers on a permanent basis. It is enough to list them. So, now it is prohibited:
1) to be attorneys or other representatives in the affairs of third parties in the authorities state power and local government bodies, unless otherwise provided by federal laws;
2) use for non-official purposes information, means of logistical, financial and information support intended only for official activities;
3) receive fees for publications and speaking as a person holding the position of head of a municipality;
4) receive, in connection with the performance of official (official) duties, remuneration not provided for by the legislation of the Russian Federation (loans, monetary and other remuneration, services, payment for entertainment, recreation, transportation expenses) and gifts from individuals and legal entities. Gifts received in connection with protocol events, business trips and other official events are recognized as the property of the municipality and are transferred by deed to the relevant municipal body. A person who held the position of head of a municipal entity, who handed over a gift received in connection with a protocol event, a business trip or another official event, may redeem it in the manner established by regulatory legal acts of the Russian Federation;
5) accept honorary and special ranks, awards and other insignia (except for scientific and sports) of foreign states, international organizations, political parties, others public associations and other organizations;
6) go on business trips outside the Russian Federation at the expense of individuals and legal entities, with the exception of business trips carried out in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation, under agreements between state bodies of the Russian Federation, state bodies of constituent entities of the Russian Federation or municipal bodies with state or municipal authorities bodies of foreign states, international or foreign organizations;
7) be a member of the management bodies, trustee or supervisory boards, other bodies of foreign non-profit non-governmental organizations and their operating on the territory of the Russian Federation structural divisions, unless otherwise provided by international treaties of the Russian Federation, the legislation of the Russian Federation or agreements on a mutual basis between federal government bodies and government agencies foreign states, international or foreign organizations;
8) disclose or use for purposes not related to the performance of official duties, information classified in accordance with federal law as restricted information that became known to him in connection with the performance of official duties.

Good luck filling out and submitting all kinds of certificates, and be extremely careful when doing so!

Thank you for your help in preparing the instructions.

Other preferences All chosen ones, regardless of the basis of activity (permanent or not), should be provided with the following work amenities:

• telephone;
• vehicle;
• opportunity for advanced training;
• free travel on any type of transport of the relevant municipality (taxi is an exception);
• financial compensation for travel (in some cases).

When a local government employee is forced to move to his place of duty in another city, he is required to provide housing. This is a service apartment. Her family is releasing the deputy after the termination of her powers. State Duma deputies have the right to use any type of travel free of charge throughout the Russian Federation. Their assistants are provided with train tickets, except for SV carriages.

Is it possible to fire an employee who has been elected as a deputy?

Russian Federation on permanent place residence; 7) termination of citizenship of the Russian Federation, termination of citizenship of a foreign state - a party to an international treaty of the Russian Federation, according to which a foreign citizen has the right to be elected to local government bodies, acquisition of citizenship of a foreign state or receipt of a residence permit or other document confirming the right for permanent residence of a citizen of the Russian Federation on the territory of a foreign state that is not a party to an international treaty of the Russian Federation, according to which a citizen of the Russian Federation who has citizenship of a foreign state has the right to be elected to local government bodies; (as amended by Federal Law No. 128-FZ of July 25, 2006) (see.

Greetings

In the event of the formation of a representative body of a municipal district, a city district with an intracity division from the composition of the representative bodies of settlements, intracity districts, the powers of a deputy of a representative body of a municipal district, a representative body of a city district with an intracity division are terminated early in the event of termination of his powers, respectively, as the head of a settlement, a representative deputy settlement body as part of the municipal district, head of the intra-city district, deputy of the representative body of the intra-city district. (Part 10.2 introduced by Federal Law dated May 27, 2014 N 136-FZ) 11.

Guarantees for the activities of deputies of representative bodies of local self-government

The Russian Federation may also establish additional social and other guarantees in connection with the termination of powers (including early) of a deputy, a member of an elected local government body, an elected official of local government...” When analyzing preferences and guarantees, several important factors must be taken into account:

1. Deputy activity is carried out on two bases:
   • permanent, with exemption from previous place services;
   • on a non-permanent basis (without interruption from production).
2. Persons enjoying fully or partially the described preferences include:
   • assistants to people's representatives;
   • employees holding positions of heads of departments in local government.

10% of the elected representatives of the entire municipality can work on a permanent basis.

Benefits for local government deputies

N 217-FZ changes are made to paragraph 2 of part 7 of article 40. 2) engage entrepreneurial activity personally or through proxies, participate in management commercial organization or in management non-profit organization(except for participation in the management of the council of municipalities of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation, other associations of municipalities, political party, participation in a congress (conference) or general meeting other public organization, housing, housing construction, garage cooperatives, horticultural, market gardening, dacha consumer cooperatives, real estate owners' associations), except in cases provided for by federal laws, and cases where participation in the management of the organization is carried out in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation on behalf of local government body; (clause 2 as amended)

Attention

Federal Law No. 131-FZ, as well as the charter of the municipality. This law, as well as the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, does not contain the obligation of the employer to obtain the consent of a representative body of local government to dismiss an employee who is a deputy of this body. Therefore, if there are grounds for dismissal at the initiative of the employer in accordance with the norms of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, there are no obstacles to dismissal. Pay for the response Continue the dialogue Consultations by phone, email.

• . Federal Law dated October 6, 2003 N 131-FZ (as amended on February 15, 2016) “On the general principles of organizing local self-government in the Russian Federation” and the Labor Code of the Russian Federation do not establish such benefits for a deputy. Pay reply Continue dialogue Extensive experience in practical work.

Modern legislation of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, securing this kind of guarantees for the activities of a deputy, is based on provisions developed in regulations previous years. It's about, for example, on reimbursement of expenses of a deputy performing his functions on a non-exempt basis. The participation of such a deputy in meetings of local government bodies and standing committees is associated with exemption from performing production or official duties at the main place of work.
Compensation for losses wages at the place of service or work is carried out at the expense of the corresponding local budget in the amount established by the representative body of local self-government.
Federal Law of December 3, 2012 N 230-FZ “On control over the compliance of expenses of persons holding public positions and other persons with their income”, Federal Law of May 7, 2013 N 79-FZ “On the prohibition of certain categories of persons from opening and having accounts (deposits), store cash and valuables in foreign banks located outside the territory of the Russian Federation, own and (or) use foreign financial instruments”, senior official of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation (head of the highest executive body of state power of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation) submits an application for early termination of the powers of a deputy, member of an elected local government body, or an elected official of local government to the local government body authorized to make the relevant decision, or to the court.

If there are less than ten, then only one person. Download for viewing and printing Federal Law of October 6, 2003-N 131-FZ Privileges of people's representatives The work of deputies is ultimately aimed at improving the functioning of the entire society. Related to this are the amenities provided by the respective municipality. It is necessary to create conditions for their normal activities.

Preferences have different character. They have one thing in common: funding from the appropriate budget. The last circumstance determines the conditions for termination of benefits. Preferences are retained by people's representatives for a certain period specified in the relevant legal act.

Salaries Accruals for work are made to all deputies, regardless of whether they work with or without work. But the payouts are significantly different.

Info

For a deputy working on a permanent basis professional basis, the monthly salary and allowances thereto are established in accordance with the official salary scheme established for officials of executive bodies of local self-government. Norms have become widespread that provide for life and health insurance of a deputy at the expense of local budget funds. Sums insured are paid in cases of death of a deputy, injury to him or other damage to health in connection with the exercise of his deputy powers.

• Legislative grounds
• Privileges of people's representatives

• Wage
• Other preferences
• Medical and pension benefits

• Conditions for deputies to receive benefits
• How deputies use benefits
• Changes in 2018

From funds mass media We often hear that some citizens of the Russian Federation have great preferences from the state. These include officials and deputies. In fact, such information is legitimate. It is confirmed by current legislation. Let's take a closer look at what the benefits of local government deputies are.
Do all holders of this status use them? To what extent are people's representatives provided with preferences and budget payments in 2018?

There are deputies in every municipality. They form the local city council. Just like the State Duma deputies, they have powers. What do ordinary residents need to know about the rights and responsibilities of a local council deputy?

There are just under five hundred deputies in the State Duma, and what countless numbers there are in representative bodies of local self-government throughout the country! In the most small towns has its own city ​​council, which includes local deputies. It is they, and not the servants of the people sitting in the capital’s Duma, who turn out to be closer to ordinary residents.

You should start your visits with a local council deputy if you think that you can’t figure it out without the help of the authorities. Here it would be a good idea to find out not only how to contact a public servant, but also what capabilities and rights he has to provide assistance to the population.

Who is a municipal deputy

So, a deputy of a municipal entity is a person elected by the people inhabiting this entity, a person who will represent the interests of those who elected him local residents. According to the law, local government is not an institution of state power. It is believed that here the population itself controls its own life, decides what to do to make life better, what laws to introduce, etc. It acts theoretically through its representatives elected by the population.

The powers of municipal deputies are, naturally, less than those of the same representative of the State Duma. However, even such “ small man“in the hierarchy of power decides a lot. For example, local deputies decide what the budget will be in their municipality. It is calculated based on the number of residents of the Moscow Region. They also report to the population about where municipal money was spent. In addition, the deputy of local representative authorities adopts, approves and changes the local Charter - the main document of the municipality. The charter is based on the accounting principle local traditions, cultural characteristics places where it is introduced.

Deputies are responsible for issues of guardianship and trusteeship. They manage municipal property, supervise issues of sports life in the district and leisure of the population. It is this combination that can attract unscrupulous people, simply put, bribe takers, to offer a bribe to the people's representative for the provision of premises for any sports section or leisure center.

Local deputies generally must monitor the development of the municipality and bear responsibility for the execution of their instructions. That is, a deputy can influence the organization of a children’s playground in the courtyard of a house. But he must also ensure that the work is actually carried out, that the site is of high quality and does not injure children, and that the work is completed on time.

Right to lawmaking

Local government members have the right to create laws. One would hardly think that laws proposed in some tiny town would be adopted in the State Duma. Local government should not strive for this. His legislative initiative is very local. Local deputies should be concerned about what laws to pass so that the life of this particular district changes for the better - taking into account its characteristics, problems, traditions, etc.

The City Duma decides to hold a local referendum. By the way, the people can initiate it if they are dissatisfied with the current government. Local deputies generally must listen to the population they represent - even in cases where citizens come up with unexpected initiatives.

They can also carry out public hearings, dedicated, for example, to urban planning initiatives, policing, and the establishment of local holidays. That is, people's representatives should strive to coordinate issues of local importance with representatives of government authorities in the region. To do this, they have the right of deputy inquiry, with which they can apply to almost any government agency. For example, local deputies can check the activities of the head of the administration, that is, a representative of the executive branch. They can go to court to resolve municipal disputes. A local deputy has the right to express his position in the media and thereby draw attention to the problems of the population.

Solving social and economic issues

Municipal deputies have the responsibility to monitor the activities of municipal officials and organizations that must act to resolve issues of local importance. These same people's representatives decide how to join forces with neighboring districts in order to jointly solve similar problems.

Local deputies resolve socio-economic issues. For example, in Peterhof, representatives of the local council are even required to collect statistics that would show the state of social and economic spheres in the municipal circle. This data is then provided to government agencies.

How local deputies work

The holder of the State Duma mandate devotes himself entirely to serving the people - at least that is what is commonly believed. Therefore, he cannot engage in so-called “entrepreneurial and other paid activities.” The exceptions here are creative, scientific and teaching activities. What about local deputies - is it the same with them? It turns out not really.

If a servant of the people exercises his powers on a permanent basis, then all these requirements apply to him. But the fact is that only 10% of deputies of local representative bodies can work on a permanent basis, and in districts where it is required by law (and it is based on population) to have only 10 deputies, only 1 will work on a permanent basis. Most often , of course, this is the chairman of the city duma.

A deputy of a municipal district working on a permanent basis receives class ranks: municipal councilor 1st or 2nd class. They are assigned as follows: if a municipal deputy worked for 5 or more years on a permanent basis, and already had the rank of municipal councilor of the second class, he is assigned the rank of 1st class.

Privileges and guarantees for municipal deputies

These are all powers, you will notice. What about privileges? Do deputies of local representative bodies really not have them? Why then does everyone strive to get the coveted crusts? There are privileges - free travel to public transport. Also, a deputy has the right to be received first when applying to local government bodies regarding issues of his activities.

In addition to privileges, a local deputy is provided with guarantees. They are necessary so that a representative of elected bodies can calmly exercise his powers. A local deputy can personally attend discussions in all local government bodies and take part in them, and can make comments and suggestions on the issues under discussion.

Commitments to the people

But there are also obligations - for example, deputies are required to meet with the population for several hours once every two weeks. Not everyone follows this legal requirement. It is far from easy to get to many busy deputies - even by appointment.

The distinctive features of a local council deputy are a certificate and a badge (not in all municipalities). The certificate is issued for the term of election (for locals this period is set at 4 years), it contains the name of the people's choice and provides confirmation of his powers.