Annotation

The article addresses the challenges of determining the scope of law-making powers for the constituent entities of the Russian Federation in the context of tackling the pressing issue of boosting birth rates. The demographic crisis’s severity not only raises practical questions for the Russian Federation and its constituent entities (such as what mechanisms and resources are needed to achieve the desired outcomes) but also highlights several constitutional and legal issues. Among these are the integration of the new constitutional principle of the unity of the public power system into existing legislation and the question of how federal relations can dynamically evolve. Moreover, different government initiatives to increase birth rates relate to various areas of joint jurisdiction between the Russian Federation and its constituent entities, requiring the activation of diverse interaction mechanisms and regulatory powers at different levels of public authority. Coupled with the personal political accountability of the heads of the constituent entities, this leads to an active quest for new practical and legal solutions, though success is not always guaranteed. Often, merely declarative norms are adopted, duplicating existing ones, and the principle of legal certainty is undermined in practice. Consequently, the question of whether the legislation of the constituent entities complies with the Constitution of the Russian Federation and federal laws, as well as the protection of constitutional human and civil rights and freedoms, becomes particularly relevant once again.