The Role of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation Decisions in Development of Labor Legislation (to 20th Anniversary of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation)

Based on analysis of the Russian Constitutional Court decisions issued from 2002 to 2021 inclusive, author examines influence of legal positions developed by the Constitutional Court on the Russian Labor Code. The paper presents a classification of the decisions of the Constitutional Court adopted following the results of the verification of compliance with the Constitution of the Russian Federation with the norms of the Labor Code. The paper presents data that show that in the last 10 years the role of the Constitutional Court in influencing labor legislation has increased significantly. The author identified six final decisions of the Constitutional Court that recognized certain provisions of theLabor Code inconsistent with the Constitution, fifteen decisions that are interpretative (explanatory) in nature, four definitions with positive content and four more with quasipositive content. The paper analyzes the importance of the legal positions contained in these decisions for labor relations. The author has identified the most popular norms of the Labor Code are most often challenged in the Constitutional Court. These turned out to be the norms on the deadlines for applying to the court and on dismissal due to a reduction in the number or staff. The paper shows how such dynamics affected the legal regulation of these types of relations, in particular, the development of judicial positions of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation from the point of view of recognizing a valid reason for missing the deadline for going to court as filing a complaint against the actions of the employer to the prosecutors office or labor inspectorate. Through the prism of the legal positions of the Constitutional Court the norms on dismissal by reducing the number or staff are studied, the subject composition of applicants is analyzed, it is established that the prevailing number of legal positions of the Constitutional Court is formed on the basis of appeals from employees and only a small part on appeals from employers, courts, trade unions and deputies of representative (legislative) bodies of the members of the Russian Federation. The conclusions presented in the paper can be used as a basis for legislative work in terms of improving labor legislation, as well as for theoretical studies of the impact of the role of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation on the legal regulation of labor relations.

Constitutional Court, sources of law, legal positions, Labor Code, deadlines for going to court, staff reduction, dismissal at the initiative of the employer