Public budget control in Russia: to the problem statement

Borisova Anna Anatol'evna PhD in Pedagogy Associate Professor, Head of the Department of Humanities and Socio-Economic Sciences, Polytechnic Institute (branch), Don State Technical University" in Taganrog 347900, Russia, Rostov region, Taganrog, Petrovskaya str., 109A niipgergo2009@mail.ru Other publications by this author     Goncharov Vitalii Viktorovich PhD in Law Associate Professor, Dean of the Faculty of Higher Education, Polytechnic Institute (branch), Don State Technical University in Taganrog 347900, Russia, Rostov region, Taganrog, Petrovskaya str., 109a niipgergo2009@mail.ru Other publications by this author     Petrenko Elena Gennad'evna PhD in Law Associate Professor of the Department of State and International Law, Kuban State Agrarian University named after I. T. Trubilin 350044, Russia, Krasnodar Territory, Krasnodar, Kalinina str., 13 niipgergo2009@mail.ru Other publications by this author

Poyarkov Sergei Yur'evich PhD in Pedagogy Academic Secretary, All-Russian Scientific Research Institute of Physical-Technical and Radio Technical Measurements 350007, Russia, Krasnodar, Khimzavodskaya Street 48, office #4 niipgergo2009@mail.ru Other publications by this author

Introduction.

The issues of organization and implementation of budget control in Russia are widely studied in the works of A. S. Alimbekova, ^{[1, pp. 45-49]} Z. N. Bedoeva, ^{[2, pp. 27-31]} E. A. Bochkareva, ^{[5, pp. 140-144]} A. O. Buryakova, ^{[6, pp. 9-14]} E. V. Galanskova, ^{[8, pp. 71-76]} O. M. Geikhman, ^{[9, pp. 12-17]} V. V. Zamyatina, ^{[15, pp. 177-179]} A. A. Kadykoeva, ^{[16, pp. 347-350]} T. N. Kazankova, ^{[17, pp. 60-62]} Yu. A. Kutyreva, ^{[18, p. 44]} I. B. Lagutina, ^{[19, pp. 79-82]} M. S. Sagidullayeva, ^{[24, pp. 207-210]} as well as a number of other authors. A special place in the research of E. A. Bochkareva, ^{[4, pp. 4-17]} M. V. Lozovoy, ^{[20, pp. 423-427]} A. N. Buyankina, ^{[7, pp. 115-119]} A. S. Pavlova, ^{[22, pp. 188-197]} as well as some other scientists is devoted to ensuring openness and transparency in the processes of organization and conducting budget control in order to prevent corruption in this area. However, the share of scientific works devoted to public control over the processes of drafting state and municipal budgets, budgets of extra-budgetary funds, their consideration and preparation of reports on their execution (in terms of the legality of education, distribution and use of these budgetary funds) does not seem sufficient, which is why the choice of the topic of this scientific research, the purpose of which is not only the formalization and analysis of modern problems that impede the optimal organization and implementation of public budget control measures in the Russian Federation, but also the development and justification of a system of measures to resolve them. The main objectives of the study include: substantiation of the role and place of the institution of public control in the system of legal guarantees for the implementation, protection and protection of both the system of constitutional principles and the system of human and civil rights and freedoms; analysis of the place of public budget control in the system of civil society institutions in Russia; research of the main points of view in the domestic scientific and educational literature on the definition of its concept, grounds and limits of implementation; development of the author's definition of the concept of "public budget control"; identification and formalization of the main problems hindering the optimal organization and functioning of this institution of civil society; development and justification of a system of measures to resolve the above-mentioned problems.

The object of the study, at the same time, is public relations related to the organization and conduct of public budget control events, and the subject of the study is normative legal acts in the field of public control, materials of judicial practice, the practice of functioning of subjects of public control, as well as the scientific legal doctrine of public control in Russia and abroad. The relevance of the research topic is due to the fact that in the context of the introduction of economic and political sanctions against the Russian Federation by a number of foreign states and their associations, the preservation and development of our country is possible only if the processes of formation and expenditure of federal, regional and local budgets, as well as budgets of extra-budgetary funds of various levels are optimized. The scientific novelty of this article consists in the development of a system of proposals and recommendations aimed at the development of the institute of public budget control.

The main text.

The Constitution of the Russian Federation has consolidated the legal status of the multinational people of Russia as the bearer of sovereignty and the only source of power in the country. However, the constitutional principles of democracy and participation of citizens of the Russian Federation in the management of state affairs, as well as the entire system of human and civil rights and freedoms, need a system of legal guarantees for implementation, protection and protection, among which are: the prohibition of seizure of power and misappropriation of authority under threat, enshrined in the Basic Law of the country bringing to legal responsibility; a complex system of checks and balances, thanks to which it is possible to avoid the usurpation of power in the hands of any public authority (or its official); a system of constitutional control and supervision bodies; a complex system of civil society institutions, the most important of which today is public control, through the implementation of which citizens In Russia and numerous public associations (other non-governmental non-profit organizations) have the opportunity to participate in activities to monitor the activities, acts and decisions of state authorities, local governments, state and municipal organizations, other bodies and organizations endowed by federal laws with the right to exercise certain public powers.

The listed public authorities, other bodies and organizations carry out various types of activities in the course of their work, through which various functions of the state are implemented.

The functioning of the above-mentioned entities is impossible without accumulating and spending certain amounts of money. In this regard, activities, in particular, on drafting state and municipal budgets, budgets of extra-budgetary funds, their consideration, and preparation of reports on their execution, which is commonly called the budget process, are of great importance for the preservation and development of the state and society.

At the same time, this type of activity of the subjects of the budget process requires careful and comprehensive control both by the relevant state control bodies and by civil society.

What is the reason for the need to control the budget process in the country (at the federal, regional, and municipal levels)?

First of all, state and public control of the budget process allows minimizing the risks of corruption among participants in budgetary activities. For example, in terms of purchases of goods, works and services at a price that is obviously higher than the market price.

In addition, monitoring the budget process allows timely identification, suppression and elimination of data distortion, which are reflected in the budget list on the revenue and expenditure side of both budgets of all levels and extra-budgetary funds.

Due to the control over the budget process, the efficiency of this type of activity also increases, when society and the state receive a large number of material and other benefits for a smaller amount of budget funds.

There is no single approach in the Russian scientific and educational literature regarding the definition of the concept of public budget control, the basis and limits of its implementation.

According to a number of authors, public budget control is a type of public financial control. ^{[23, pp. 102-104]} However, in our opinion, budgetary legal relations cannot be attributed to a type of financial. This is also confirmed by the position of the country's Constitution, for example, article 71 of which, in paragraphs "g" and "z", distinguishes between financial legislation and the federal budget, federal taxes and fees, and federal funds for regional development.

A number of scientists believe that public budget control is a kind of criterion that identifies the level of development of civil society, as well as the level of legal awareness and legal culture of citizens of the Russian Federation. ^{[25, p. 1]} There is a certain rational grain in this point of view, since it is obvious that the organization and implementation of public budget control measures is possible only in societies and states with a high level of, on the one hand, the development of civil society institutions, and, on the other hand, the development of civil law awareness, thanks to which the broad masses of citizens of the country independently, or as part of public associations and other non-governmental non-profit organizations, participate in the organization and conduct of public budget control events.

According to some authors, public budget control should be considered as a kind of expenditure management tool (within the framework of budgeting processes at one level or another). ^{[18, p. 44; 26, p. 8-9]} Undoubtedly, the functioning of this institution of civil society has an impact on the issues of spending budgets or extra-budgetary funds at one level or another. But this is due to the fact that public control measures can boost the efficiency and effectiveness of budgeting processes, minimizing the corruption component in them.

A number of scientists consider public budget control to be a type of legal activity of the state, during which preliminary control of budgeting processes is carried out. ^{[19, pp. 79-82]} Public budget control, indeed, often precedes state budget control, since subjects of public control are authorized by law, based on the results of public control measures, to provide final documents and materials to both state budget control bodies and law enforcement agencies, which will be able to conduct a more thorough and thorough check of compliance with the current budget legislation by participants in the budget process, including up to the final budget recipients.

Some authors identify public financial control with public budgetary control, ^{[15, pp. 177-179]} which, in our opinion, is also unacceptable, since these two types of public control pursue different goals and objectives.

It seems that public budget control should be understood as a kind of public control, the essence of which is the organization and conduct of public control measures in relation to the activities, acts and decisions of subjects of budgetary legal relations caused by the processes of drafting state and municipal budgets, budgets of extra-budgetary funds, their consideration and preparation of reports on their execution (in terms of the legality of education distribution and use of these budgetary funds).

In turn, public budget control should be distinguished from public tax control and public financial control.

Thus, public tax control should be understood as a kind of public control carried out by its subjects with the direct participation of citizens of the Russian Federation, public associations and other non-governmental non-profit organizations, to control the economic security of the country and compliance with state and municipal fiscal interests.

In turn, public financial control is the most important type of public control, the essence of which consists in organizing and conducting public control activities of financial and related other types of business entities, including public authorities, state and municipal organizations, other bodies and organizations that implement certain public powers on the basis of federal laws.

The organization and implementation of public budget control measures are associated with numerous problems, among which the following can be distinguished:

Firstly, a significant problem hindering the development of the institution of public budget control is the fact that this institution of civil society is not designated in any way in the Constitution of the country. It turns out that the subjects of public budget control organize and carry out their activities, including in relation to the activities of participants in the federal budget process, whose status and powers are directly indicated in the Basic Law of the country. This raises, as we noted in previous studies, ^{[10, pp. 186-188; 11, pp. 194-196]} a lot of questions about the legality of the grounds and limits of public control in this area. The solution of this problem is possible by consolidating the institution of public control in the Constitution of Russia, detailing in it the mechanism of interaction of subjects of public control with public authorities, with the designation of public budget control as the leading type of this institution of civil society.

Secondly, the fact that the concept of "public budget control" is not fixed and is not detailed either in the legislation on public control or in the budget legislation (as well as relevant municipal regulatory legal acts) is also a serious problem. The solution to this problem is possible both by developing and adopting a separate Federal Law "On the Legal Foundations of Public Budget Control in the Russian Federation", and by supplementing the provisions of Federal Law No. 212-FZ dated 07/21/2014 "On the Foundations of Public Control in the Russian Federation", as well as numerous regulatory legal acts regulating issues the budget process.

Thirdly, a very large problem is the fact that in the Russian scientific legal doctrine, as noted by a number of authors, there is no consensus on the definition of the concept of "public budget control", the details of its specific forms, methods and types of measures. ^{[3, pp. 199-203; 21, pp. 51-57]} Solving this problem will require coordinating the efforts of the country's Public Chamber and federal authorities to initiate such scientific and practical research with the subsequent implementation of their results in legislation on public control.

Fourthly, the fact that subjects of public control are endowed mainly with advisory, advisory, and auxiliary powers is also a serious problem, which reduces the effectiveness and efficiency of public control measures, in particular, in the field of the budget process. The resolution of this problem will require the development and introduction of amendments and additions to the legislation on public control concerning the assignment of a set of real powers to its subjects (for example, suspension of procurement procedures for public needs if signs of an offense are found in the actions of participants in these procedures, etc.). Alternatively, it is possible to solve this problem by creating specialized entities public budget control, for example, in the form of federal, regional and local public budget councils. The procedure for their creation should involve public chambers and councils of the appropriate level, as well as federal, regional parliaments and representative bodies of local self-government.

Fifthly, a significant problem lies in the weak property, organizational, and financial base of subjects of public control, which does not allow them to optimally organize and conduct events in the above-mentioned area. The solution to this problem is seen in expanding this base on the basis of the implementation of a system of federal programs aimed, as we noted earlier, not only at increasing the financing of the activities of subjects of public control, but also at intensifying their activities (by introducing a system of criteria for evaluating efficiency and effectiveness, the use of modern information and communication technologies, etc.). ^{[12, pp. 127-130; 13, pp. 199-202; 14, pp. 196-200]}

Sixth, a major problem in the development of public budget control in the Russian Federation is the weak use of positive foreign experience of civil society control over budgeting processes at all levels. As a possible experience, it is possible to use the creation of mass information and communication platforms where citizens of the country will be able to promptly post information about existing violations of budget legislation, as well as provide feedback to participants in the budget process.

Conclusion.

In the course of our scientific research, we have made a number of conclusions:

1. The Institute of Public Control in Russia acts as the leading legal guarantee for the implementation, protection and protection of the constitutional principles of democracy and the participation of citizens in the management of state affairs, as well as the entire system of human and civil rights and freedoms, including in the financial and budgetary spheres.

2. Public budget control is the most important type of public control, the essence of which consists in the organization and conduct of public control measures in relation to the activities, acts and decisions of subjects of budgetary legal relations caused by the processes of drafting state and municipal budgets, budgets of extra-budgetary funds, their consideration and preparation of reports on their execution (in terms of the legality of education, distribution and the use of these budgetary funds).

3. The organization and implementation of public control measures are associated with numerous problems, among which one can single out: the lack of formalization of the concept of "public budget control" both in the Constitution of the country and in current legislation; the absence in the Russian scientific doctrine of public control of a unified approach to the definition of this concept, its content, goals, objectives, specific forms methods and types of measures; insufficient use in this area of positive foreign experience of civil society control over budgetary legal relations; weak organizational and technical base of subjects of public control; lack of real powers for these subjects to exercise public budget control. The article develops and substantiates a system of measures to resolve these problems.

4. The resolution of these problems will require: formalization of the institute of public control in the Constitution of the Russian Federation with details of its main types, primarily public budget control; organization by the Public Chamber of Russia of a system of measures to intensify scientific and practical research in the field of public budget control, analysis with subsequent adaptation of positive foreign experience of the functioning of the specified institution of civil society; consolidation of the definition of the concept of public budget control and the mechanism of its implementation in the Budget Code of the Russian Federation in the form of a separate section or group of articles; expansion of the powers of subjects of public control; creation of specialized subjects of public financial control (in particular, federal, regional and local public budget councils); adoption and implementation by the Government of the country of a system of federal programs, aimed at developing the material, technical, organizational and legal base of subjects of public control, as well as their use of modern information and communication technologies.

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