РУАЭСТ (RUAEST)
THE RUSSIAN COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE EUROPEAN OMBUDSMAN: COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS
The author analyzes official sources specifying the models for the European Ombudsman and the Commissioner for Human Rights in the Russian Federation. The comparison of ombudsman models, which exist in the EU and Russia, is particularly interesting not only because of that institution novelty, but also due to the fact that the EU, which emerged in the mid – 20century, has now grown into a highly developed form of European integration. Within the legal internationalization using a positive experience is not only horizontally way, that is, by borrowing from the national legal systems the most valuable and innovative ideas, approaches, institutions and procedures, but also through their generalizations, enrichment and promotion at international and national levels and the reverse influence of international law on the national legal systems. Supranational ombudsmen are a striking example of that. Whereas states with well-established democratic values and standards can demonstrate the effectiveness of the ombudsman institution, the Commissioner of Human Rights in Russia cannot, for many reasons (for example, low legal culture of officials, corruption etc.).What’s more, the legislation contains a lot of gaps and provisions, which are issued in favor of power structures. The aim of the note is to identify the Achilles’ heel of Russian legislation regarding ombudsman institute in comparison with the community of democratic states.