I. PRINCIPLES OF STATE AND SOCIAL SYSTEM

I. PRINCIPLES OF STATE AND SOCIAL SYSTEM OF THE REPUBLIC OF TATARSTAN

[Socio-political System] [The Economic System]

Socio-political System

Article 1. The Republic of Tatarstan shall be a sovereign democratic state, expressing the will and interests of the whole multi-national people of the republic.

The sovereignty and powers of the state shall come out from the people.

The state sovereignty shall be an inalienable qualitative status of the Republic of Tatarstan.

Article 2. All power in the Republic of Tatarstan shall, in compliance with the present Constitution, belong to the people. The people shall exercise the state power immediately, including referendum, or through the system of state bodies. The Constitution of the Republic of Tatarstan shall be adopted by the State Council of the Republic of Tatarstan or by referendum.

Neither a single person, nor a group of persons shall be entitled to take over the right to discharge the state power in the Republic of Tatarstan. Seizure of power is prosecuted by the Law.

Article 3. The relations between the citizen and the state shall be based on the priority of human rights as the major social value, on participation of citizens in governing state affairs. The citizen and the state shall be mutually responsible in their relations.

The Republic of Tatarstan shall guarantee equal rights to the citizens in all spheres of political, economical and cultural life.

Mutual respect, voluntary and equal co-operation of all sections of population, of citizens of all nationalities shall constitute the Social base of the Republic of Tatarstan.

Article 4. Tatar and Russian shall be equally official languages in the Republic of Tatarstan.

Article 5. The state bodies in the Republic of Tatarstan shall take guidance from the principles of legal state, i.e. from the supremacy and strict observation of laws, division of legislative, executive and judicial powers.

Article 6. Political parties, professional unions, mass movements and other public associations shall have the right to participate in governing the state affairs through their representatives in elective bodies of state power. Operating in compliance with their programs and charters, they should act within the Constitution and the laws of the Republic of Tatarstan.

No party, organization or movement shall be permitted to be established in order to alter the constitutional system and the integrity of the Republic of Tatarstan in a violent way, to undermine its national security, to foment social, racial, national and religious strife; the use of mass media and other means with this purpose shall be prohibited.

Article 7. The state shall act in accordance with the principle of social justice, providing necessary conditions in order to promote the establishment of adequate living standards for all sections of population, socio-economic and cultural development of the society, ensuring the ecological security and the efficient use of nature.

Article 8. The Republic of Tatarstan shall reject violence and war as the means of setting disputes among the states and nations.

The territoty of The Republic of Tatarstan shall be a zone, free of mass destinction weapons.

The propaganda of war shall be prohibited in The Republic of Tatarstan.

The Economic System

Article 9. The earth, mineral wealth, water, forest and other natural resources, the animal and vegetable kingdom, means of state budget, assets of national banks,cultural and historical values of the peoples of Tatarstan and other estate ensuring the economic independence of the republic,the preservation of material and spiritual culture,shall be the property of the whole people.

Article 10. The economy of The Republic of Tatarstan shall, in compliance with the law, be based on social market principles, providing the freedom of economic activities, various forms of property, equal conditions of their legal protection.

Economic relations between the citizen and the state, the consumer and the manufacturer, the employee and the employer shall be based on social partnership.

The state shall in the interests of the society and within the limits established by the law regulate the economic activities.

Article 11. The economic activities in The Republic of Tatarstan shall be based on private, state-owned, municipal (communal) and public property.

Land plots and other subjects, objects and projects, used in any sphere of activities not prohibited by the law, may be the private property.

The property of other states, international organizations, foreign juridical persons and aliens, stateless persons as well as the joint property of private citizens, juridical persons and the state shall be allowed in The Republic of Tatarstan.

Article12. The property shall be inviolable. No property rights should be restricted, the property being acquired in a legal way.

The property should not be used with detriment to the state and public interests, human rights, freedoms and dignity.

Forced expropriation of property shall,in compliance with the law, be permitted as a matter of requisition or confiscation.

Article 13. The property of The Republic of Tatarstan and of its citizens, being beyond the territory of The Republic of Tatarstan, shall be protected by the state.

Article 14. The legal status of property of other states, juridical and physical persons and international organizations shall be established by the law and by the international treaties of The Republic of Tatarstan.

Article 15. The economy of The Republic of Tatarstan shall be based on market principles.

The state shall regulate the development of economy of the republic by means of economic and social development programs, tax, credit, investment and amortization policy, pricing policy, as regards goods and services important for the living standard of population, and the products of exclusive manufacturers, without any interference with economic activities of enterprises and organizations.

The activities of economically independent enterprises should not be restricted administratively except for cases when the latter break the law or international obligations of The Republic of Tatarstan.

Monopoly activities aimed at the restriction or elimination of competition shall be prohibited.

Article 16. Commercial and economic relations between The Republic of Tatarstan and other states shall be contract-based.

Article 17. The Republic of Tatarstan shall, in compliance with the procedure prescribed by the law, protect the interests of consumers and support public activities aimed at the protection of consumers rights. Consumers shall enjoy the right to recover damages caused by producers of goods and services.

Article 18. The Republic of Tatarstan shall, by means of payment-based use of nature, ensure the preservance of the earth, mineral wealth, waters, forests, vegetable and animal kingdom taking measures to provide the replenishment and reproduction of natural resources and improve the environmental conditions.

Small land-holders, landowners and land-users, other users of nature shall be obliged to maintain fertility of land.

Damages to the environment, health and property of citizens due to the economic activities should be recovered in compliance with the legislation of The Republic of Tatarstan. The activities of landowners and land-users, of other nature users, breaking the legislation of The Republic of Tatarstan, shall be interrupted by the state bodies of the latter. Physical and juridical persons guilty for breaking the legistation on environmental protection, shall be called to account in compliance with the law.