Sergey Yamkin is working in Strasbourg. Prospects of referendums are on the agenda

The 34th plenary session of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe was opened in Strasbourg, where representatives of different branches of the power are sharing experience in regional policy. The speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug Sergey Yamkin is working within the Russian delegation.

Within two days the participants are discussing issues on forming of the system of legal protection and mechanisms for development of democracy at the local and regional levels, elaboration of standards in the sphere of democracy and the state of law, as the press service of the Legislative Assembly informs. According to Sergey Yamkin, together with the colleagues the Russian side will discuss the prospects of development of a referendum as one of mechanisms of democratization of lawmaking. In spite of the fact that this is not a new form of participation of population in solving general state issues and territorial problems, this practice has not been widely used yet. But this issue in the context of the wide discussion of many socio-political and socio-economic problems today is receiving special significance for Russia, as he notes. As we should remind, the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe is a consultative body of the Council of Europe, activities of which are aimed at monitoring of state of local and regional democracy in countries of the Council of Europe, including respect for human rights at the local level and observation on municipal and regional elections. The plenary session being assembled twice a year is the supreme body of the Congress. Separate sessions of the Chamber of local authorities and the Chamber of regions are conducted directly within the session of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe.