Putin's Constitutional Amendments, 2020 - Ekaterina Mishina (10.1.20)

"Putin's Constitutional Amendments - 2020" with Ekaterina Mishina, Independent Legal Scholar. LECTURE DESCRIPTION: At his 2020 Presidential Address to the Federal Assembly, Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed substantial amendments to the Russian constitution. The proposed referendum would allow Putin to serve as the President until 2036, give the Russian Constitutional Court the power to nullify international tribunals' decisions, and make gay marriage unconstitutional. In July, the referendum was passed by a– contested– national popular vote. This talk will address the 2020 amendments to the Russian Constitution, the procedure of approval, and explain how these changes affect all branches of power and further strengthen the President's role. SPEAKER DESCRIPTION: Ekaterina Mishina is an independent legal scholar. She received a B.A. and M.A. in Jurisprudence from the Faculty of Law of Moscow State University, graduating in with the highest honours in 1987. Dr. Mishina holds a Ph.D. in Jurisprudence from the Institute of State and Law of the Russian Academy of Sciences (1992). Selected positions held: Principal Advisor to the Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court of the RF (1995 – 1997) Deputy Director, Legal Advisor ( “Legal Culture” project of the Russian Foundation of Legal Reforms (1997 -1999), head of the Legal Department of “MOSTELECOM” JSC (1999-2002), advisor to the Chairman of the Foundation for Development of Parliamentarism in Russia ( 2002-2005), Deputy Director of the Institute of Legal Studies, the National Research University –Higher School of Economics (2005 – 2011). Associate Professor, Department of Constitutional law, Faculty of Law of the National Research University – Higher School of Economics (2005 – 2014). Visiting Professor at the Law School (2012-2013) and the Department of Political Science (2014 – 2016) of the University of Michigan. Image credits: Putin’s 2020 Presidential Address to the Federal Assembly [“File:2020 Putin Presidential Address to the Federal Assembly (12).jpg” by kremlin.ru is licensed under CC BY 4.0]