At Plenary Session of XI Forum of Russian and Belarusian Regions, IPA CIS Model Laws Becoming Tool of Soft Power Discussed

The XII Forum of Russian and Belarusian Regions took place in Nizhny Novgorod. This year, it was dedicated to youth policy with the motto “The Youth of Belarus and Russia are Heirs to the Great Victory and the Future of the Union State”.

On 26 June, the section “Legal Cooperation as a Condition for Effective Integration of Russia and Belarus within the Union State” was held.

The event was moderated by Chair of the Standing Committee of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of Belarus for Legislation and State Administration Mikhail Rusy and member of the Committee of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation on Constitutional Legislation and State Building, Plenipotentiary Representative of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation to the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation Ruslan Smashnev.

Head of the Expert and Analytical Department of the IPA CIS Council Secretariat Denis Zhuk addressed the session. According to him, Model Laws are becoming a soft power tool: they strengthen the legal independence of the CIS countries and enable them to assert their presence in the global competition of legal approaches.

“The importance of Model Law-making is particularly evident in complex cross-border issues - such as bankruptcy, digital law, consumer protection. In these areas, strict legal harmonization within the framework of conventions is often not feasible. It is here that the Model Law can offer a compromise: to reflect trends, form guidelines, prepare the ground for subsequent legal convergence”, said the representative of the IPA CIS.

In addition, each Model Law is not just a technical document, but the point of entry into broader legal thinking. In its development, an understanding of the balance of interests, legal methodology and a culture of argumentation are involved. Thus, Model Laws form the educational and methodological basis for future reforms, said Denis Zhuk.

He added that Model Law-making carries out one of the key functions of “soft law” - the provision of institutionalized consensus of CIS Member States, which is especially important at the stage of legal convergence.

Deputy Chair of IPA CIS Expert Advisory Board on Science and Education, Director of Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University (SPbPU) Higher School of Law and Forensic Science Dmitry Mokhorov also spoke at the session.

The section was attended by 60 participants, including MPs from the Union State and the CIS countries, representatives of legislative and executive authorities, and members of the academia and expert communities from Belarus and Russia. 

The XII Forum of Russian and Belarusian Regions aims to strengthen trade, economic, scientific, educational, and cultural ties between the countries, as well as to develop business contacts and areas of bilateral cooperation.