Совет по делам местного хозяйства Российской Империи: прообраз центрального органа по оценке законов?

Закон. 2026. № 4. С. 56–69.

Tsygankov D. B.

This paper discusses the activities of the Council for the Affairs of the Local Economy, a subdivision within the Ministry of Internal Affairs, from a perspective not previously considered. Its objective is to analyse the „growth points“ of the mechanism for legislation assessment. Hitherto, the Council’s role has been studied predominantly in the context of local-government reforms (with particular emphasis on the period 1908–1910), while its place within the rulemaking process has remained peripheral to scholarly interest (at best, researchers have followed the pre-revolutionary interpretation that labelled the Council the „Pre-Duma“). By scrutinising primary sources preserved in archival repositories, integrating them with already known memoir, and applying contemporary frameworks of regulatory decision-making — not limited to the preparation of explanatory memorandums and public consultations, but also encompassing the use of empirical data, the study of international experience, the involvement of industry experts, the formation a secretariat, and more — this approach opens a „window“ onto the rulemaking cycle of the executive branch in historical Russia through the activities of the Council and its subordinate Secretariat. The author sees in the Council an unrealised potential to evolve into a central-based body for the evaluation of lawmaking, a potential that remained unrealised because of the ensuing war and revolution. Studying the culture of law-making that was characteristic of the Council and pre-revolutionary Russian bureaucracy may offer valuable insights for modern initiatives aimed at improving the quality of regulatory policy.

Keywords: оценка регулирующего воздействия, нормотворчество, публичные консультации, regulatory impact assessment, legislation, Russian Empire, public consultations, МВД, Российская Империя, Ministry of Internal Affairs, Council for Local Economy Affairs, Совет по делам местного хозяйства