Sources of Land Law

General Provisions

1. **Law and Sources of Law**

Law represents a system of universally binding rules regulating social relations. In order to confer legal force and implement the state will, legal norms must obtain external expression in the form of specific sources (forms) of law. Source of law – this is a method of fixing and expressing legal norms, their external carrier. In the Russian Federation, the main sources of law are:

• normative legal acts;
• model contracts;
• general principles of law;
• legal custom.

2. Normative Legal Acts

A normative legal act is the main source of law in the Russian Federation, including land law. It is issued in accordance with established procedures by authorized state authorities, local self-government bodies or officials. The main characteristics of a normative legal act:

• contain legal norms mandatory for an undefined group of persons;
• are designed for repeated application;
• aimed at regulating social relations or changing existing legal relationships.

Normative acts are subject to official publication; unpublished acts are not applied.

3. **International and Normative Agreements**

International treaties of the Russian Federation are a constituent part of the legal system. In the event of a conflict between the provisions of an international treaty and federal law, the provisions of the international treaty apply. A normative contract is an agreement between two or more parties establishing, amending, or repealing legal norms. 4. Legal custom

Legal custom is a rule of behavior established through repeated application, recognized by the state, and not conflicting with legislation. In the field of land law, a custom may be taken into account, for example, when determining hay-cutting periods, grazing of animals, or use of a land plot by multiple owners. 5. Judicial practice

Judicial practice in the Russian Federation is not an official source of law; however, its decisions published by the plenary sessions of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation and the Higher Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation may have an explanatory nature and can be used in applying and interpreting the law. Decisions of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation have a normative effect to the extent of declaring acts unconstitutional. 6.

Constitution of the Russian Federation

The Constitution of the Russian Federation has the highest legal authority, direct effect and is binding for all state bodies, officials, citizens and their associations. It enshrines:

• right of ownership over land and natural resources;

• citizens' right to a favourable environment and compensation for ecological damage;

• obligation to preserve nature and the environment;

• distribution of powers between the Russian Federation and its subjects in respect of issues of natural resource use and environmental protection.

  7. Federal legislation

Land and ecological relations are regulated by the Land Code of the Russian Federation, federal laws, and normative legal acts of executive authorities. Federal laws and acts of the Government of the Russian Federation establish norms obligatory for all subjects of the Russian Federation and citizens. 8. Legislation of the Subjects of the Russian Federation

The subjects of the Russian Federation have the right to enact laws, charters, and other normative acts regulating land and environmental relations, taking into account local specifics. These acts must not contradict federal legislation. 9. Municipal legal acts

Local self-government bodies have the right to adopt municipal legal acts regulating issues of environmental protection and rational use of natural resources within the territory of the municipal formation. 10. Local regulatory acts

Local normative acts adopted by organizations apply to employees of a specific organization and are aimed at complying with environmental requirements and rational use of resources. They have an internal rather than public character.