Putin submits amendments to law on Russian Academy of Sciences to State Duma
MOSCOW. Feb 24 (Interfax) - Russian President Vladimir Putin has submitted a bill on the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) and the reorganization of academies of sciences to the State Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament said on its website on Saturday.
According to the explanatory note, the draft federal legislation was designed in order to improve the Russian legislative regulation of the RAS activities on the basis of the recent reform of the academic science.
"The bill details the goals pursued by the Russian Academy of Sciences in its work, clarifies its main objectives, functions, and powers as specified in the Federal Law 'On the Russian Academy of Sciences, reorganizing state academies of Sciences and amendments to certain legislative acts of the Russian Federation'," the State Duma said in the explanatory note.
"It is proposed to include the following in the goals that the Russian Academy of Sciences will pursue in its activities: forecasting the main directions of scientific, scientific-technological, and socio-economic development of the Russian Federation, as well as research and methodological oversight of scientific and scientific-technological activities of academic organizations and educational institutions of higher education," the State Duma said.
In addition, it is proposed in the bill to charge the RAS with fundamental and exploratory scientific research financed by budgetary appropriations at the expense of the federal budget, including research as carried out in the area of defense industry for the benefit of the country's defense and state security. It also suggests that the RAS will organize designing of a long-term program for fundamental scientific research in Russia and presenting that to the government, it said.
The bill details the annual RAS report's presentation to the Russian president and the Russian government and refers to the functions of the RAS in the area of international cooperation in science and technology.
The bill also implies that the RAS will participate in organizing and maintaining activities for the popularization of science.
"In order to facilitate the interaction between the Russian Academy of Sciences with state authorities, it is proposed to empower the Russian Academy of Sciences to send proposals to the state authorities of the Russian Federation with regard to the issues concerning legislation development and those within the scope of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and also to hold public discussions on the said issues," the State Duma said.
Also, it is proposed to determine that every decision on reorganization, dissolution, or changing the type of any organization under supervision of a federal executive authority that is specially empowered by the Russian government and equally, any amendment to the charter (adoption of a new version of the charter) of such an organization is subject to approval by the RAS. The bill details some provisions about how chiefs of those organizations are appointed.
The enactment of the law "On amending the Federal Law 'On the Russian Academy of Sciences, reorganizing state academies of Sciences and amendments to certain legislative acts of the Russian Federation'" will not require any additional expenditure from the federal budget.
The enactment of the bill will not require any repeal, suspension or modification of other federal legislative acts or adoption of any new acts, it said.
RAS Vice President Valery Kozlov has been appointed the presidential representative for the purposes of the bill's consideration in both houses of the Russian parliament.
On January 22, RAS President Alexander Sergeyev told in an interview with Interfax that he and Putin had met to discuss the need of amending the current RAS law and possible drafting of a new law in the future.
"We believe that the new law on the Academy of Sciences is needed and he [Putin] has agreed," Sergeyev told Interfax following his meeting with Putin.
The Academy's place in the new law on scientific, scientific-technological and innovative activities, which is planned to submit to the State Duma during the spring session, was discussed at the meeting, Sergeyev said.