(From “Regulation of the Council of Federation of the Federal Assembly of Russian Federation”)

Article 18

1. Chairman of the Council of Federation:

a) convenes sessions of the Council of Federation, also extraordinary;

b) formulates draft agenda of a session of the Council of Federation, brings it forward to the Chamber Council, introduces the draft agenda of a session of the Council of Federation, considered by the Chamber Council, to the Council of Federation;

c) presides over a session of the Chamber;

d) signs resolutions of the Council of Federation;

e) puts on oath persons, appointed as a judge of Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation and General Prosecutor of the Russian Federation;

f) authorizes an internal order of Chamber activities according to the powers, attributed to him through this Regulation;

g) distributes duties between the 1^st Deputy Chairman of the Council of Federation and other deputies Chairman of the Council of Federation;

h) organizes the activities of Chamber Counsil and chairs its sessions

i) coordinates activities of the committees and commissions of the Council of Federation;

j) submits for preliminary consideration to Chamber committees and commissions, according to their specification, draft laws of the Russian Federation on amendments to the Constitution of the Russian Federation, approved by the State Duma of Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation (below – the State Duma), federal constitutional laws, approved by the State federal laws, and also bills, amendments to bills, developed by a committee/ a commission of the Council of Federation, by a member of the Council of Federation, which are to be submitted to the State Duma as implementation of a right to exercise legislative initiatives of the Council of Federation;

k) makes public notifications on adopted laws of the Russian Federation on amendments to the Constitution of the Russian Federation;

l) submits approved laws of the Russian Federation on amendments to the Constitution of the Russian Federation for consideration by legislative (representative) state bodies of subjects of the Russian Federation;

m) submits laws on amendments to the Constitution of the Russian Federation , federal constitutional laws and federal laws, approved by the Council of Federation, to the President of the Russian Federation for signature and official announcement;

n) submits draft laws on amendments to the Constitution of the Russian Federation , federal constitutional laws and federal laws, passed by the Council of Federation to the State Duma;

o) submits legislative bills, approved by the Parliament of a Federal State, Inter-Parliamentary Assembly of Eurasia economic community, model legislative bills, approved by Inter-Parliamentary Assembly of states – members of the Commonwealth of Independent States, to Committees and Commissions of the Council of Federation within their competence, and to the Legal Department of Apparatus of the Council of Federation for further revision;

p) represents the Chamber when interacting with federal state bodies, state bodies of subjects of the Russian Federation, bodies of self-government, public organization, and also with foreign parliaments, international organizations, state and public leaders of foreign countries;

q) participates in conciliatory procedures, applied by the President of the Russian Federation in accordance with Part 1 of Article 85 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation to resolve disputes between federal state bodies and state bodies of subjects of the Russian Federation, and also between state bodies of subjects of the Russian Federation;

r) coordinates parliamentary sessions, "round-table" discussions and other events, held by the Council of Federation;

s) approves of schedule of citizens’ admission by members of Committees and Commissions of the Council of Federation, and also submits for revision by other officials in the Council of Federation individual and collective appeals of citizens, received by the Council of Federation (as Resolution of the Council of Federation of Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation from February 12, 2003 № 25-CF - Legislation of the Russian Federation , 2003, № 7, art . 551);

t) settles other organizational issues of activities of the Council of Federation in accordance with this Regulation and other regulating legal documents;

u) exercises general guidance of the Apparatus of the Council of Federation and supervises its activities (as R esolution of the Council of Federation of Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation from March 26, 2003 № 79-CF - Legislation of the Russian Federation , 2003, № 13, art . 1193);

v) approves on agreement with the Chamber council the structure of the Apparatus of the Council of Federation;

w) approves of staff quantity of the Apparatus of the Council of Federation (as R esolution of the Council of Federation of Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation from May 2, 2002 № 254-CF - Legislation of the Russian Federation , 2002, № 14, art . 1241);

x) on agreement with the Chamber council, appoints and dismisses the Chief of the Apparatus of the Council of Federation of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation (below – the Chief of the Apparatus of the Council of Federation), and also on recommendation of the Chief of the Apparatus of the Council of Federation appoints and dismisses 1^st Deputy, deputies of Chief of the Apparatus of the Council of Federation of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation and other employees of the Apparatus of the Council of Federation in accordance with the Resolution on the Apparatus of the Council of Federation Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation;

y) signs and presents with the diploma of the Council of Federation Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation;

z) on decision with the Chamber council, signs and submits to the President of the Russian Federation representations on decorating members of the Council of Federation and employees of the Apparatus of the Council of Federation with governmental awards;

z¹) signs and submits invitations to the Chamber members of the Government of the Russian Federation and to other persons according to the procedure, stated in Article 77 of this Regulation;

z²) leads activities on Chamber activity scheduling;

z³) issues authorities for a member of the Council of Federation during examination of a case in the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation;

z⁴) appoints, out of members of the Council of Federation, plenipotentiery envoys of the Council of Federation for the State Duma, Government of the Russian Federation, Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, Higher Arbitrary Court of the Russian Federation, Accounting Chamber of the Russian Federation, General Procurator’s Office of the Russian Federation, Central Election Committee of the Russian Federation, Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation, and also the plenipotentiery envoy of the Council of Federation on interaction with Envoy on Human Rights in the Russian Federation (as R esolution of the Council of Federation of Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation from March 29, 2002 № 173- CF - Legislation of the Russian Federation , 2002, № 14, art . 1241; R esolution of the Council of Federation of Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation from May 29, 2002 № 254- CF - Legislation of the Russian Federation , 2002, № 23, art . 2125);

z⁵) approves an instruction on office-work in the Council of Federation;

z⁶) issues orders to Committees and Commissions of the Council of Federation;

z⁷) issues orders to other officials in the Council of Federation (as Resolution of the Council of Federation of Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation from March 26, 2003 № 79-CF - Legislation of the Russian Federation , 2003, № 13, art . 1193).

2. Chairman of the Council of Federation issues orders on matters within his competence.

3. Council of Federation has right to cancel orders of the Chairman of the Council of Federation of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation (below – an order of the Chairman of the Council of Federation), which contradicts Legislation of the Russian Federation and this Regulation.

4. Chairman of the Council of Federation or 1^st Deputy Chairman of the Council of Federation on his demand submits reports on Chamber activities and on draft agenda of its legislative activity to the Council, in accordance with decisions of the Council of Federation, which are discussed at the Council of Federation. The Council of Federation can approve resolutions on the results of discussion.

5. Chairman of the Council of Federation submits for approval of the Council of Federation the potential spending projection for Chamber activities and how it met the reality.