Overthrow of the president under constitutional law: impeachment - what is it. Removal of the President from office: description of the procedure, history and interesting facts The President of the Russian Federation can be impeached

the lower house of parliament with the required threshold of 340 votes. Only 137 legislators did not support impeachment. According to the procedure, now the final decision on Rousseff’s removal from office must be made by deputies of the Senate, the upper house of parliament.

AiF.ru tells what impeachment is.

Background

Impeachment (translated from English impeachment - “distrust”) is the removal of the head of state from office by specially authorized bodies, most often parliament, according to the procedure and grounds provided for by law. This practice was first used in the 14th century in England. The procedure consisted of confirmation of charges against the head of the House of Commons or ministers, with or without a preliminary investigation. It was followed by a trial held by the House of Lords. The last impeachment in Great Britain was against Lord Melville in 1806.

There have only been three attempts to impeach presidents in US history. In 1868, one vote was not enough to resign Andrew Johnson. In 1974, President Richard Nixon avoided impeachment by resigning in advance. Impeachment also failed Bill Clinton in 1998 after a scandal with Monica Lewinsky.

Impeachment in the Russian Federation

In Russia, the impeachment procedure is provided for in Art. 93 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation.

Article 93 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation

1. The President of the Russian Federation may be removed from office by the Federation Council only on the basis of a charge brought by the State Duma of high treason or committing another grave crime, confirmed by the conclusion of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation on the presence of signs of a crime in the actions of the President of the Russian Federation and by the conclusion of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation on compliance with the established procedure for bringing charges.

2. The decision of the State Duma to bring charges and the decision of the Federation Council to remove the President from office must be adopted by two-thirds of the total votes in each chamber on the initiative of at least one third of the deputies of the State Duma and in the presence of the conclusion of a special commission formed by the State Duma.

3. The decision of the Federation Council to remove the President of the Russian Federation from office must be made no later than three months after the State Duma brings charges against the President. If a decision by the Federation Council is not made within this period, the charge against the President is considered rejected.

Which Russian president was threatened with impeachment?

The issue of removal from office has repeatedly arisen in relation to the first President of the Russian Federation Boris Yeltsin.

In March 1993, on the initiative of the Supreme Council and the Congress of People's Deputies of Russia, the question of the powers of the president was submitted to a national referendum, as a result of which Yeltsin retained his powers.

On May 15, 1999, the State Duma considered the issue of early termination of the powers of Russian President Boris Yeltsin, according to the impeachment procedure begun in 1998. It was based on five charges, including the collapse of the Soviet Union; shooting of parliament in October 1993; the outbreak of war in Chechnya; the collapse of the Armed Forces and the genocide of the Russian people. However, during the voting, two-thirds of the votes of the deputies were not obtained on any of the charges. As a result of the vote, none of the charges received the support of a majority of deputies and the impeachment procedure was terminated.

In which countries have presidents lost their powers after impeachment?

Impeachment is spelled out in the constitutions of many countries around the world, but in practice, removal from office as a result of this procedure occurs very rarely. As a result of impeachment, the following people lost their positions:

• in 1992 by Brazilian President Fernando Color due to allegations of corruption
• in 1997, Ecuadorian President Abdala Bucaram on charges of "mental disability"
• in 2000, Philippine President Joseph Estrada was accused of receiving multimillion-dollar bribes from the illegal gambling business
• in 2000 by Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori for numerous crimes against the people
• in 2001, Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid on corruption charges
• in 2004, Lithuanian President Rolandas Paksas on charges of bias in decision-making and dependence on third parties.

You can often hear the word “impeachment” on TV screens. What is this in simple words? Who was subjected to this procedure and in which countries?

Usually, he is remembered during a political or economic crisis. You can learn more about this from the article.

Definition of the concept

The word has English roots and is translated as “distrust.” What is impeachment? This definition implies a special judicial procedure against officials with their subsequent removal from their positions. An official means both a minister and a president.

History of origin

The meaning of impeachment originated in the fourteenth century in England. received the right to bring the king's ministers to trial by the lords. The basis was a criminal case. Previously, only the ruling monarch had the right to make such a decision.

Over time, this procedure was enshrined in US law. Judges and governors may be subject to impeachment.

In the legislation of different countries

Now it is clear what impeachment is. In simple words, this is the removal from office of a public servant. There is a similar procedure in most states. Basically, the issue of impeachment is decided at the government level. However, in Liechtenstein the procedure for removing a prince from power is carried out on the basis of a popular referendum.

In the United States, the question of impeachment is put forward in the House of Representatives. Then there must be a majority vote (two-thirds) in the Senate.

In Ukraine, the institution of impeachment relates to the office of the president. This is described in the third article of the Constitution. The Verkhovna Rada removes him from power. 226 deputies or more must vote. The reason could be another crime.

"Impeachment Parade"

To better understand what it is in simple words (impeachment), real examples should be given. In Europe, there are practically no cases of cases being completed. I can only remember 2004. Paksas was accused of granting citizenship to businessman Yuri Borisov in exchange for a donation of four hundred thousand dollars. Rolandas Paksas did not admit his guilt, but was suspended.

The situation in the countries of South America is much more interesting. So in Brazil the Senate opposed the president. Fernando Colora di Melo resigned, but the government decided to see the matter through. The president was impeached on charges of corruption.

The Venezuelan government brought a similar charge against Carlos Perez. The president was removed from power and placed under house arrest for two years.

In 1997, a trial began in Ecuador against Abdala Bucaram. He was accused of several counts: illegal use of armed forces, inappropriate behavior and corruption. As a result, the Ecuadorian “dance lover” emigrated to Panama.

In 2000, an incident occurred in Peru. The President fled the country to Japan. The reason for this was mass protests, which were provoked by corruption among Alberto Fujimori’s entourage. The leader of Peru resigned, but Congress did not accept it and brought the impeachment procedure to an end. He was accused of "persistent moral failure."

Sometimes impeachment led to a deterioration in relations with other countries. So in 2012, in Paraguay, the president was accused of improper use of his official duties. Parliament removed him, but many Latin American states considered that a coup had occurred in Paraguay and recalled their ambassadors.

In the United States, three attempts were made to remove a president: Richard Nixon. But in two cases they were acquitted by the Senate, and Nixon resigned without waiting for the government's decision.

In the legislation of the Russian Federation

In Russia there is also an institute that is difficult to understand in simple words. The procedure is described in the ninety-third article of the country's constitution. If the president has committed a crime, the State Duma brings charges against him. The Supreme Court and the Federation Council also give their confirmation.

Attempts to remove Boris Yeltsin

The meaning of impeachment lies not only in the removal of a president or a senior government official from office. It is necessary to bring him to trial. Although most often there is talk of impeachment when the president and the government cannot agree. What impeachment of a president is is also known in the Russian Federation.

In Russia, three attempts were made to carry out the removal procedure. All of them were directed against Boris Yeltsin. The first time this happened was in 1993, but by decision of a popular referendum the president retained his post. In the same year, another conflict situation arose between the leader of the state and government officials. To resolve it, we had to use weapons.

In 1998, a parliamentary commission was created under the State Duma. She prepared charges for which Yeltsin was threatened with impeachment, but none of the points received a majority of votes from deputies.

Every removal from power carries political consequences. Even if it was done in a legal way.

The main news of many world news was Trump's victory in the US elections. There is an opinion among some politicians and economists that he will not be able to “sit” in the White House for long. The American Congress has a serious political tool in its hands - the procedure for removing the president from office. As long as Trump's same-party Republicans are in power, there may be nothing to fear. But what happens if hostile Democrats win the congressional elections? It remains a mystery. Thinking about this, our citizens begin to wonder: does our country have a procedure for removing the President of the Russian Federation from office? Let's try to answer this question.

Removal of the President from office, or who is in charge in the country

In our country, a similar measure is provided for in the basic law. According to the Constitution, removal of office is possible with the participation of two higher state entities simultaneously - the Federal Assembly and the State Duma. Learn more about how this happens.

Procedure for removal (impeachment)

Legally, the early removal of a head of state is called impeachment. The procedure for removing the President of the Russian Federation from office is as follows: The State Duma brings charges against the head of state.

According to the country's new basic law, the post of vice president was abolished, and a new body called the State Duma began to have much less powers. When assessing these events, we rely only on the legal aspect, without taking any side of the conflict. In fact, Yeltsin’s power was illegitimate until December 1993. But, as they say, winners are not judged.

Who came up with impeachment

Impeachment, or the removal of a president from office, was invented at a time when such an office did not exist. The first country where this concept appeared was England. This happened back in the 14th century. However, it was not the monarch himself, who, as is known, “from God,” who was subjected to the impeachment procedure, but his favorites. The problem was that only the king could personally appoint his own ministers. Consequently, only he could remove them from office. This state of affairs did not suit the citizens, since they were subject to lawlessness on the part of the ministers. Appeals to the king were ignored. Then she decisively took the initiative into her own hands and legalized the removal of ministers from office without the permission of the king. The golden time for the favorites is over, and the procedure itself began to be called impeachment.

Precedents in Russia

In the modern history of Russia, removal of the president from office has never been practiced. Only in the Soviet Union, as a result of a political conspiracy, was the Central Committee of the CPSU once removed from office. Just think, in an authoritarian regime, democratic peaceful impeachment procedures took place, which have never happened in the “standard of democracy” of the United States.

This also has not happened in the modern history of Russia. The only impeachment of Yeltsin that took place led to the shooting of the Congress of People's Deputies from tanks. As a result, the latter was liquidated. In 1998-1999 there was another attempt at impeachment proceedings by the State Duma. However, the matter did not go beyond voting within the country's legislative body.

Impeachment and “sex scandal” in the USA

There have only been three cases in US history in which impeachment proceedings were initiated. None of these attempts were successful. Evil tongues joke about this that they prefer to shoot American presidents rather than remove them.

If the first two attempts to impeach were in the distant past (1868 and 1974), then the last one took place relatively recently - in 1998-1999. It is associated with the name of the Democratic President, Bill Clinton. The House of Representatives accused him of making false statements in a high-profile criminal case.

Clinton was accused of harassing a female administration employee in 1991. Then the future president was its governor. In a hotel room, he offered Paula Jones (that was her name) an intimate relationship. After a long time, the girl filed a lawsuit against the current president for harassment. The story might have remained a fiction, a rumor, if not for the scandal with another young girl from the White House apparatus - Monica Lewinsky. Rumors leaked to the press that she and Bill were intimate. Monica herself, as well as Clinton, denied this. At the trial, both admitted under oath that they had no sexual relationship with each other. This was confirmed by the deputy presidents.

However, after some time, Monica unexpectedly abandoned her testimony and admitted that she had a close relationship with the president. As proof, she showed off a dress with Bill's biological traces on it. Many skeptics did not believe it, because two years had passed since these events. However, DNA showed that the semen was indeed Clinton's.

As a result, the Senate was considering impeachment on charges of perjury against the President, since for the first time he stated that he did not have sexual intercourse with Monica. However, Clinton masterfully “extricated himself” in court. Apparently, the legal profession was not in vain. He stated that oral sex does not count as sexual intercourse. Oddly enough, the court accepted and acquitted his arguments, but the Senate did not receive the necessary majority.

The president of the country, like any participant in the executive branch, is responsible for his actions to the people. As a measure limiting the powers of the leader of the state, the legislation provides for a mechanism for removing him from power.

Precise definition

What is impeachment in relation to the president. The concept of impeachment appeared in legal practice in the 15th century. The deprivation of powers procedure was first tested in England. It provided for an investigation into a case of violation of existing laws charged to an official.

English legislation was borrowed by North American partners, who introduced the concept of presidential impeachment. The US Constitution sets out in detail the plan of action when a vote of no confidence is passed. The mechanism is provided for in relation to managers at different levels – national and regional.

Attention! The term comes from the Latin verb “impedivi” - “impeded, stopped.”

What is impeachment of an official? Impeachment serves as an act of demonstrating maximum distrust of a powerful leader. This is a legitimate way to remove him from power before the end of his term of office. The word is borrowed from English. Translated, impeachment means “mistrust.” The meaning of the word impeachment indicates suspicions raised against an official.

Features of Russian legislation

The definition of impeachment was introduced into the legislation of the Russian Federation to designate actions to attract the president of the country.

According to the established norms of the Constitution, the head of state has legal immunity. Since 1993, Article 93 has appeared in the Basic Law of the Russian Federation, which provides for impeachment of the head of state if he is accused of serious crimes (for example, treason).

The accusing party is the State Duma, which accuses the country's highest official of violations justified by a special commission. The accusation must be supported by at least 30% of the deputies of the lower house of parliament. Votes are collected using ballots by secret ballot.

A prerequisite for bringing the head of state to justice is a report on behalf of the Supreme Court, which has found signs of a crime in the actions of the current president. On its basis, the Duma draws up a resolution on a vote of no confidence and sends it to the upper house of parliament.

The impeachment procedure involves a vote by senators on the proposed request. To bring it into effect, the support of more than 60% of the members of the Federation Council is required. The period for reviewing the document is up to 3 months. After this time, the claim becomes invalid. The final decision comes into force after the Constitutional Court confirms the accuracy of compliance with the regulations.

Important! The mechanism for removing a powerful leader from power before the end of his term of office has been used three times in the history of Russia: in relation to President Boris Yeltsin in 1993 (2 times) and in 1999.

In a democratic society, compliance with laws is the cornerstone of the existence of a socio-political system. The status of the highest official of a power protects the leader from legal claims during the term of election; impeachment allows this to be done, regardless of power.

Practice of foreign countries

In foreign countries, impeachment is not provided for in all legislation. In cases where there is a need for early removal of powers from the head of state, a plebiscite is used. The referendum is carried out in 3 stages. During it, signatures of people who voted for a candidate in the presidential election are collected.

We list these stages:

• at least 1% of the total number of voters;
• not less than 20%;
• at least 50%.

Attention! There are countries where impeachment is impossible. In Vietnam, North Korea, Uzbekistan, Indonesia, Algeria, a leader cannot be deprived of power before the expiration of his legitimacy.

If half of the voters express a desire to replace the head of state, then the impeachment procedure is considered completed.

Description of the procedure

The removal of a president from his position is carried out according to strict regulations prescribed by law. The sequence of actions in this operation is provided for in the Constitution. Compliance with all requirements is monitored by the Constitutional Court.

The procedure consists of several stages:

1. Raising legal charges for violation of the law through the highest legislative body (parliament).
2. Confirmation by the Supreme Court of the presence of corpus delicti in the actions of the accused.
3. Drawing up a legislative act on the deprivation of power in the lower house of parliament (State Duma in Russia, House of Representatives in the USA, House of Commons in the UK).
4. The approval of the conclusion on the removal of a country from its position takes place in the upper house of parliament (Council of Federations in Russia, Senate in the USA, House of Lords in the UK).

The right to announce the final verdict belongs to the Supreme Judge.

Reasons for a vote of no confidence

The legislation of different states defines its own list of reasons for passing a vote of no confidence in the leader of a state, based on the interpretation of what the word impeachment means.

In most countries the following are considered serious offences:

1. Treason, support for forces hostile to the state.
2. Bribery, corruption.
3. Perjury, obstruction of justice.
4. Engagement in entrepreneurial activity.
5. Violation of the laws of the country.
6. Illegal dissolution of parliament.
7. Inadequate performance of assigned duties.
8. An attack on the constitutional order.

Examples from history

The practical use of the legislative mechanism for removing a leader from his post did not occur often. At the turn of the 20th-21st centuries, several presidents learned what the word impeachment means:

In the United States, the word impeachment was used in relation to three presidents:

1. Andrew Johnson in connection with the illegal resignation of the head of the War Department (1868);
2. Richard Nixon, in the case of secret wiretapping of the headquarters of the Democratic Party - Watergate (1974);
3. Bill Clinton for perjury and obstruction of justice (1998-1999).

Nicholson himself resigned, and acquittals were made in the Clinton and Johnson cases.

Useful video: what is impeachment?

The post of a national leader puts forward strict demands on a person’s behavior and his compliance with the position held. Evasion of legal compliance is grounds for pressing charges.

Impeachment translated from English means “mistrust, doubt.” The president is the first person in the state. If he fails to fulfill his responsibilities, parliament or another government body has the right to put forward a “vote of no confidence” in him.

What is presidential impeachment?

This term “migrated” to the Constitutional legislation of Russia from the USA. What does impeachment of a president mean in different countries? This is a procedure for bringing to legal responsibility and subsequent removal from office a senior government official. Actions are performed according to the following scheme:

1. The “culprit” is charged with criminal offenses.
2. The formation of the conclusion takes place in the lower house of the Legislative Body.
3. The court verdict is made by the upper chamber.

Reasons for impeaching a president

If in the Russian Federation the main reason for the process is treason against the state, then in America and other Western countries this list is much longer. A high position requires compliance with legal and constitutional norms, utmost honesty, and the publication of information of national importance. Impeachment is the removal from power of a president who violates the established order and fails to cope with his official duties. The main reasons for starting the trial:

1. High treason (for example, in the USA this concept means military actions against America, supporting enemies, joining their ranks).
2. Other serious criminal acts: bribery; violation of civil rights specified in the Constitution, perjury, obstruction of justice; concealment of information of national importance.
3. Inability to perform direct duties due to health reasons.

Who can announce impeachment?

In Russia, the process is initiated by the State Duma, in the USA – by the House of Representatives. The application goes to the Judiciary Committee, which formulates the “provisions of impeachment.” If the majority of members of the House of Representatives (USA) or 2/3 of the State Duma deputies (Russia) vote for them, then further progress is given to the matter. Who impeaches a president at the end of trials? The Senate (USA) or the Federation Council (Russia) considers the testimony of witnesses. The Chief Justice presides over the impeachment trial. He will also publish the adopted conclusion.

How to impeach a president?

The Federation Council (Russia) or the Senate (USA) makes the final verdict. In those countries where the Constitution does not provide for a procedure for removing the president from office, a popular referendum is held. At the 1st stage of voting, at least 1% of the votes of voters who previously voted for the approval of the candidate for the position of senior management must be collected. At stage 2, the number of votes must be at least 20%. At the last stage, the number of voters in favor of impeaching the president must be more than 50%.

The main stages of the impeachment procedure

In Russia, the impeachment procedure was carried out 3 times: twice in 1993 and in 1999. The procedure for conducting it was borrowed by the United States from Great Britain, and by Russia from America. Russian President Boris Yeltsin came under judicial pressure 3 times, Americans – Richard M. Nicholson, Andrew Johnson, Bill Clinton, Brazilian Dilma Rousseff (the trial was completed on August 31, 2016).

Impeachment - what is it from a legal point of view? In the Russian Federation, the process is regulated by Art. 93:

1. The State Duma issues an indictment for treason or other serious crimes.
2. The Supreme Court makes a decision on the presence of signs and motives of a crime.
3. The Constitutional Court of Russia regulates compliance with the procedure established when a guilty verdict is issued.
4. The conclusion on the removal of the president from his position is announced - it is made by the Federation Council.

Impeachment - what is it in the USA, and according to what scheme does it occur? The process is carried out in 2 stages:

• Stage 1 - a guilty verdict is brought forward by representatives of the Chamber;
• Stage 2 – the conclusion is made by the Senate.