The President-sponsored bill provides a regulatory and organizational basis for the Public Chamber's operations, explains Sergei Popov, Chair of the Duma Committee for Public Associations and Religious Organizations.
According to Mr. Popov, the Public Chamber is to make sure that economic and social problems are solved to benefit individuals, public associations, and government agencies alike, that there are security guarantees for individual citizens, the nation, and the state, and that the constitutional order is properly protected.
The Public Chamber's decisions are non-binding legally, and will be accepted in the form of proposals and recommendations.
This 126-member-strong body will be formed out of representatives of national, regional and interregional public associations and non-profit organizations.
Forty-two of the Chamber's members are to be nominated by the President in coordination with public organizations. Confirmed presidential nominees shall select, on a competitive basis, 42 more candidates affiliated with national public organizations, with the selection process to be completed within two months' time.
In the subsequent month, the Chamber's 84 members, or two-thirds of the total, shall pick out another 42 candidates from among representatives of regional and interregional public associations, Mr. Popov said. The Public Chamber lineup is to be reviewed every other year. The President, the Cabinet Ministers, the MPs, the judges, and the civil servants are not eligible for membership, and neither are leaders of political parties, he said, adding that membership in the Chamber was not subject to revocation.
The Public Chamber is to be financed from the federal purse, Mr. Popov said.
