Ruling No. 32-P of the Constitutional Court of the RUSSIAN FEDERATION on the case of verification of constitutionality of Part 1 of Article 3 of the Federal Law "Federal Law No. 82-FZ on ensuring traditional rights of sparsely distributed indigenous peoples of the Russian Federation" and Part 1 of Article 19 of the Federal Law No. 209-FZ “On hunting and conservation of hunting resources and on Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation" in connection with the complaint of citizen A.F. Danilov.

Citizen A.F. Danilov disputed the constitutionality of Part 1 of Article 3 of the Federal Law "Federal Law No. 82-FZ on ensuring traditional rights of sparsely distributed indigenous peoples of the Russian Federation" according to which this Federal Law applies to persons belonging to the indigenous peoples of the Russian Federation, permanently residing in places of traditional residence and traditional economic activities of these peoples, leading a traditional way of life, carrying out traditional economic activities and practicing traditional trades, as well as persons who belong to these peoples, permanently live in places of traditional residence and traditional economic activities of these peoples and for which traditional economic activity and traditional industries and trades are ancillary activities in relation to the main type of activity in other sectors of the national economy, socio-cultural sphere, public authorities or bodies of local government; and Part 1 of Article 19 of the Federal Law No. 209-FZ “On hunting and conservation of hunting resources and on Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation" in accordance with which hunting in order to ensure the conduct of a traditional way of life and traditional economic activities are carried out by persons belonging to the indigenous peoples of the North, Siberia and the Far East of the Russian Federation, and their communities, as well as persons who do not belong to the specified peoples, but permanently reside in places of their traditional residence and traditional economic activities and for whom hunting is the basis of their existence. This Ruling recognizes Part 1 of Article 3 of the Federal Law "Federal Law No. 82-FZ on ensuring traditional rights of sparsely distributed indigenous peoples of the Russian Federation" and Part 1 of Article 19 of the Federal Law No. 209-FZ “On hunting and conservation of hunting resources and on Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation" not contradicting the Constitution of the Russian Federation because - according to its constitutional and legal meaning in the system of current legal regulation and taking into account legal positions of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation - they do not exclude implementation by a person who is a representative of one of the indigenous small peoples of the North, Siberia and the Far East of the Russian Federation, hunting on the conditions established for the indigenous peoples, on the territory of residence of such people and in order to ensure traditional way of life and traditional economic activity, if such a person does not reside permanently in places of traditional residence of indigenous peoples, but objectively preserves a confirmed connection with these territories, with the traditional way of life and traditional economic activities of their ancestors, and carries out in the indicated places the traditional economic activities in addition to the main activity at the place of permanent residence. The constitutional and legal meaning of Part 1 of Article 19 of the Federal Law No. 209-FZ “On hunting and conservation of hunting resources and on Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation", identified in this Ruling, is generally binding, which excludes any other interpretation in law enforcement practice. The federal legislator should clarify the legislative basis for the implementation of the right to hunt in order to ensure the conduct of traditional way of life and traditional economic activities of the representatives of the indigenous small-numbered peoples of the North, Siberia and Far East of the Russian Federation, who do not reside permanently in places of traditional residence and traditional economic activities of these peoples and carry out traditional economic activity in addition to the main one, moreover, the federal legislator must ensure that the opinions of the representatives of these peoples living in places of traditional residence and traditional economic activities of the indigenous peoples are taken into consideration.