Impeachment: what it is in simple words and examples. Heads of state who have been impeached or threatened with impeachment What is the impeachment procedure

May 26, 2015 Parliament of Madagascar. Parliamentarians accused the president of unprofessionalism and violation of the country's constitution. 121 of the 151 members of the National Assembly (Parliament) of Madagascar voted for the resignation of Radzaunarimampianin. On June 13, the Constitutional Court of Madagascar rejected parliament's demand for the president's resignation.

At the beginning of July 2012, the Romanian Parliament. 258 out of 432 deputies voted for his removal from office, 114 voted against. The initiator of the procedure for removing the center-right Basescu from office was the opposition center-left coalition, which prepared a detailed report on his activities over the last two years of his tenure as head of state and accused the politician of violating the constitution.

The country held a referendum on the issue of impeachment of the president, during which more than 87% of voters were in favor of removing the head of state from office. However, the results of the referendum were declared invalid, since the turnout percentage was about 46%, while in order for the referendum to be recognized as valid, at least half of the population eligible to vote must take part in it. The Constitutional Court of Romania decided to recognize the referendum on the impeachment of the country's President Troian Basescu as invalid.

In April 2007 also the Parliament of Romania. MPs from the left opposition accused Basescu of violating the constitution and displaying “totalitarian tendencies”: abuse of power, including wiretapping government members, corruption and damaging Romania’s image in the international arena. It came down to a referendum, in which, according to Romania's Central Electoral Bureau, just over 30% of the more than 18 million citizens eligible to vote participated. Of these, 74% voted against impeachment. This did not prevent Basescu from winning the presidential election in December 2009.

June 22, 2012 Senate of Paraguay to the country's President Fernando Lugo on charges of improper performance of his duties. The reason for the consideration of the case was a clash between police and peasants in the area of the city of Curuguatu, in the department of Canendiyu in the south-east of the country. As a result of the incident, 17 people were killed. , against - 4.

In April 2007 After the presidential and parliamentary elections in Nigeria, which took place on April 21, parties disagreed with the results of the vote, the current President of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo, calling him the main culprit for disrupting the popular elections in the country. At the same time, the Nigerian authorities declared the elections valid. The election campaign and elections were scandalous from the very beginning and received a lot of criticism from observers and supporters of the Nigerian opposition. The day before, the name of the future president of the republic became known - the candidate from the ruling PDP party, Umaru Yar'adua, who was more than twice as ahead of his closest rivals in the number of votes.

In August 2002 Nigeria's lower house of parliament also demanded the resignation of President Olusegun Obasanjo, giving him two weeks to do so. Otherwise, parliamentarians promised to begin impeachment proceedings. However, Obasanjo rejected calls for resignation.

April 6, 2004 Parliament of Lithuania. Parliamentarians found him guilty of three counts of granting citizenship by exception to the sponsor of his election campaign, Russian businessman Yuri Borisov, failing to ensure conditions for protecting state secrecy, and exceeding official authority. 115 deputies of the Sejm out of 137 took part in the secret ballot. The Counting Commission received 114 ballots, of which 103 were recognized as valid.

March 12, 2004 The National Assembly of South Korea was, which the opposition accused of corruption and illegal support for a pro-government party in the run-up to parliamentary elections. On May 14, 2004, the Constitutional Court of South Korea rejected the impeachment of the country's president, Roh Moo-hyun. The judges decided that the parliament's decision to remove the country's president from power was unlawful, and Roh Moo-hyun's powers were restored.

In August 2003 The Supreme Court of Zambia has completed proceedings on the opposition's claims to invalidate the results of the 2001 elections and impeach the current president of the country, Levy Mwanawasa, and rejected them as unfounded. Mwanawasa accused previous President Frederick Chiluba and his circle of corruption and misuse of public funds while in power.

In 2001 Indonesia's parliament voted unanimously to impeach President Wahid Abdurrahman. He failed to cope with the economic difficulties in the country and alienated various political and religious groups, including the army. Wahid Abdurrahman's attempts to remain in power did not receive the support of the country's population.

November 13, 2000 The lower house of the Philippine Parliament voted to impeach the country's President Joseph Estrada. He was accused of receiving multimillion-dollar bribes from criminal syndicates involved in racketeering and gambling. In January 2001, the impeachment process of Joseph Estrada reached a dead end - the prosecutor's office investigating the president's financial transactions was not given access to his accounts. This caused massive opposition protests in Manila.

January 20, 2001 Joseph Estrada resigned.

In February 1997 The Ecuadorian Parliament declared the country's President Abdalou Bucaram "mentally incapable" of governing the state and removed him from power. Abdala Bucaram fled to Panama, which granted him political asylum.

September 29, 1992 The lower house of the Brazilian Congress began impeachment proceedings against President Fernando Color de Melo. By a vote of 441 to 38 against, he was removed from office. On December 29, 1992, just before the Senate vote, Fernando Color di Melo resigned. However, the vote was held, Color was deprived of his post and the right to engage in politics for eight years.

USA

In 1998 The 42nd President of the United States, Bill Clinton, was subjected to impeachment proceedings. Political after information appeared in the media about the president’s relationship with a young White House employee, Monica Lewinsky. Clinton was accused of making false statements to a court and obstructing justice.

In December 1998 the House of Representatives passed a resolution of impeachment; in February 1999, after a long trial in the Senate, all charges against Clinton were dropped.

At the end of March 1993 The Congress of People's Deputies of the Russian Federation tried to remove Russian President Boris Yeltsin from power and begin impeachment proceedings in connection with his televised address on March 20, but the deputies did not collect the required two-thirds of the vote. The failure of impeachment forced the convention to agree to a referendum, which was set for April 25. As a result of the referendum, the president (as well as the congress) retained his powers.

In September 1993, after Yeltsin, by decree No. 1400, ordered the Supreme Council and the Congress to interrupt the exercise of their functions, the Supreme Council, in turn, declared the decree a constitutional coup, the Constitutional Court recognized it as the basis for the removal of the president from office. Supreme

The Council adopted a resolution to terminate the presidential powers. The X Extraordinary Congress of People's Deputies decided to terminate the powers of President Yeltsin. However, during the events of September - October 1993, Yeltsin managed to maintain actual power over the country.

In 1998 for the third time, impeachment proceedings were launched against Boris Yeltsin. 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. For the first time, an Impeachment Committee was formed. On May 15, 1999, the State Duma considered the issue of early termination of the powers of Russian President Yeltsin. However, during the voting, two-thirds of the votes of the deputies were not obtained on any of the charges.

The material was prepared based on information from RIA Novosti and open sources

The Russian Constitution provides for several grounds for termination of the powers of the President.

The powers of the head of state are terminated as usual due to the expiration of the term for which he was elected, in accordance with Part 1 of Art. 81 of the Constitution, this period is six years. The end of this period is determined by the day the newly elected head of state takes the oath of office.

The constitutional regulation of the status of the President provides grounds for early termination of his powers. Such grounds, according to Part 2 of Art. 92 of the Constitution, there are three:

- President's resignation;
- inability for health reasons to exercise his powers;
- removal of the President from office.

According to generally accepted state legal practice, the resignation of the President is understood as the voluntary resignation of the head of state from his post.

A more complex process for terminating presidential powers for health reasons. The regulations of the Russian Federation do not establish the procedure and process for establishing the fact of permanent disability, what its criteria are, how to ensure this kind of decision, and who will make it public.

The procedure for removing the President from office, in contrast to the two mentioned grounds for termination, is spelled out in detail in the 1993 Constitution of the Russian Federation. The removal of the President from office acts as a form of state legal responsibility of the head of state. According to the Constitution, the basis for such a decision by Parliament is the commission of high treason or another serious crime by the President. In addition to the general responsibility that every citizen of Russia bears for such actions, the President also faces state legal responsibility in the form of dismissal from his position.

Contained in Art. 93 of the Constitution, the concepts of “high treason” and “serious crime” are specified in the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. According to Art. 275 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, high treason is understood as espionage, giving away state secrets or otherwise providing assistance to a foreign state, foreign organization or their representatives in carrying out hostile activities to the detriment of the security of the Russian Federation.

The procedure for removing the President from office under the Constitution of the Russian Federation is quite complex. Its complexity is determined by the special role of the President in the state mechanism, the need to create a system of guarantees against the unreasonable use of this measure of responsibility.

The procedure for removing the President from office is implemented on the basis of close interaction between the chambers of the Federal Assembly. The President is accused of committing high treason or another serious crime by the State Duma. The procedure for bringing charges is regulated by the Constitution of the Russian Federation and Chapter 22 of the Rules of the State Duma. According to Part 2 of Art. 93 of the Constitution, the initiator of raising the issue of impeaching the President can be a group of deputies numbering at least one third of the deputies of the State Duma. Materials presented by the initiative group are subject to consideration at a meeting of the chamber. According to Part 2 of Art. 177 of the Rules of the State Duma, a special commission is elected by the State Duma consisting of a chairman, his deputy and 13 commission members. The chairman of the commission is elected by the State Duma by open voting by a majority vote of the total number of deputies of the chamber. Members of the commission are elected on the nomination of deputy associations by a general list by a majority vote of the total number of deputies of the State Duma. The deputy chairman of the commission is elected at its meeting.

The special conclusion is submitted by the preparatory commission to the State Duma and is subject to discussion at its meeting. Within the meaning of Art. 93 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, in order to continue the procedure for removing the President, the commission’s conclusion must confirm his guilt and indicate the existence of grounds for removal. Based on the results of discussion of the conclusion, the State Duma may decide to charge the President with high treason or committing another serious crime. This decision, according to Art. 180 of the Rules of the State Duma, adopted by two-thirds of the votes of the total number of deputies.

According to Part 1 of Art. 93 of the Russian Constitution, the accusation brought by the State Duma must be sent to the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation. The Supreme Court must give an opinion on the presence or absence of signs of a corresponding serious crime in the President’s actions. The conclusion of the Supreme Court does not have the legal force of a sentence; it can only be used as part of the procedure for removing the President from office.

The Supreme Court gives an opinion on the merits of the charges brought forward by the State Duma, the Constitutional Court - on compliance with the appropriate procedure for bringing charges. The object of analysis of the Constitutional Court is the activities of the State Duma, the initiative group and the commission for preparing a conclusion on the removal of the President from office. Contents of Part 1 of Art. 93 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation gives grounds to assert that when the Supreme Court concludes that there are no signs of high treason or other serious crime in the actions of the President, as well as when the Constitution establishes

The decision to remove the President from office, provided the relevant documents are available, is made by the Federation Council with a two-thirds majority vote of the total number of members of the Federation Council. In this case, all documents related to the removal process specified in the Constitution must be carefully discussed.

The decision of the Federation Council to remove the President from office must be made no later than three months after the State Duma brings charges against the head of state. According to Part 3 of Art. 93 of the Constitution, the charge against the President is considered rejected if no decision is made by the Federation Council within this period.

From the moment of early termination of the powers of the President on the grounds mentioned above until the election of the next head of state, the corresponding state functions must be carried out. Therefore, the Constitution of Russia of 1993 provides for the institution of temporary performance of the duties of the President by the Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation (Part 2 of Article 92). To exclude possible attempts to abuse this situation of the transition period, Part 3 of Art. 92 of the Constitution establishes a rule about the impossibility of making a number of decisions by the acting President. He does not have the right to dissolve the State Duma or call a referendum. And also make proposals for amendments and revisions to the Constitution of the Russian Federation.

SIGNS	INSTITUTE OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE RF
1. Concept of a chapter states	The President of the Russian Federation is the head of state and heads the executive branch of the Russian Federation, is the guarantor of the Constitution and laws, the rights and freedoms of man and citizen, and ensures the strict implementation of the Constitution and laws. The President of the Russian Federation develops the concept of the state’s domestic and foreign policy and takes measures to implement it. The President, within the limits of the powers granted to him by this Constitution, represents the Russian Federation within the country and in international relations. The President of the Russian Federation is the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and by force takes any legal measures aimed at strengthening the defense capability of the Russian Federation.
2. Requirements for candidates	There are not many constitutional requirements for the President of the Russian Federation. A citizen of the Russian Federation who is at least 35 years old and has been permanently residing in the Russian Federation for at least 10 years can be elected as a candidate. No special education or work experience is required, and there is no upper age limit. The requirement of permanent residence in the Russian Federation for at least 10 years does not mean that a presidential candidate could not leave the country for short trips at all; we are talking here only about continuous primary residence. At the same time, the law establishes that citizens living outside of Russia during the preparation and holding of elections have equal rights in the elections of the President of the Russian Federation.
	Elections of the President of the Russian Federation are appointed by the Federation Council of the Russian Federation. The decision to call elections must be made no earlier than 100 days and no later than 90 days before voting day. In accordance with Article 5 of the Federal Law “On the Election of the President of the Russian Federation,” the voting day for presidential elections is the second Sunday of the month in which voting was held in the previous general elections of the President of the Russian Federation and in which the President of the Russian Federation was elected six years ago. Candidates for the position of president can be nominated by political parties (in this case, a political party has the right to nominate only one candidate), by way of self-nomination (in this case, his candidacy must be supported by an initiative group of at least 500 voters registered with the Central Election Commission). In both cases, it is necessary to collect at least 2 million signatures in support of the candidate, and no more than 50 thousand signatures should fall on one subject of the Federation. Registration of presidential candidates is carried out by the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation. The President of Russia is elected by citizens of the Russian Federation on the basis of universal, equal and direct suffrage by secret ballot. Every citizen of the Russian Federation who has reached the age of 18 on voting day has the right to elect the President of Russia (with the exception of those who are deprived of active voting rights). Voting takes place at specially equipped polling stations by the voter entering into the ballot any sign in the square relating to the candidate in whose favor the choice was made, and then placing the completed ballot in a sealed stationary ballot box. The initial count of votes is carried out by precinct election commissions, which send protocols on the results of the count to the territorial election commissions. Territorial election commissions, after preliminary checking the correctness of drawing up the protocols of precinct commissions, draw up protocols on the voting results in the relevant territory and send them to the election commissions of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, which in turn, after checking them, draw up protocols on the voting results on the territory of the constituent entities and send them to the Central election commission. The Central Election Commission determines the election results no later than ten days after voting day.
4. Taking office	The oath of the President of the Russian Federation is a solemn oath taken by the person elected President of the Russian Federation during the solemn ceremony of taking office (inauguration). According to established tradition, the President is sworn in by the Chairman of the Constitutional Court of Russia. The oath is taken by the incoming President, standing on a special podium on the podium of the St. Andrew's Hall of the Grand Kremlin Palace, facing those present, while to the right of the incoming President is a Special Copy of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, and to the left is the Badge of the President of the Russian Federation. The oath is taken by placing the right hand on the Special Copy of the Constitution. Also on the podium are the State Flag of the Russian Federation and the Standard of the President of the Russian Federation. When taking the oath on the podium, in addition to the incoming President and the Chairman of the Constitutional Court, there are the Chairman of the Federation Council, the Chairman of the State Duma and the President-predecessor (who, before the new President takes the oath, makes a short speech, where he announces the transfer of his powers to the newly elected). The rest of the invitees are in the hall. After the text of the oath is pronounced by the incoming President, the Chairman of the Constitutional Court pronounces a remark stating that the person taking the oath has assumed the office of President of Russia, after which the National Anthem of the Russian Federation is played. The ceremony ends with a short speech by the new President. Taking the oath is the culmination and main point of the entire inauguration ceremony, since only after its pronouncement the elected President acquires the status of the current one and begins to enjoy all the rights and bear all the responsibilities assigned to him by the Constitution and other laws.
5. Powers and responsibilities	Based on the fourth chapter of the constitution, the President of Russia exercises the following powers: appoints with the approval of the State. Duma of the Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation; has the right to chair meetings of the Government of the Russian Federation; makes a decision on the resignation of the Government of the Russian Federation; represents the State Duma a candidate for appointment to the post of Chairman of the Central Bank; and also puts before the State. the Duma the question of dismissing the Chairman of the Central Bank from his position; appoints and dismisses Deputy Prime Ministers of the Russian Federation and federal ministers; presents to the Federation Council candidates for appointment to the positions of judges of the constitutional court, the Supreme Court, the Supreme Arbitration Court, as well as the candidacy of the prosecutor general; submits to the Federation Council a proposal to dismiss the Prosecutor General from office; appoints judges of other federal courts; forms and heads the Security Council of the Russian Federation, the status of which is determined by federal law; approves the military doctrine of the Russian Federation; forms the presidential administration; appoints and dismisses authorized representatives of the President of the Russian Federation; appoints and dismisses the high command of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation; appoints and recalls diplomatic representatives of the Russian Federation in foreign states and international organizations. calls elections State. Duma in accordance with the Constitution and federal law; dissolves the State the Duma in cases and in the manner provided for by the constitution; calls a referendum in the manner established by federal constitutional law; signs and promulgates federal laws within fourteen days of receipt; addresses the Federal Assembly with annual messages on the situation in the country, on the main directions of the state’s domestic and foreign policy. The President of the Russian Federation may use conciliation procedures to resolve disagreements between government bodies of the Russian Federation and government bodies of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, as well as between government bodies of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. If an agreed solution is not reached, he may refer the dispute to the appropriate court. The President of the Russian Federation has the right to suspend the actions of executive authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation; manages the foreign policy of the Russian Federation; negotiates and signs international treaties of the Russian Federation; signs instruments of ratification; accepts credentials and letters of recall from diplomatic representatives accredited to him. resolves issues of Russian citizenship and granting political asylum; awards state awards of the Russian Federation, assigns honorary titles of the Russian Federation, the highest military and highest special ranks; grants pardon. In the process of exercising his powers, the President of the Russian Federation issues decrees and orders that are binding on the entire territory of the Russian Federation. Decrees and orders of the President of the Russian Federation must not contradict the Constitution of the Russian Federation and federal laws.
6. Termination of powers	The President of the Russian Federation terminates the exercise of powers: In case of his voluntary resignation; In the event of his persistent inability for health reasons to exercise his powers or removal from office Expiration of the term of office.

She arrogated to herself the right to put the king's ministers on trial in the House of Lords, whereas previously this right belonged only to the king. The procedure for communities to bring criminal charges before the lords is called “impeachment.” In British history, the last time impeachment was used was in the city. From British laws, the concept passed into the US Constitution, where it came to mean the bringing of charges by the lower house before the Senate against a federal official, including judges and the president (in each state, similar procedures are established at the state level for the governor and other state officials). The first case of impeachment in American history occurred in 1797, when Tennessee senator William Blount was accused of conspiring with the British. The Upper House, as in England, acts here as a judicial authority, and the president does not have the right to pardon sentences of the Senate. Thus, impeachment in the strict sense is only the first stage of the procedure for removal from office on criminal charges, although in our time (even in Anglo-Saxon countries) this word has become customary to refer to the entire process of removal.

Impeachment in the USA

In Russia, the impeachment procedure (removal from office) was initiated three times, once in accordance with the current Constitution. In all cases, the target was the first president, Boris Yeltsin.

For the first time, the question of impeachment arose in March 1993, on the initiative of the Supreme Council and the Congress of People's Deputies of Russia. Although the 1978 Constitution of the RSFSR, in force at that time (with amendments), allowed the Congress of People's Deputies to independently resolve “any issue within the jurisdiction of the Russian Federation,” as a result of negotiations between the Supreme Council and the President, the question of powers was submitted to a national referendum, during which simultaneously resolved the issue of trust in the Congress. As a result of the expression of the people's will, both branches of government retained their powers.

The question of impeachment arose for the second time in September 1993, after the president’s decree on the termination of the Congress and the Supreme Council. The decision on impeachment was made by deputies who gathered at the so-called X Congress, the legality of which, however, was not recognized by the executive branch. The conflict was resolved by force during the events of October 3-4.

The issue of impeachment was considered for the third time in 1998-1999. President Yeltsin was accused by the State Duma on four counts: the collapse of the USSR, the outbreak of war in Chechnya, the weakening of Russia's defense capability and security, the execution of the Supreme Council in 1993. The issue of “genocide of the Russian people” was optionally considered. A special parliamentary commission was created in the State Duma to consider the issue of impeachment, headed by a member of the Communist Party faction Vadim Filimonov (chairman), Viktor Ilyukhin (Communist Party of the Russian Federation) and Elena Mizulina "YABLOKO" (deputy chairmen). As a result of the voting, none of the charges received the support of a qualified majority of deputies (17 votes were not enough to bring charges on the issue of the war in Chechnya) and the procedure was terminated.

In other countries

Legislation on impeachment of senior officials exists in most countries of the world, but it is not used everywhere. For example, at the end of the 20th and beginning of the 21st centuries, the following presidents were impeached: Brazil Fernando Color, Indonesia Abdurrahman Wahid and Lithuania Rolandas Paksas. The impeachment of Paksas () became the only accepted impeachment of a head of state in Europe.

Notes

Literature

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Synonyms:

See what “Impeachment” is in other dictionaries:

- (impeachment) Formal accusation of wrongdoing. To impeach an official, one must be accused of crimes or misdemeanors while in office. Impeachment proceedings are usually... Political science. Dictionary.

- [English] impeachment censure, accusation] legal, political. 1) a special procedure for bringing to justice and judicial consideration of cases of crimes of senior officials; 2) deprivation of powers of persons elected to the legislative body... ... Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language

Modern encyclopedia

Impeachment- (English impeachment), in some states (for example, in the UK, USA, Japan) there is a special procedure for bringing to justice, as well as judicial consideration of cases of crimes of senior state officials (the president of the country, ... ... Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary

- (English impeachment) a special procedure for implementing the responsibility of senior officials in a number of foreign countries. In some states with a republican form of government, I. is primarily provided for the head of state of the president in case of... Legal Dictionary

- (English impeachment) in some states (for example, the USA, Great Britain, Japan) there is a special procedure for bringing to justice and judicial consideration of cases of crimes of senior officials. In impeachment, holding accountable and... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

IMPEACHMENT, huh, husband. (specialist.). The procedure for depriving the powers of senior officials who have committed a gross violation of the law. Parliamentary power of impeachment. Ozhegov's explanatory dictionary. S.I. Ozhegov, N.Yu. Shvedova. 1949 1992 … Ozhegov's Explanatory Dictionary

Noun, number of synonyms: 1 renunciation (11) Dictionary of synonyms ASIS. V.N. Trishin. 2013… Synonym dictionary

- (from the English impeachment, exposure to doubt) English. impeachment German Impeachment. The procedure for bringing senior officials to justice and trial for an offense. Antinazi. Encyclopedia of Sociology, 2009 ... Encyclopedia of Sociology

January 20, 2001 Joseph Estrada resigned.

USA

In December 1998 the House of Representatives passed a resolution of impeachment; in February 1999, after a long trial in the Senate, all charges against Clinton were dropped.

The material was prepared based on information from RIA Novosti and open sources

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

AiF.ru tells what impeachment is.

Background

Impeachment (translated from English impeachment - “distrust”) is the removal from office of the head of state 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.

In the Constitution, a procedure called “impeachment” was established for the first time in the world in the United States. Civil officials there face removal from office for “serious crimes and misdemeanors.” Military officials who are subject to trial by military tribunals cannot be impeached.

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.

The question of impeachment arose for the second time in September 1993 after the presidential decree to terminate the operation of the Congress and the Supreme Council. The decision to impeach was made by deputies who gathered at the so-called X Congress, the legality of which was not recognized by the executive branch. As a result, the conflict was resolved by armed means.

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.

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