Law Dr. S.N. Bratanovsky
Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, Moscow

Corresponding author: bratfoot@mail.ru

Keywords: physical education and sports, citizens, interests, public agencies, responsibilities, special social protection.

Abstract

Objective of the study was to develop conceptual basics and notions for the civic interests being respected by the federal physical education and sports development programs.

Methods and structure of the study. The study was run at the Institute of State and Law of the Russian Academy of Sciences using the relevant historical, logical, dialectical cognitive and other research tools with the socio-legal interpretations of the key terms to identify the subject notions in application to the national physical education and sport sector.

Results and conclusion. Having analyzed the reference literature on physical education and sports, we found our hypothetical concept giving the top priority of civic interests in developing the key governmental policy principles for the physical education and sport sector development programs being supported by some study reports.

It is the relevant federal and regional executive agencies, local governments and public organizations in charge of the physical education and sport services that should provide adaptive physical education and sport services to disabled people. The above entities are responsible for providing unlimited access for disabled people to every social facility including the physical education and sports facilities.

The study data and analysis showed that when the governmental policy principles and provisions are fixed by supreme legal enactments, they form a set of milestones for progress of the nation on the whole and its constituent entities in particular including the local governments and federal executive agencies; and make it possible for them to design their target development programs at every level within the valid domestic and foreign policy vectors. Persistent efforts to have implemented the governmental policy principles analyzed herein in practice will help transform Russia into a genuinely social state.

Background. Governmental policy fundamentals are generally framed and formed by a system of principles. Special literature defines the governmental policy principles as the basic operational rules for the public agencies, social groups and individuals of influence on the key social processes. The social science interprets these rules as the commonly binding primary legal provisions of high universality, common recognition and top imperativeness that provide a framework for the legal regulations with a set of criteria to legitimize operations of every party to the regulated relationship.

When such governmental policy basics and provisions are fixed by supreme legal enactments, they form a set of milestones for progress of the nation on the whole and its constituent entities in particular including the local governments and federal executive agencies; and make it possible for them to design their target development programs at every level within the valid domestic and foreign policy vectors. As far as the priorities in the governmental policy principles are concerned, one should proceed from the assumption that the principles as such originate from the relevant social processes and only on this condition are established in the relevant legal provisions by the government acting as the social control system leader.

The above reasoning holds true for the governmental policy principles applicable to the national physical education and sport system. It may be pertinent to emphasize that these principles are formed in the context of the actual situation in the subject social sphere and its progress logics and agenda, including the physical education and sport social role and position, specific popular individual and collective needs and interests in the physical education and sports sector, and the expected accomplishments of every relevant social entity.

Objective of the study was to develop conceptual basics and notions for the civic interests being respected by the federal physical education and sports development programs.

Methods and structure of the study. The study was run at the Institute of State and Law of the Russian Academy of Sciences using the relevant historical, logical, dialectical cognitive and other research tools with the socio-legal interpretations of the key terms to identify the subject notions in application to the national physical education and sport sector.

Results and discussion. Having analyzed the reference literature on physical education and sports, we found our hypothetical concept giving the top priority of civic interests in developing the key governmental policy principles for the physical education and sport sector development programs being supported by some study reports [1, p. 136; 2, p. 43-45].

The study data give reasons to believe that basically the governmental policy principle is twofold with every part referring to different physical education and sports components. The first part binds the Government and federal executive agencies in charge of the physical education and sports-related governmental policy to develop the latter with due respect to the civic interests. It is beyond doubt that addressing every interest of every social group is hardly possible in practice, albeit this requirement is still extremely important since it obliges the relevant executive authorities to consider interests of the diverse social groups/ strata when drafting their target FP. We would mention as an example of a focused public physical education / health/ mass sport program the RF Government Decree of December 29, 2001 No. 916 "On the All-Russian health monitoring system for adults, children, adolescents and youth" that provides a basis for the ongoing large-scale physical cultural initiatives by the national educational institutions, corporate entities and local communities.

It should be mentioned that this principle obliges the decision-makers to respect every civic interest in the physical education and sport sector development governmental policy drafting, approval and effectuation process. It could be also beneficial to apply this principle to the regional physical education and sports development programs since the federal legislation in the matters of joint federal-and-local control is intended to lay the control basics (guiding framework) for the specific relationship building by the local legislature.

The second part of the principle under consideration refers to the citizens, since the governmental initiative as such with its mass physical education and sports facilitation provisions and physical education and sport service infrastructure for the mass physical education and sports advancement is not enough for success in fact. Citizens should take their own efforts to demonstrate the initiative, determination and interest in the physical education and sports projects. We would agree with reservations with N.A. Ignatyuk who argues that “a legal responsibility of citizens is out of question in this case for their abstaining from sports cannot be sanctioned or penalized” [4]. The only exclusion we see are the citizens bound by some institutional/ legal responsibilities implying specific departmental physical education and sports standards (e.g. for personnel of educational institutions, military academies/ special services/ corps, children's and youth sports schools, etc.); with the citizen’s failure to comply with such standards being subject to the departmental disciplinary, material or civil liability.

To put the analysis on a more comprehensive and inclusive basis, it may be pertinent to consider application of this principle to people with disabilities, health disorders and other vulnerable population groups in need of special social protection (2007 Federal Law "On Sports", clause 8, article 3). Special physical education and sport service to disabled people is recognized instrumental for their social adaptation and physical rehabilitation with potential integration into the global disabled sports community. Modern disabled sports are respected as an important socio-cultural phenomenon all over the world, and even provide a source of income for the disabled sport professionals [3, p. 45]. The disabled sports are basically classified into the hearing impaired/ deaf; visually impaired/ blind; sports for people with musculoskeletal disabilities, mental retardations etc.

The Federal Law of the Russian Federation "On Social Protection of Disabled Persons in the Russian Federation" Article 9 nominates the institutions in charge of social protection of people with disabilities including the educational, health, social security and social protection agencies and organizations; with the special physical education and sport service and events mentioned among the key rehabilitation services for disabled people.

It is the relevant federal and regional executive agencies, local governments and public organizations in charge of the physical education and sport services that should provide adaptive physical education and sport services to disabled people. The above entities are responsible for providing unlimited access for disabled people to every social facility including the physical education and sports facilities. As provided by the Ministry of Sports Order of July 24, 2014 No. 578 "On approving the Practical Recommendations for access of disabled athletes and other disabled people to sports events on their needs-sensitive basis", every physical education and sports facility must be adapted for unlimited access of disabled persons. It should be emphasized that active efforts pursuant to the above Order are taken by the regional governments that endorse and implement the relevant projects, with the relevant physical education and sports / health services and events financed by the local budgets and borrowings.

Conclusion. The study data and analysis showed that when the governmental policy principles and provisions are fixed by supreme legal enactments, they form a set of milestones for progress of the nation on the whole and its constituent entities in particular including the local governments and federal executive agencies; and make it possible for them to design their target development programs at every level within the valid domestic and foreign policy vectors. Persistent efforts to have implemented the governmental policy principles analyzed herein in practice will help transform Russia into a genuinely social state.

References

1. Alekseev S.V. Olympic law. Legal framework for the Olympic Movement. Textbook. Moscow: Unity-Dana publ., 2010. 870 p.
2. Bratanovskiy S.N. Remarkable phenomenon in study of problems of physical culture movement. Teoriya i praktika fiz. kultury. 1994. No. 5-6. P. 45.
3. Bratanovskiy S.N. Legal basis for organization and activities of sports cooperatives. Teoriya i praktika fiz. kultury. 1991. No. 9. pp. 43-45.
4. Rozhkov P.A. Development of physical education and sports in modern world: organizational, managerial, financial and regulatory problems. Moscow, 2002. 176 p.
5. Yaronov V.A. Social function of the state. Saratov, Nauchnaya kniga publ., 2017. 315 p.