Constitutional reform as a vector of national development in the modern world (in the context of Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan)

The research provides a comparative legal analysis of the constitutional reforms that took place from 2020 till 2022 in the Russian Federation, the Republic of Belarus and the Republic of Kazakhstan. The paper formulates the author’s assessments and conclusions, a look at the transformations of the Constitutions of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan through the identification of the common and specific aspects in the constitutional arrangement of these states based on the following criteria: the purpose of the constitutional reform; improvement of the institution of the executive head of the nation; improvement of the system of checks and balances; the judiciary reforming; development of the social and cultural policy of the government. As a result of the study, the authors come to the conclusion that constitutional and legal development in the abovementioned states is similar. Particular attention is paid to the principle of separation of powers, under which amendments to the fundamental laws establish additional guarantees that protect and preserve the continuous state-legal development of the countries, their sovereignty, in particular, by securing preliminary normative control at the level of the Constitutional Courts. In addition, the issue of maintaining the stability of power in these states has been studied: by securing additional guarantees, acting as “filters”, for the status of the executive head of the nation in Russia and Belarus, and by resolving the issue of the presidential duumvirate in Kazakhstan. The authors also focus on socio-cultural amendments in the Constitutions of Russia and Belarus, which act as guarantees for the sustainable social and economic development of the countries. According to the authors, these amendments expand the concept of the “welfare state” and allow setting new tasks for the government and society for the next decades.