The State Duma adopted the federal law on October 3, 2022, and the Federation Council approved it on October 4, 2022.
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The federal law ratifies the Treaty between the Russian Federation and the Zaporozhye Region on the Accession of the Zaporozhye Region to the Russian Federation and the Establishment of a New Constituent Entity of the Russian Federation, signed in Moscow on September 30, 2022.
The treaty is based on a free and voluntary expression of will by the people of the Zaporozhye Region in a referendum held on September 27, 2022, during which the people of the Zaporozhye Region voted to reunite with Russia as a constituent entity of the Russian Federation.
Under the treaty, the Zaporozhye Region becomes part of the Russian Federation from the date of the signing of the treaty. As of the day of the accession of the Zaporozhye Region to the Russian Federation, a new constituent entity – the Zaporozhye Region – shall be established within the Russian Federation.
The treaty includes a preamble and nine articles setting forth provisions relating to the accession of the Zaporozhye Region to the Russian Federation and establishing a new constituent entity of the Russian Federation, including provisions on citizenship, borders and government institutions in the new constituent of the Russian Federation.
Under the treaty, there will be a transitional period starting from the day of accession of the Zaporozhye Region to the Russian Federation and the establishment of a new constituent entity of the Russian Federation and until January 1, 2026. It is designed to resolve matters related to integrating the Zaporozhye Region into the economic, financial, lending and legal systems of the Russian Federation, as well as into the governance framework of the Russian Federation, and to settling matters related to military service and serving in the military on the territory of the Zaporozhye Region.
The Russian Federation’s laws and other regulations shall apply in the Zaporozhye Region as of the accession of the Zaporozhye Region to the Russian Federation and the establishment of a new constituent entity of the Russian Federation, unless the laws of the Russian Federation state otherwise.
The laws and regulations enacted by the Military and Civilian Administration of the Zaporozhye Region on the territory of the Zaporozhye Region as of the day of the Zaporozhye Region’s accession to the Russian Federation and the establishment of a new constituent entity of the Russian Federation shall apply on the territory of the Zaporozhye Region throughout the transitional period or until the Russian Federation and/or the Zaporozhye Region adopt the corresponding law or regulation.
Under the treaty, the laws and regulations enacted by the Military and Civilian Administration of the Zaporozhye Region on the territory of the Zaporozhye Region as of the day of the Zaporozhye Region’s accession to the Russian Federation and the establishment of a new constituent entity of the Russian Federation, and the laws and regulations of the Zaporozhye Region shall not apply unless they comply with the Constitution of the Russian Federation.