Wine Law

16 The controlling state prerogatives and the law enforcement principles are exposed in Chapter 6 (Art. 43-48). A federal executive authority is to be appointed by the Russian government for exercising the established by thе law powers in the field of viticulture and winemaking 51 . The local state bodies in the constituent entities of the Russian Federation are also entitled within their competence for the control and supervision over the compliance with the legislation on viticulture and winemaking. On 19 September 2020 a government ordinance was issues for the appointment of the Russian Ministry of Agriculture as such federal executive authority. It received functions for the development and implementation of the state policy as well as to develop additional legal regulation within the framework of the Federal Law No. 468 of 2019. In particular, it is charged with recognising land plots as vineyard lands, as well as establishing the allowed technological rules and methods for the wine production. In this context are expected no less than 10 new normative acts to be adopted 52 . Apart from that, the authorised federal executive body is charged with carrying out the monitoring of the physicochemical, microbiological and sensory properties of the viticulture and wine products. Responsible for the fulfillment of this task are specialised accredited laboratories, while the conformity of the sensory properties has to be assured by the Central tasting panel affiliated with the authorised federal executive body. Strong incentive for a civil involvement is created with provisions concerning the public control over the compliance with Federal Law No. 468 of 2019. It could be exercised by citizens and public associations or other non- governmental organisations, including self-regulatory organisations of winegrowers and winemakers, which may establish public monitoring commissions, public inspections, civic watch groups and other organisational structures of informal control. A wide range of tools are listed such as participation in the development of mandatory requirements to viticulture and wine products, carrying out an independent evaluation of their quality and safety, exercising public control over the compliance with the rights of consumers and responsible producers and reporting any violations of the rights of consumers, making proposals to the federal executive bodies or organisations to take measures to improve the quality of viticulture and wine products, submitting materials to the 51 In this sense is the definition of Art. 3, point 72 of Federal Law No. 468 of 2019. 52 Source: https://mcx.gov.ru/press-service/news/minselkhoz-rossii-opredelen-upolnomochennym- organom-po-realizatsii-zakona-o-vinogradarstve-i-vinodel/.