Digital transformation of the constitutional right of citizens to appeal

   The subject of the research is the change in the content of the constitutional right to appeal under the influence of digital technologies.

   The purpose of the article is to establish the stages and features of the change in the content of the constitutional right to appeal in the Russian Federation under the influence of digitalization.

   When writing the article, the following methods of cognition were used: formal-legal, comparative-legal and historical. It was established that the digital transformation of the constitutional right to appeal began in the early 2000^s with the admission of appeals in electronic form. In federal legislation, electronic appeals were allowed only in 2010. The reason for legalization is the introduction in Russia of the institution of state and municipal services that are provided electronically. The initial stage of digitalization of the constitutional right to appeal was liberal. Features of the initial stage of digitalization of the constitutional right to appeal: (1) simplified requirements for electronic appeals (no signature of the applicant); (2) an increase in the types of electronic appeals (the emergence of special pre-trial complaints, reviews of activities, etc.); (3) increasing the number of ways to submit electronic requests (via email, via state electronic portals, via mobile applications, via social networks, etc.). The latest stage of digitalization of the constitutional right to appeal began in 2020. This stage is characterized by a limitation on the number of ways to submit electronic requests. In 2020, pre-trial complaints in the field of control and supervision appeared. Such complaints can only be submitted using a specialized state Internet portal (https://knd.gov.ru/main). In 2020, an experiment was launched with submitting messages on the portal “Reshaem vmeste” (“Let's Decide Together”; https://pos.gosuslugi.ru/ landing/). This portal is also the only way to submit electronic messages. Subsequently, the results of this experiment were used in 2023. This experiment allowed citizens to submit requests to government bodies through the Unified Portal of State and Municipal Services. Since March 30, 2025, fundamental changes have taken place in the regulation of electronic appeals of citizens: (1) the methods of sending electronic appeals have become part of the concept of a citizen's appeal; (2) only three methods of sending electronic appeals have been established (the Unified Portal of State and Municipal Services, another state Internet portal, the website of an authority on the Internet); (3) e-mail has been abolished as a method of submitting appeals of citizens (e-mail is retained for sending responses to citizens); (4) sending appeals in electronic form requires identification and (or) authentication of applicants. Thus, since 2025, the approach to the digitalization of the constitutional right to appeal has changed, it has become more balanced.

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