The upper chamber of parliament voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to approve a bill on the Constitutional Court, which now only requires President Boris Yeltsin's signature to become law.


In a roll-call ballot, the Federation Council voted 146 to four, with one abstention, in favor of the law. According to the new constitution of the Russian Federation, three-quarters of the 178-member body, or 135 deputies, must approve any law affecting the constitution for it to pass.


The law on the court was passed by the lower house, the State Duma, on June 24. After approval by the Federation Council it will be sent to the president for his signature, and must be signed and published within 14 days.


The law on the Constitutional Court was the subject of heated debate in the Federation Council. Yelena Mizulina, a legal scholar who headed a commission of experts in the council who reviewed and evaluated the law, claimed that her comments and amendments had not been taken into account.


"This law is a prime example of hypocrisy," she said in an appearance before the Federation Council. "Perhaps the time for rule of law has not yet come to Russia."


Mizulina's main objection to the law has to do with a legal technicality: According to the new constitution, the court is to have 19 members appointed for 12-year terms. Under the old law, the court was composed of 13 judges appointed for life. But a provision of the law governing the transitional period specifies that judges already in place will retain their old mandates. Therefore the court will initially have 13 lifetime members and six who are appointed for 12 years.


"How can they talk of independence?" she asked. "How can they talk of equality?"


Mizulina's arguments found some resonance among her fellow deputies, several of whom supported her during the open discussion. But very few actually voted with her. Issa Kostoyev, chairman of the committee on constitutional law in the Federation Council, said that Mizulina's amendments had not been included in the law because she submitted them five days after a June 15 deadline.


"It is better to live with an imperfect law than live with no law at all," commented deputy Eduard Rossel, a sentiment echoed by others in the hall.


Another deputy, Viktor Kurochkin, commented, "The law on the Constitutional Court can put an end to this lawlessness," adding that measures such as the president's recent directive on fighting crime should be submitted to the Constitutional Court as soon as possible.