new procedure for establishment of councils, with 75% of public councils members to be nominated by the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation and the rest 25% by the Russian Governmental Expert Council. Such proportion provides a reasonable balance between representatives of civic organisations and expert community. Public expert examination is considered to be one of the key instruments of public oversight. According to the law, public expert examination is an analysis and assessment of acts and decisions made by central and local authorities, inspection of documentation with regard to compliance with legislation, human and civil rights and freedoms, rights and legitimate interests of non-governmental, non-profit organizations (NGOs and NPOs). Over the past ten years the Civic Chamber examined more than 500 draft laws relating to various spheres – from state-building to family and childhood support. Most expert examinations contain proposals and additions to draft laws. As stated before, the Civic Chamber’s conclusions and proposals serve as recommendations. In 2014 the Civic Chamber tried a new approach to expert examination - the so called ‘zero readings’ of draft normative legal acts as a part of improvement of lawmaking process. In other words, ‘zero readings’ mean public participation not only in the assessment of prepared draft documents, but also contribution to the creation of draft documents, i.e. discussion of conceptual basis, formulation of basic ideas. ‘Zero readings’ encourage open dialogue between civil society and authorities. Accepted by society, ‘zero readings’ became a regular fixture of the Civic Chamber. In 2014 there were held over 20 ‘zero readings’, taking part in which were experts in economic and social spheres. In 2015 the number has doubled, which is evidence of a demand for this initiative. To conclude, the examination activities of the Civic Chamber aim at accommodation of socially important interests of the RF citizens, NGOs, public and local authorities. Active citizens' forum "Community" Active citizens' forum "Community" is a new successful practice of the Civic Chamber, launched in 2015. It is a communication platform for society, business, and authorities. From March to November 2015, regional-level Community forums took place in the nine federal districts, where participants discussed development of the non-profit sector in the regions, the biggest issues and possible solutions, and support for the most effective civic activeness practices. The best proposals were included in the annual report of the Civic Chamber on the state of civil society in the Russian