The subject of the research is social relations in the field of self-regulation, the legal nature of the results – acts of self-regulation. The integrity of the legal system is broken not only by the contradictions and conflicts within it, but due to the fact that a significant part of the social regulation falls on the self-regulated organizations. These organizations establish rules of access to the economic markets, conditions for conducting business activity and liability for violations of these terms and conditions. In fact, they restrict the freedom of economic activity.

The goal of the study is to show that in Russia there is a trend of decentralization of the legal system in connection with the adoption and the action of the self-regulatory acts. For such a decentralization to have no negative consequences, acts of self-regulation should be adopted in a specific order, based on a number of requirements as to their form and content.
The article is based on the analysis of the specific acts of the self-regulating organizations and their practice: on the general requirements for the job performance; the control regulations; admission and membership fees regulations; expert surveys of the self-regulated organizations in the building sphere. The legal analysis of the procedure for the adoption of regulations was carried out.

It is noted that the decisions do not always comply with the conditions of their wide discussion, publicity and openness. It was found that the most common are two approaches to the understanding of self-regulation in Russia: an economic approach and a legal one, with their similarity being established. The acts of self-regulation appear to be comparable with the local, organizational and corporate acts that have legal characteristics assigned. The legal nature of the acts of self-regulation due to the fact that they are acts of social regulation, determines the rules of conduct. In this regard, some essential requirements to the process of creation and implementation of these instruments are necessary, to their content in particular, such as legal certainty (clear and unambiguous provisions).

The findings of the study can be applied in the theory and practice of economics and law in the sphere of the development of self-regulation and performance of the self-regulatory organizations in Russia.