MOSCOW, (RIA Novosti military commentator Dmitry Budanov) - The State Duma's defense committee has recommended a bill on disciplinary arrest of military servicemen for a first reading.
Army-minded deputies think the bill drafted by joint efforts of the defense, justice and interior ministries, as well as the Federal Security Service (FSB), will give commanders leverage in dealing with discipline offenders. They will decide on punishment for servicemen themselves, including incarceration, provided the offence is not criminal. Nevertheless, a court will still decide on handing out punishment.
The bill was prepared by the government, which was instructed by a presidential decree (No.671 of June 30, 2002) to submit within three months drafts of laws and related legislation on summary punishment in the army (arrest and detention in a guardroom). But the government failed to meet the deadline. And for more than three years the army was deprived of one of the most effective ways of maintaining discipline.
What the decree did was to merely bring guard and garrison duties and disciplinary regulations in line with the Russian Constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. From then on only servicemen detained on suspicion of a crime or to establish their identity could be incarcerated. However, for no longer than 48 hours. And also for up to 24 hours for violating army discipline when drunk.
Today a serviceman may be arrested and detained only for a provable indictable offence, by a court ruling. The other categories of offenders fall outside this order, because in Russia there simply are no disciplinary courts at garrisons, similar to the ones existing in some European armies. And what the commander is left with to deal with an offending soldier is persuasion, warning, reprimand, and an extra detail assigned to him. Unfortunately, in many cases all these measures fail to have the desired effect, and offenders develop a sense of impunity.
Sometimes the officer cannot deal with the hooligan thereby resorting to physical force. As a result, the rate of army regulation breaches has increased. According to the Main Military Prosecutor's Office, in the three years since decree No. 671 came into effect the number of officers convicted for manhandling soldiers has risen by one-third.
Russia's ombudsman Vladimir Lukin has endorsed the idea of giving former disciplinary powers back to the commanders. In May this year, he sent a special report to the Russian president where, arguing the case for reinstating guardrooms and guardhouses, emphasized that servicemen left unpunished are in effect encouraged to commit fresh breaches of discipline. Commanders' lack of powers at times forces them to shut their eyes to irregular relations between servicemen and rely on senior soldiers able to enforce rules by the law of the fist.
Incidentally, the new bill gives more rights not only to the commanding officers, but also their subordinates. Now servicemen may use all the advantages of civilian judicial proceedings, including lawyers' services, although the point at issue is only disciplinary punishment lasting no more than 30 days, and occasionally, in rare cases, 40 days.
Seeking to safeguard human rights the drafters have given the soldier the right to challenge judges and prosecutors, make appeals and in fact postpone the sentence of a garrison court until demobilization, thus avoiding arrest. In this case, army officers believe the arrest and detention in a guardroom may have zero effect as a disciplinary measure. Commanders of all ranks would gladly revert to former disciplinary penalties as they existed before June 30, 2002. But the deputies have made their primary concern human rights and their observation. But will servicemen feel better protected once the law is passed? And, most importantly, will the step promote army discipline? Only practice can answer all these questions.
