High-Impact Terrorism Proceedings of a Russian-American Workshop (2002) / Chapter Skim
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Russian Legislation and the Fight Against Terrorism
Russian Legislation and the Fight Against Terrorism
Pages 25-36
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From page 25... ...
Therefore, potential perpetrators of terrorist acts (such as ultranationalists, religious fanatics, and extremists) who were plotting violent changes of the existing sociopolitical order, and so forth, were usually identified by law enforcement agencies in the early planning stages.
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From page 26... ...
While the head of state, Mikhail Gorbachev, traveled overseas promoting his new policies and universal human values, his very own state was collapsing. Overall, the self-centeredness and nearsightedness of those at the highest levels of political office, the lack of executive control over developments in the outer regions of the USSR, and the political manipulation of various nationalists and extremists by a new breed of ambitious politicians seeking to seize political control resulted in the breakdown of law enforcement.
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From page 27... ...
The article defines terrorism as "bombings, arson, and other acts causing a threat to human life, major property loss, and other negative consequences committed against public safety or with the aim of influencing decision-making of the government authorities." The new Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, which came into force on January 1, 1997, defines terrorism in Section IX, Chapter 24 (crimes against
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From page 28... ...
The institution of criminal penalties for terrorist acts nevertheless failed to address the problem of terrorism as an extremely dangerous sociopolitical phenomenon. (In addition to Article 205, "Terrorism," the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation contains Article 206, "Hostage Taking"; Article 207, "Mak
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From page 29... ...
Among others, the President and the Government of the Russian Federation submitted similar requests. Unfortunately, the influence and authority of those commenting prevailed, and the definition was subsequently narrowed down to a mere list of terrorist acts as described in Articles 205, 207, 277, and 360 of the Criminal Code.
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From page 30... ...
This issue relates to the status of the Federal Interagency Anti-terrorist Commission, which was created by the Russian Federation Government Decree 45, dated January 16, 1997. The director of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation was appointed to head the commission, whereas in most other countries antiterrorist activities are conducted under the auspices of the highest executive office in the nation.
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From page 31... ...
Had this position prevailed, the legislators would have been forced to delegate this responsibility to two agencies only the Federal Security Service and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation. Indeed, prior to drafting the Federal Law "On Combating Terrorism," these two agencies were the only ones responsible for such activities (see Federal Law 40-FZ "On the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation," dated April 3, 1995; Federal Law 27-FZ "On the Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation," dated February 6, 1997; and Decree 1039 of the President of the Russian Federation "On Approving of the Regulations Regarding the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation"~.
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From page 32... ...
of the Federal Law states that "priority shall be given to terrorism prevention." The goal of terrorism prevention is emphasized numerous times in other provisions of the law, along with the need for obtaining timely information about the planning and preparation of such attacks. There is no need to argue that when facing terrorist acts, law enforcement officers are facing the consequences of chronic processes that lead to crime, processes that are outside their direct control.
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From page 33... ...
Comparative studies of antiterrorist legislation and law enforcement practices throughout the world enrich all specialists, enabling them to view the problem in its entirety, thus putting them in a position to propose promising approaches for enhancing national legislation in this area. Let me briefly touch upon Russian and American approaches to combating terrorism, which I hope will be interesting given the topic of our seminar.
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From page 34... ...
Analysis of the principles of antiterrorism policy outlined in Article 2 of the abovementioned Russian Federal Law reveals the following similarities: · Rule of law; Higher priority for terrorism prevention; Inevitability of punishment for terrorist acts; Combination of transparent and undercover methods; · A comprehensive approach, including preventive measures, political, legal, socioeconomic, and public relations actions; . Priority protection of the right of victims of terrorism; · Minimal yielding to terrorist demands; · Single line of command for counter-terrorist operations; and · Minimal reporting of tactics and methods of counterterrorist operations, as well as minimal disclosure of information about the personnel involved.
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From page 35... ...
For example, in this act, American legislators demonstrated their deep understanding of and concern over newly emerging terrorist threats involving modern technologies. Building upon detailed models of potential terrorist threats involving weapons of mass destruction, the act provides for a number of measures aimed at preventing such terrorist acts, which could possibly lead to massive loss of human life.
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From page 36... ...
In conclusion, I would say that enhancing national antiterrorist legislation, bringing it into compliance with the norms of international law, and harmonizing national approaches toward combating terrorism and reducing terrorist threats appear to be the most promising methods available to the international community to fight terrorism.
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