THE CHAIRMAN
of Government
of Russian Federation
October 3, 1994
# 1885n-H37
Moscow
To the Chairman of State Duma,
Federal Council
of Russian Federation
I. P. Rybkin
Dear Ivan Petrovich!
Here are proposals and remarks submitted on Federal draft law "On Alternative Civilian Service".
Appendix: 3 pages.
V. Chernomyrdin
* * *
PROPOSALS AND REMARKS
on Federal draft law
"On Alternative Civilian Service"
Proposals and remarks on considered Federal draft law are mainly deal with following:
1. The draft law should provide such reason for direction of citizens to alternative civilian service as "conscience convictions, that contradict military service"; however, part 3 of Article 59 of Constitution of Russian Federation does not provide a notion of "conscience convictions".
2. According to mentioned Regulation of Constitution of Russian Federation, a Federal Law should provide cases when a citizen may enjoy a right to replace military service with alternative civilian service. The considered draft law does not provide such cases, so that it makes numerous interpretations possible of mentioned reasons to provide alternative civilian service and to evade military service.
It is considered to be more expedient at the first stage of alternative service development to provide only such two reasons of refusal of military service as convictions and faith of a citizen.
Starting from that point, articles 1, 4, 5, 8, 14, 17 and 18 of the draft law should be amended in accordance with the Constitution of Russian Federation.
3. A possibility of passing alternative civilian service as workers and employees in Military Forces of Russian Federation and other forces is not provided by regulations of the draft law, while a territorial principle of passing the service is provided as a main one.
However, the most acceptable and useful must be passing alternative service by exterritorial principle in emergency life and firemen squads; in civilian personnel of auxiliary and supply squads of Military Forces of Russian Federation and other forces; in medical departments; in bakeries; at repair plants; at military objective constructions.
Civilian personnel of auxiliary and supply squads of militarized forces of Ministries, state committees and departments that operate in sphere of state security could be also completed on basis of an alternative civilian service.
4. Taking into account the legislative status of considered draft law, that will be in force with the Law of Russian Federation "On Military Duty and Military Service", it is considered necessary to define a list of tasks that should be used as an alternative civilian service in the text of the draft law as a direct regulation.
5. The proposed (as an option) reason to prohibit provision of alternative service (article 17 of the draft law) "in case a citizen has committed crimes before, associated with violence" may hardly be expedient.
6. An alternative civilian service provided by part 3 of Article 59 of Constitution of Russian Federation should have a form of state service, because it does not release a citizen from duty and service for protection of his Motherland, provided by part 1 of the same Article, but only changes contents of mentioned duty. However, Chapter IV of the draft law, that proposes a territorial principle of organization of alternative civilian service, turns the latter to be a usual employment, the only difference being absence of voluntary employment.
7. It is expedient to add a direct regulation that should provide reasons for preschedule release from an alternative civilian service to the draft law, because article 11 refers to such direct regulation.
8. There are regulations provided in considered draft law (articles 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20), that it could be more expedient to place in Regulations on Alternative Civilian Service.
9. The last paragraph of article 12 should be excluded from the draft law, because it charges Government of Russian Federation with general registration of citizens directed to an alternative civilian service, while article 10 of the draft law charges regional and city administration with the same function.
10. During adoption of a term of bringing the draft law in force, it is necessary to take into account an extraordinarily hard situation with completing Military Forces of Russian Federation and other forces with soldiers, sailors, sergeants and mates, connected with a critical shortcoming of draftees and undeveloped contract service system, that will be completely developed only in years 1997-1999.
Present proposals and remarks were elaborated taking into account opinions of Ministry of Security of Russia, Ministry of Justice of Russia, Ministry of Interior affairs of Russia, Ministry of External affairs of Russia, Ministry of Economy of Russia, Ministry of Communication of Russia, State Committee of Russian Federation on youth and sports, Russian Federal Frontier Service, Supreme Court of Russian Federation and Office Procurator-General of Russian Federation.
[Translated into English by A.Prishchenko, Kiev, February 22, 1995]
