Federal Law No. 161-ФЗ dated July 12, 1999
‘ON MATERIAL LIABILITY OF MILITARY PERSONS’
Adopted by the State Duma on June 22, 1999.
Approved by the Council of the Federation on June 25, 1999.
Summary:
This federal law concerns the liability of military personnel for wilful damage done to
state property in the absence of a direct order . A three year statute of limitations
for any damage done is specified.
The penalties for damage, which include both financial fines and additional service,
and of damage to different property types, are detailed for both contract and
conscript personnel including. Additional categories of liability for contract
personnel are also described, as are the various crimes that can be committed by
commanders.
The full material liability of personnel is outlined in the event of actions and inaction
in several scenarios, including plunder, executing or failing to prevent a crime, or
intoxication.
The law also specifies the determination of damage and the corresponding levels of
compensation, the conduct of the investigation, the procedures relating to
reimbursement.
Chapter I. General Provisions (Articles 1-3).
Chapter II. Material Liability of Military Persons (Articles 4-5).
Chapter III. Determination of the Extent of Delivered Damage and the Order of its
Reimbursement (Articles 6-12).
Chapter IV. Conclusive Provisions (Articles 13-14).
CHAPTER I. GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 1. The Subject of Regulation and the Field of Application of the Present
Federal Law.
1. The present Federal Law specifies conditions and the amount of material
liability of military persons and citizens called to military preparations (hereinafter
called "military persons") in respect of damage delivered by them during carrying
out military service duties to stores being federal property, allotted to military units,
as well as determining the order of reimbursement of delivered damage.
2. The present Federal Law is applied to military persons serving both on a
call and on a contract basis in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, as well
as in other troops, military formations and authorities, in which military service is
stipulated by the legislation of the Russian Federation.
Article 2. Main Terms Used in the Present Federal Law.
The following main terms are used for the purposes of the present Federal
Law:
military units—military direction authorities, units, formations, military units,
ships, organizations, military educational establishments of vocational education, in
which according to the legislation of the Russian Federation military persons should
carry out military service;
commanders (chiefs)—commanders (chiefs) of military units, their deputies,
commanders (chiefs) of structural divisions of military units and their deputies;
military unit stores (hereinafter called "stores")—all types of weapons, military
equipment, ammunition, fuel and lubricating materials, food, clothing and other
types of military stores, buildings, constructions, monies and securities, other
assets, being federal property and allotted to a military unit;
actual damage (hereinafter also called "damage")—loss or damage of stores
of a military unit, expenses, carried by a military unit or expenses, which are to be
carried in order to restore or acquire lost or damaged stores, as well as extra
money payments, made by a military unit.
Article 3. Conditions of Material Liability of Military Persons for Delivered Damage.
1. Military persons bear material liability only for actual damage, delivered as
result of their fault.
2. Military persons who delivered damage while not carrying out military
service duties bear material liability in accordance with the Civil legislation of the
Russian Federation.
3. Military persons should not be made materially answerable for damage
delivered in connection with fulfilment of an order of a commander (chief), as well
as in consequence of legal actions, justified service risk and force major situation.
4. Military persons may be made materially answerable in accordance with
the present Federal Law within three years from discovery of the damage.
CHAPTER II. MATERIAL LIABILITY OF MILITARY PERSONS
Article 4. Limited Material Liability of Military Persons
1. Military persons serving on a contract basis, and citizens called to military
preparations, bear material liability for damage delivered as a result of
carelessness in the amount of damage delivered by them, but not exceeding one
monthly money allowance pay and one monthly service length increment; military
persons, serving on a call basis—not exceeding two monthly money allowance
payments excluding cases, when the present Federal Law and other legal acts of
the Russian Federation specify other amounts of material liability for military
persons.
2. Military persons serving on a contract basis, guilty of delivering damage,
connected with payment of fines by a military unit for demurrage of containers,
railway cars, vessels and automobiles, overstating volumes of carried out works,
untimely payment of taxes to corresponding budgets and other mandatory
payments, bear material liability in the amount of delivered damage, but not
exceeding two monthly money allowance payments and two monthly service length
increments.
3. Commanders (chiefs) who by their orders (instructions) violated the
established order of registering, keeping, usage, spending, transportation of stores
and who did not undertake necessary measures to prevent its plunder, destruction,
damage, spoilage, unnecessary money payments, that caused delivery of damage,
or who did not undertake necessary measures to make guilty persons reimburse
damage, delivered to the military unit, bear material liability in the amount of
delivered damage, but not exceeding one monthly money allowance pay and one
monthly service length increment.
4. Commanders (chiefs) of military units guilty of illegal dismissal of a military
person (civil personnel member) from military service (work), illegal transfer of a
civil personnel member to another work, illegal appointment of a military person
(civil personnel member) to a post not stipulated by the staff (staff schedule) of the
military unit, or to a post which is higher paid for than the post, actually occupied,
bear material liability for unnecessary money payments, made in consequence of
illegal dismissal of a military person (civil personnel member), illegal transfer of a
civil personnel member to another work, illegal appointment of a military person
(civil personnel member) to a post in the amount of delivered damage, but not
exceeding three monthly money allowance payments and three monthly service
length increments.
Article 5. Full Material Liability of Military Persons
Military persons bear material liability in a full amount of damage when the
damage was delivered:
by a military person to whom the accountable stores were given for keeping,
transportation, distribution, using and other purposes;
by actions (inaction) of a military person, containing indications of a crime,
specified by the Criminal legislation of the Russian Federation;
as a result of a plunder, intentional destruction, damage, spoilage, illegal
spending or usage of stores or other intentional actions (inaction) regardless of their
containing indications of a crime, specified by the Criminal legislation of the
Russian Federation;
by intentional actions of military persons, which caused expenditures related
to treatment in military-medical institutions and health care institutions of military
persons who suffered as a consequence of such actions;
by military persons who became voluntarily intoxicated with drugs, toxic or
alcohol substances.
CHAPTER III. DETERMINATION OF THE EXTENT OF DELIVERED DAMAGE
AND ORDER OF ITS REIMBURSEMENT
Article 6. Determination of the Extent of Delivered Damage
1. The extent of delivered damage is determined according to actual losses
on the grounds of the registering data on a military unit stores and proceeding from
prices, effective in the concrete locality (for military units, distributed beyond the
territory of the Russian Federation—in the country of distribution) as per the day of
discovering the damage.
Authorized government bodies determine prices for weapons, military
equipment, ammunition and other stores provided to military units in a centralized
way.
2. The extent of delivered damage is determined with regard for wear and
tear of the stores as per the day of discovering the damage according to the norms,
but in the amount not less than the cost of scrap of these stores.
3. In case of illegal appointment of a military person (civil personnel member)
to a post, not stipulated by staff (staff-schedule) of the military unit, the damage is
determined by the amount of money allowance (paid salary), paid to the military
person (civil personnel member), and in the case of illegal appointment to a post,
which is higher paid than the post actually occupied by the military person (civil
personnel member)—by the difference between the paid money allowance (paid
salary) and the money allowance (salary) in respect of the post actually occupied.
4. The extent of damage delivered in the case specified in paragraph five of
Article 5 of the present Federal Law, is determined by actual expenditures for
treatment of military persons who suffered as a consequence of intentional actions
of other military persons in military-medical institutions and health care institutions.
5. The extent of reimbursable damage, delivered through guilt of several
military persons, for each of them is determined with regard to the degree of guilt
and type of material liability.
6. In the case of making a military person materially liable, the amount of the
monthly money allowance pay and monthly length of service increment are
determined as per the day of issuance of an order by the commander (chief) of the
military unit or adoption of a court resolution on reimbursement of the damage.
Article 7. Conduct of Administrative Investigation in case of Discovering Damage
1. In the case of discovering damage, a commander (chief) of a military unit
should order an administrative investigation to determine its causes, extent and the
guilty persons. Administrative investigation should be finished within one month
from the date of discovering the damage.
In necessary cases this term may be prolonged by the next higher
commander (chief) for a period, not exceeding one month.
2. Administrative investigation may not be conducted if the causes of
damage, its extent, and the guilty persons have been determined by the court or as
the result of audit, control, inquiry or investigation.
Article 8. Reimbursement of Damage by Military Persons
Resolution of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, dated April
10, 2001, declared part one of point 1 of Article 8 of the present Federal Law not
contradicting the Constitution of the Russian Federation.
1. Reimbursement of damage, the extent of which does not exceed one
monthly money allowance pay of a military person and one monthly length of
service increment is made at the order of a commander (chief) of a military unit by
way of deduction from the money allowance of a military person, who delivered the
damage.
The next higher commander (chief) of a military unit issues order on
reimbursement of the damage, delivered by a commander (chief) of a military unit.
The matter of reimbursement of damage, the extent of which exceeds one
monthly money allowance pay of a military person and one monthly length of
service increment is considered by the court according to a legal action of a
commander (chief) of a military unit. Legal action on reimbursement of damage,
delivered by a commander (chief) of a military unit, is brought in by the next higher
commander (chief) of a military unit.
2. An order of a corresponding commander (chief) of a military unit relating
reimbursement of damage, should be issued within a period of two weeks from the
date of termination of the administrative investigation or arrival of the court
resolution or materials of audit, control, inquiry or investigation, announced to the
military person against his signature, and implemented within seven days after it
has been announced to the military person.
If the order relating reimbursement of damage has not been issued within a
period of two weeks, the issue regarding making a military person materially
answerable is decided by court according to a legal action of a commander (chief)
of a military unit.
3. Military persons serving beyond the territory of the Russian Federation
should reimburse delivered damage in the currency of the country of their stay. In
the case of impossibility of reimbursing the damage in the currency of the country of
stay (including the case of departure of a military person to the territory of the
Russian Federation), the amount of the damage should be converted into rubles
according to the official exchange rate, established by the Central Bank of the
Russian Federation as per the day of discovering the damage.
4. The order of the commander (chief) of the military unit regarding
reimbursement of the damage may be appealed by the military person to the next
higher commander and (or) in court. Appealing against an order regarding
reimbursement of the damage does not interrupt deduction of monies from the
money allowance of the military person. In case of revocation of the order regarding
reimbursement of the damage, deducted monies should be returned to the military
person.
5. The damage should be reimbursed regardless of bringing the military
person to disciplinary, administrative or criminal liability for actions (inaction) which
delivered the damage.
6. A military person may voluntarily reimburse completely or in part delivered
damage in the monetary from.
7. Deductions from the money allowance of a military person according to a
resolution of the court are made against the act of execution issued by the court.
8. Any difference between the extent of delivered damage and amount of
deductions from the money allowance of the military person, determined by the
order of the commander (chief) of the military unit or resolution of the court, by the
decision of the commander (chief), taken within his powers, is covered from the
means transferred from the federal budget to the corresponding federal executive
authority, under jurisdiction of which is the mentioned military unit.
Article 9. Reimbursement of Damage in Case of Dismissal of a Military Person
from Military Service or His Transfer to a New Place of Service
1. If a military person (citizen, called to military preparations) made materially
answerable, by the date of dismissal from military service (termination of military
preparations) has not reimbursed delivered damage, his debt should be recovered
according to the rules of execution procedure specified by the legislation of the
Russian Federation.
2. If a military person (citizen, called to military preparations) who delivered
damage was dismissed from military service (left military preparations as a result of
their termination) without having been made materially answerable, recovery of the
damage from him is carried out by court according to legal action, brought in by the
commander (chief) of the military unit in the amount, specified by the present
Federal Law. In this case the amount of a monthly money allowance pay and the
amount of a monthly length of service pay increment are determined as per the day
of dismissal of a military person (citizen, called to military preparations) from military
service (termination of military preparations).
3. In the case of transfer to a new place of service, damage delivered by a
military person who was made materially answerable and did not reimburse the
delivered damage is reimbursed at the new place of service on the basis of records
in pay book or monetary certificate of the military person.
If the decision on making the military person who delivered damage
materially answerable has not been adopted before his transfer to a new place of
military service, the commander (chief) of the military unit within fifteen days from
the date of termination of the administrative investigation, audit, control, inquiry,
arrival of investigation materials or court resolution should send necessary
materials to the new place of military service of the military person for making him
materially answerable.
In this case the damage is reimbursed at the new place of service of the
military person in the order, determined by Article 8 of the present Federal Law.
The order of the commander (chief) of the military unit regarding reimbursement of
the damage should be issued within a period of two weeks from the date of arrival
of materials, mentioned in the present point, from the previous place of service of
the military person.
Article 10. Reimbursement of Damage Delivered by Military Persons to Third
Persons
Military persons who delivered damage to third persons which, according to
the legislation of the Russian Federation was reimbursed by the military unit, should
reimburse the military unit delivered damage in the order and extent specified by
the present Federal Law.
Article 11. Conditions of Decreasing the Extent of Damage to be Reimbursed
The amount of the monies to be recovered from a military person in order to
reimburse the delivered damage may be decreased by the commander (chief) of
the military unit upon permission of the higher commander (chief), as well as by the
court with regard for concrete obstacles, degree of guilt and material conditions of
the military person, excluding cases, specified by paragraph four of Article 5 of the
present Federal Law.
Article 12. Order of Making Money Deductions
1. Monthly money deductions for reimbursing damage delivered by military
persons should be made in the amount equal to 20 percent of the monthly money
allowance, and in order to reimburse the damage delivered in cases specified by
paragraph four of Article 5 of the present Federal Law—in the amount equal to 50
percent of the monthly money allowance of a military person.
2. If other money deductions specified by the legislation of the Russian
Federation are made from the money allowance of a military person, their total
amount may not exceed 50 percent of a monthly money allowance of the military
person. In this case the priority of the mentioned deductions is determined by the
legislation of the Russian Federation.
CHAPTER IV. CONCLUSIVE PROVISIONS
Article 13. Bringing Legal Acts in Conformity with the Present Federal Law
1. The President of the Russian Federation and the Government of the
Russian Federation should bring their legal acts in conformity with the present
Federal Law.
2. Declare void on the territory of the Russian Federation the Decree of the
Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR No. 10661-X dated January 13,
1984 ‘On Material Liability of Military Persons Regarding Damage, Delivered to the
State’ (Records of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, 1984, No. 3, page 61).
Article 14. Enforcement of the Present Federal Law
The present Federal Law comes into force from the date of its official
publication.
The President of the Russian Federation
Moscow, The Kremlin
July 12, 1999
No. 161-ФЗ
B. Yeltsin