Federal Law
NO. 55-FZ of May 4, 2000
‘ON THE BORDER GUARD SERVICE OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION’
Adopted by the State Duma on April 7, 2000
Approved by the Council of the Federation on April 19, 2000
This federal law defines the main tasks, responsibilities, composition,
management and control of the Border Guard service. The main areas of
activity are detailed along with the tasks of control and enforcement. The
scope of action open to the service is outlined, specifying the rights of the
service to use materiel and measures necessary for border security.
The service’s activities are guided by the president; the government
coordinates the services’ activities with those of other federal executive
bodies. The management is entrusted to the head of the service who is
appointed by the president. The forces and resources are specified, as
are organisational and recruiting tasks and right to use force. The
wherewithal for the support of Border Guard activity is detailed in terms of
supply, ownership rights, construction and other activities, as is the
financing of the service.
Chapter I. General Provisions
(Articles 1–3)
Chapter II. Fundamentals of the Activities of the (Articles 4–6)
Border Guard Service
Chapter III. Fundamentals of the Organization of
(Article 7)
Activities of the Border Guard
Service
Chapter IV. Forces and Resources of the Border (Articles 8–13)
Guard Service
Chapter V. Fundamentals of Providing for the
Activities of the Border Guard
Service
(Articles 14–16)
Chapter VI. Control and Enforcement of the (Articles 17–18)
Activities of the Border Guard
Service
Chapter VII. Final Provisions
(Articles 19–20)
The present Federal Law defines the main tasks and sphere of
responsibility, general composition of the Border Guard Service of the
Russian Federation, fundamentals of guidance and management of the
Border Guard Service of the Russian Federation, as well the procedure for
executing control and enforcement of its activities.
CHAPTER I. GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 1. The Border Guard Service of the Russian Federation
The Border Guard Service of the Russian Federation (hereinafter, the
Border Guard Service) is a state military organization forming the basis of
the system of ensuring the security of the person, the society and the state
in the sphere of protecting and safeguarding the state border of the
Russian Federation (hereinafter, the state border), protection of internal
sea waters, the territorial sea, exclusive economic zone, continental shelf
of the Russian Federation and their natural resources.
Article 2. Composition of the Border Guard Service
The Border Guard Service consists of the specially authorized federal
body of executive power in charge of the Border Guard Service, forces,
bodies and other organizations of the Border Guard Service.
Article 3. Main Tasks of the Border Guard Service
1. The main tasks of the Border Guard Service are:
protecting and safeguarding the state border to prevent an illegal
change in the configuration of the state border, providing for the
observation by natural persons and legal entities of the regime of the state
border, regime on adjacent territories and the transfer regime through the
state border;
protection of internal sea waters, the territorial sea, exclusive
economic zone and continental shelf of the Russian Federation and their
natural resources for the purposes of their preservation, protection and
rational use, as well as for the purposes of protection of the marine
environment, economic and other legal interests of the Russian
Federation;
coordination of activities of the federal bodies of executive power in
charge of protecting and safeguarding the state border, as well as the use
of the forces and resources of the federal bodies of executive power
engaged in safeguarding the internal sea waters, the territorial sea,
exclusive economic zone and the continental shelf of the Russian
Federation and their natural resources;
providing state control in the sphere of protection of marine biological
resources.
2. The Border Guard Service fulfils other tasks vested in it by federal
laws, as well as the tasks in the framework of respective international
treaties of the Russian Federation.
CHAPTER II. FUNDAMENTALS OF THE ACTIVITIES OF THE BORDER
GUARD SERVICE
Article 4. Legal Regulation of Activities of the Border Guard Service
The Border Guard Service carries out its activities in compliance with
the Constitution of the Russian Federation, federal constitutional laws, the
present federal law, other federal laws and other normative legal acts of
the Russian Federation, as well as the generally accepted principles and
norms of international law and international treaties of the Russian
Federation.
Article 5. Main Principles behind the Activities of the Border Guard Service
The Border Guard Service carries out its activities on the basis of the
following main principles:
observation of laws;
humanitarianism;
respect for and observation of the rights and liberties of man and
citizen;
respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states and stability
of their borders;
peaceful resolution of border disputes;
mutually-beneficial multi-faceted cooperation with the bodies of foreign
states fulfilling similar tasks;
combination of open and secret forms and methods of work;
unified management and centralized control.
Article 6. Sphere of Reference of the Border Guard Service
The Border Guard Service, within its sphere of responsibility, shall:
1) organize and carry out the activities in revealing, preventing, and
stopping crimes and administrative violations in the cases qualified by
federal legislation as within the sphere of reference of the Border Guard
Service;
2) arrest persons having committed crimes or administrative violations
in those cases identified by federal legislation as the sphere of reference of
the Border Guard Service;
3) carry out, in compliance with federal legislation, reconnaissance,
intelligence and counter-intelligence work, operative investigation and
other activities;
4) implement, in compliance with federal legislation, cooperation with
the bodies of foreign states fulfilling similar tasks, conclude international
treaties of an interagency nature, take part in the drawing up of the state
border in international legal documents and fixing it in treaties;
5) use on a free basis, while executing their service duties, the water
and air space of the Russian Federation, territories (water areas) of
airports, air fields, (landing sites) sea, river ports regardless of their
organizational and legal forms and forms of ownership; enjoy on a free
basis while executing their service duties flight and navigation support;
6) request and obtain on a free basis from state bodies, bodies of local
government, organizations regardless of the forms of ownership, public
associations and citizens of the Russian Federation, foreign citizens and
stateless
persons,
necessary
information
(including
navigational,
meteorological, hydrographic, radioelectronic, space and other), except for
cases in which the federal legislation sets forth a special procedure for
obtaining the information;
7) obtain and use free of charge when fulfilling service duties the
channels and means of communication owned by state bodies, bodies of
local government, organizations regardless of the forms of ownership and
public associations (except for diplomatic representation offices and
consular institutions of foreign states and international organizations) and,
if necessary, by the citizens of the Russian Federation, foreign citizens and
stateless persons while compensating, at their demand, the expenses
according to the procedure specified in federal legislation;
8) obtain from the citizens of the Russian Federation, foreign citizens
and stateless persons explanations of the circumstances of crimes or
administrative violations known to them in the cases identified by federal
legislation as with the sphere of responsibility of the Border Guard Service;
9) use on a free basis in compliance with federal legislation mass
media to transmit operative information;
10) present, according to established procedure, to state bodies,
bodies of local government, organizations regardless of the form of
ownership, public associations or officials, statements obligatory for
execution to eliminate the causes and conditions contributing to crimes or
administrative violations in the cases identified by federal legislation as
within the sphere of responsibility of the Border Guard Service;
11) attract on a voluntary basis for execution of the tasks of the Border
Guard Service the citizens of the Russian Federation united in public
associations as freelance workers of the Border Guard Service and in
other forms according to the procedure specified by the Government of the
Russian Federation;
12) use armaments, special devices, combat, special and other
equipment, physical force and service dogs according to the procedure
specified by the Government of the Russian Federation;
13) carry out according to federal legislation registration of people,
statistics and other data;
14) create and use information systems in compliance with federal
legislation;
15)
arrange
encryption
and
agency
networks
of
encoded
communication, take part in the creation and operation of interstate and
interagency networks of encoded communication;
16) take part, in compliance with federal legislation, in ensuring the
security of protected state objects;
17) take necessary measures to ensure their own security;
18) take part in guarding diplomatic representation offices and
consular institutions of the Russian Federation in foreign states;
19) take part, in compliance with federal legislation, in the fulfilling of
tasks on the territories adjacent to the border, pertaining to the maintaining
of an emergency regime, elimination of illegal armed formations and
elimination of the consequences of emergency situations of natural and
technical origin;
20) assume other authority in compliance with federal legislation.
CHAPTER III. FUNDAMENTALS OF THE ORGANIZATION OF THE
ACTIVITIES
OF THE BORDER GUARD SERVICE
Article 7. Guidance and Management of the Border Guard Service
1. The guidance of the activities of the Border Guard Service shall be
vested in the President of the Russian Federation.
2. The Government of the Russian Federation shall coordinate, within
their sphere of responsibility, the activities of the specially designated
federal body of executive power for the Border Guard Service with the
activities of other federal bodies of executive power.
3. The management of the Border Guard Service shall be carried out
by the head of the specially designated federal body of executive power in
charge of the Border Guard Service through the specially designated
federal body of executive power for the Border Guard Service and its
territorial bodies. The head of the specially designated federal body of
executive power in charge of the Border Guard Service shall be assigned
to his position and dismissed from it by the President of the Russian
Federation at the presentation of the Government of the Russian
Federation.
4. The regulation on the specially designated federal body of executive
power in charge of the Border Guard Service shall be endorsed by the
President of the Russian Federation at the presentation of the Chairman of
the Government of the Russian Federation.
CHAPTER IV. FORCES AND RESOURCES OF THE BORDER GUARD
SERVICE
Article 8. The Forces of the Border Guard Service
1. The forces of the Border Guard Service shall provide for the
protection and safeguarding of the state border, as well as reveal, prevent
and stop crimes and administrative violations in the sphere of protection
and safeguarding of the state border.
The forces of the Border Guard Service shall also take part in the
solving of the tasks vested in the bodies of the Border Guard Service.
2. According to federal legislation, the forces of the Border Guard
Service take part, together with the Armed Forces of the Russian
Federation, in the repulsion of aggression against the Russian Federation,
as well as being involved in solving other problems in the sphere of state
defence.
3. The charter of the forces of the Federal Border Guard Service of the
Russian Federation shall be endorsed by the head of the specially
designated federal body of executive power in charge of the Border Guard
Service.
Article 9. Bodies of the Border Guard Service
1. The bodies of the Border Guard Service shall provide for:
state control over observation of the regime on the state border, the
regime on the territories adjacent to the border, regime at points of transfer
through the state border;
revealing, prevention, and stopping crimes and administrative
violations infringing the state border regime, regime of adjacent territories,
regime at the points of transfer through the state border;
transfer through the state border of people, transport vehicles, cargo,
commodities and animals together with other specially designated state
control bodies;
within its sphere of responsibility, state control over observation of the
federal legislation on internal sea waters, territorial sea, exclusive
economic zone and the continental shelf of the Russian Federation, as well
as on the use and protection of fauna and the environment;
revealing, prevention, and stopping crimes and administrative
violations in the sphere of the federal legislation on internal sea waters, the
territorial sea, the exclusive economic zone and on the continental shelf of
the Russian Federation, as well as on the use and protection of fauna and
the environment;
together with other specially designated state control bodies,
protection of the biological resources of internal sea waters, territorial sea,
exclusive economic zone and the continental shelf of the Russian
Federation, protection outside the exclusive economic zone of the Russian
Federation the reserves of anadromous fish forming in the rivers of the
Russian Federation;
other functions of the Border Guard Service set forth in federal
legislation.
The bodies of the Border Guard Service shall also take part in the
execution of the tasks vested in the forces of the Border Guard Service
and provide for the activities of the mentioned forces.
2. The bodies of the Border Guard Service shall execute individual
tasks in the sphere of defence in compliance with federal legislation.
3. Regulations of the bodies of the Border Guard Service shall be
endorsed by the head of the specially designated federal body of executive
power in charge of the Border Guard Service.
Article 10. Organizations of the Border Guard Service
Enterprises,
educational
institutions
of
professional
education,
research, expert, military medical organizations, study centres, special
training centres and other organizations of the Border Guard Service are
intended to provide for the activities of the Border Guard Service and
implement the aforementioned activities in compliance with federal
legislation.
Article 11. Recruiting in the Border Guard Service
1. The manpower of the Border Guard Service includes servicemen
and civilian personnel of the Border Guard Service.
2. Recruiting for the Border Guard Service is carried out in compliance
with federal legislation:
1) servicemen—by entering citizens of the Russian Federation in the
military service on a contractual basis and by draft using the extraterritorial principle;
2) civilian personnel—by voluntary admission to work.
3. The servicemen of the Border Guard Service (except for draftees),
as well as citizens of the Russian Federation assigned to positions as
servicemen of the Border Guard Service, positions as state inspectors of
the bodies of marine guards and inspectors of the bodies of the border
guards of the Border Guard Service form the personnel of the Border
Guard Service.
4. The personnel of the Border Guard Service are issued service
identification documents of the type specified by the specially designated
federal body of executive power in charge of the Border Guard Service.
5. The manpower of the servicemen of the Border Guard Service shall
be endorsed by the President of the Russian Federation and the
manpower of the civilian personnel of the Border Guard Service shall be
endorsed by the Government of the Russian Federation.
Article 12. Particulars of the Legal Status of the Personnel of the Border
Guard Service and Draftee Servicemen
1. The personnel of the Border Guard Service and the draftee
servicemen of the Border Guard Service are protected by the state.
Nobody may interfere in their service activities except for the persons
authorized to do so by federal legislation.
2. The demands of the personnel of the Border Guard Service and the
draftee servicemen within their authority are obligatory for execution by the
citizens of the Russian Federation, foreign citizens, and stateless persons.
3. The personnel of the Border Guard Service and the draftee
servicemen of the Border Guard Service do not bear responsibility for any
damage caused to life, health and property of violators, as well as for the
moral damage suffered by such because of the use, in cases envisaged in
legislation, of arms, special devices, combat, special and other equipment,
physical force and service dogs if the limits of necessary force were not
exceeded, or in cases of extreme emergency.
Article 13. Use of Arms, Special Devices, Physical Force and Service
Dogs
1. The personnel of the Border Guard Service are permitted to keep
and carry arms and special devices.
2. The personnel of the Border Guard Service and draftee servicemen
of the Border Guard Service shall use, in compliance with federal
legislation, arms, special devices, physical force, including combat
methods, as well as service dogs according to the procedure defined by
the Government of the Russian Federation.
CHAPTER V. FUNDAMENTALS OF PROVIDING FOR THE ACTIVITIES
OF THE BORDER GUARD SERVICE
Article 14. Material and Technical Support of the Activities of the Border
Guard Service
1. The property of the Border Guard Service includes the dwelling
houses, buildings and structures of the management bodies of the Border
Guard Service, military residential settlements of the military units and
divisions, organizations and educational institutions of professional
education of the Border Guard Service, equipment, educational objects,
material basis and technical educational aids available, as well as arms,
military and special equipment, engineering structures and barriers, other
material and technical equipment used by the Border Guard Service to
fulfil the tasks vested in it by federal legislation.
2. The property of the Border Guard Service is federally owned and
belongs to the Border Guard Service on the terms of the economic or
operative management. Qualification of the property of the Border Guard
Service as withdrawn from circulation or property restricted in circulation is
done in compliance with federal legislation.
3. Material and technical support of the Border Guard Service and the
creation of infrastructure for the Border Guard Service is provided at the
expense of resources of the federal budget, as well as non-budgetary
resources in cases envisaged in federal legislation.
4. The norms of supply with the main types (systems, complexes) of
armaments, military and special equipment, the norms of consumption of
motor resources and fuels, as well as the procedure for adoption for
military use, purchase, registration, storage, issue, repair and writing off of
types (systems, complexes) of armaments, military and special equipment,
procedure of training servicemen and civilian personnel of the Border
Guard Service to be ready for actions pertaining to the use of the types
(systems, complexes) of armaments, military and special equipment shall
be fixed by the specially authorized federal body of executive power in
charge of the Border Guard Service in compliance with the list of the main
types (systems, complexes) of armaments, military and special equipment,
norms and procedure of material and technical supplies of the Border
Guard Service endorsed by the Government of the Russian Federation.
5. Construction, reconstruction or providing objects intended for
accommodation of the military units and divisions of the Border Guard
Service shall be arranged in compliance with the procedure and norms set
forth by the Government of the Russian Federation for the servicemen of
the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (taking into account the
particulars defined by the head of the specially authorized federal body of
executive power in charge of the Border Guard Service) at the expense of
the resources of the federal budget, as well as at the expense of the
resources of the budgets of the subjects of the Russian Federation,
resources of the federal bodies of executive power that initiated the
construction or reconstruction.
6. The Border Guard Service shall be entitled to accept, according to
established procedure, in possession and for use from the federal bodies
of executive power, bodies of executive power of the subjects of the
Russian Federation, bodies of local government, organizations regardless
of the form of ownership, public associations, citizens of the Russian
Federation, transport vehicles, other machinery and property necessary for
the fulfilment of the tasks vested in the Border Guard Service by federal
legislation. The procedure for use of the mentioned property shall be
defined by the head of the specially authorized federal body of executive
power in charge of the Border Guard Service.
Article 15. Financial Support of the Activities of the Border Guard Service
Financial support of the activities of the Border Guard Service is
provided at the expense of resources of the federal budget, as well as nonbudgetary resources in the cases envisaged by federal legislation.
Article 16. Procedure for the Use of Land and Other Natural Resources
1. The land for deployment and permanent activities of the
management bodies of the Border Guard Service, military units and
divisions, organizations and educational institutions of professional
education of the Border Guard Service shall be provided to them on a free
basis for permanent or temporary use by the appropriate state bodies and
bodies of local government within their authority.
2. The land and other natural resources provided to the Border Guard
Service are used by the Border Guard Service in compliance with federal
legislation.
CHAPTER VI. CONTROL AND ENFORCEMENT OF ACTIVITIES
OF THE BORDER GUARD SERVICE
Article 17. Control over the Activities of the Border Guard Service
Control over the activities of the Border Guard Service shall be vested
in the President of the Russian Federation, the Government of the Russian
Federation, courts and other bodies within their authority as defined in
federal legislation.
Article 18. Procurator's Enforcement of the Activities of the Border Guard
Service
Enforcement of the observation of federal legislation regulating the
activities of the Border Guard Service and observation of legal practices in
the activities of the Border Guard Service shall be vested in the Procurator
General of the Russian Federation and his authorized procurators in
compliance with federal legislation.
CHAPTER VII. FINAL PROVISIONS
Article 19.
Bringing Normative Legal Acts into Compliance with the
Present Federal Law
The President of the Russian Federation is recommended and the
Government of the Russian Federation is required to bring their normative
legal acts in compliance with the present Federal Law.
Article 20. Entering into Force of the Present Federal Law
The present Federal Law shall enter into force from the day of its
official publication.
Acting President
of the Russian Federation
Moscow, The Kremlin
V. Putin