PREFACE
Philipp H. Fluri
The Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF)1 is honoured to
present this collection of commentaries on Russian legislation on the security sector and
the democratic oversight of the defence and security sphere to a wider interested public.
The collection is intended to assist the critical debate begun with the publication, by
DCAF and the Foundation for Political Centrism, of the collection of Russian security
sector laws in Russian2 and English3, and represents the fulfillment of the third phase of
the original scheme of planned publications on this subject.
The emergence of the concept of security sector reform in the OSCE area suggested the
growing acceptance of a definition of security broader than the traditional definition
focused solely on military security of the state. According to this broader definition,
security has non-military elements as well : the object of security includes not only the
state but also, more widely, individuals and society, as well as, in fact, the security, rights
and obligations of civil servants and (military) servicemen.
Security sector reform also has a very significant emphasis on good governance, an
emphasis encompassing the rule of law, predictable, transparent and open policymaking, a professional bureaucracy that serves the public good, and a vibrant civil
society that actively engages in public affairs. When applied to the security sector, good
governance would thus mean the effective, efficient, participatory, accountable and
transparent functioning of state institutions that have a monopoly of legitimate use of
coercion.
1
The Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces was founded in 2000 as a Swiss initiative
with the active cooperation of the Russian Federation (for more information see www.dcaf.ch).
2
А. Г. Арбатов & Е. Л. Черников, Правовыеакты Российской Федерации в сфере военно гражданских
отношенийм, (Москва, 2002).
3
Philipp H. Fluri, Alexei G. Arbatov and Evgeny I. Chernikov (eds.), The Legal Acts of the Russian
Federation in the Sphere of Civil-Military Relations, (Geneva/Moscow: DCAF/Foundation for Political
Centrism, 2002). Please see http://www.dcaf.ch/publications/e-publications/Rus_legal_acts/coverp1.jpg
For other publications please see http://www.dcaf.ch/publications/publications2/electronic_versions.html
In cooperation with the State Duma Defence Committee, the Geneva Centre set up a
Legal-Political Assistance Group (representing leading constitutional lawyers and
security policy experts from the OSCE area). This Assistance Group supports the
legislative process in the said fields, and brings in expertise from other European and
North American parliaments.4
The cooperation agreement entails publication of the relevant laws and ‘law projects’ in
the Russian and English languages, completed with annotations and comments by
leading experts from the Russian Federation and abroad. The Assistance Group further
organises conferences in Russia and abroad, inviting Russian experts to meet their
Western counterparts. The first such cooperation conference took place in Moscow in
October 2001.
Again DCAF was able to count on the amiable and competent services of one of its main
cooperation partners in Russia, the Foundation for Democratic Centrism. Regular
updates on emerging legislative projects are planned in continuation of this series.
Philipp Fluri, DDr.
Deputy Director DCAF
Geneva, December 2003
4
Further information about the
http://www.dcaf.ch/partners/LPAG.html
LPAG
can
be
found
on
the
DCAF
website
at