Russian Military Law
The Constitutional and Legislative Foundations
Russian military law derives from the Constitution of the Russian Federation (1993), particularly Article 87, which designates the President as the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. The Constitution establishes the exclusive federal competence over defence, military organisation, and the determination of the status and protection of the state border. The fundamental legislative act is the Law on Defence (No. 61-FZ of 31 May 1996), which defines the legal basis and organisation of defence, the powers of state authorities, and the functions of the Armed Forces.
The Law on Military Duty and Military Service (No. 53-FZ of 28 March 1998) governs the conscription system, voluntary military service, and the legal status of service personnel. It establishes the categories of fitness for military service, the age limits for conscription (18 to 27 years prior to the 2024 amendments raising the maximum to 30), and the grounds for deferment and exemption. The law distinguishes between military service by conscription (voennaya sluzhba po prizyvu) and contract military service (voennaya sluzhba po kontraktu), reflecting the shift toward a professionalised force initiated in the 2000s.
The Military Courts System: Voennye Sudy
The military courts (voennye sudy) of the Russian Federation constitute a specialised subsystem within the federal judiciary, established under the Military Courts Law (No. 1-FKZ of 23 June 1999). Article 22 of the Federal Constitutional Law on the Judicial System provides that military courts exercise judicial power in the Armed Forces, other troops, and federal bodies in which military service is provided by law. The military court system is organised in three tiers.
At the first instance, garrison military courts (garnizonnye voennye sudy) hear the majority of cases involving service personnel and function as the primary trial courts. There are approximately 110 garrison courts across the Russian Federation. The second tier consists of district (naval) military courts (okruzhnye voennye sudy), which hear appeals from garrison courts and exercise first-instance jurisdiction over the most serious offences. The highest tier is the Judicial Collegium for Military Personnel of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation (Voennaya kollegiya Verkhovnogo Suda), which reviews cassation appeals and exercises supervisory jurisdiction over the entire military court system.
The military courts exercise jurisdiction over: (a) all criminal cases involving active-duty service personnel; (b) cases involving civilians where an offence is committed in the context of military service; (c) civil claims arising from military service relationships; and (d) cases involving military personnel during mobilisation and wartime. The Code of Criminal Procedure (Ugolovno-protsessualny kodeks) applies to proceedings in military courts, with modifications contained in the Military Courts Law.
The Military Prosecutor’s Office
The Military Prosecutor’s Office (Voennaya prokuratura) operates as a specialised branch of the Prosecutor’s Office of the Russian Federation, exercising supervisory powers over the observance of law in the Armed Forces. The Law on the Prosecutor’s Office (No. 2202-1 of 17 January 1992) establishes the military prosecutor’s authority to investigate crimes, approve indictments, and supervise pre-trial detention of service personnel. Military prosecutors are appointed by the Prosecutor General and are themselves subject to military discipline.
The military prosecutor’s oversight extends to the legality of disciplinary proceedings, conditions of military service, and the administrative decisions of military commanders. Following the 2022 mobilisation, the Military Prosecutor’s Office received expanded jurisdiction over violations of mobilisation legislation, including prosecutions for evasion of military service and violation of mobilisation orders.
Substantive Military Criminal Law
The Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (Ugolovny kodeks, No. 63-FZ of 13 June 1996) contains Chapter 33, entitled “Crimes Against Military Service” (Prestupleniya protiv voennoy sluzhby), comprising Articles 331–352. This chapter codifies the substantive military criminal law. Key offences include: desertion (dezerterstvo) under Article 338, punishable by imprisonment of up to seven years in peacetime and ten years during mobilisation or wartime; unauthorised absence (samovolnoe ostavlenie chasti) under Article 337; disobedience (nepovinovenie) under Article 332; resistance to a superior (soprotivlenie nachalniku) under Article 333; and violation of statutory regulations for guard duty (narushenie ustavnykh pravil karaulnoy sluzhby) under Article 342.
Article 331 defines military crimes as those provided for in Chapter 33 and committed by military personnel undergoing military service or military training. Civilians who commit crimes against the order of military service in the context of defence installations may also be held liable under specified articles. The Criminal Code provides enhanced criminal liability for military offences committed during mobilisation, martial law, or wartime, reflecting the heightened importance of military discipline in such periods.
Disciplinary Regulations
The Disciplinary Regulations of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (Disciplinary Ustav), approved by Presidential Decree No. 1495 of 10 November 2007, govern the exercise of disciplinary authority. The Regulations establish a hierarchical system of disciplinary powers (distsiplinarnye prava), under which each commander possesses defined authority over their subordinates. The disciplinary framework distinguishes between incentives (pooshchreniya) and penalties (vzyskaniya), with penalties ranging from a reprimand to disciplinary confinement (distsiplinarny arest) of up to thirty days.
The Law on the Status of Military Personnel (No. 76-FZ of 27 May 1998) provides the legal basis for the rights, duties, and responsibilities of service personnel. Section 4 of the Law enumerates the social guarantees for military personnel, including housing, medical care, and insurance. The Law was significantly amended following the 2022 mobilisation to extend social protections to contract soldiers and mobilised reservists, though implementation challenges persist.
Military Justice During Mobilisation
The Russian legal framework provides for the alteration of military justice procedures during periods of mobilisation or martial law. The Federal Law on Mobilisation Preparation and Mobilisation (No. 31-FZ of 26 February 1997) empowers the President to adjust the operation of military courts and the military prosecutor’s office during mobilisation. The Criminal Code provides for expedited procedures in wartime, including the possibility of trial by military tribunals composed of three military judges without the participation of lay assessors.
The mobilisation announced in September 2022 prompted significant legislative amendments, including the introduction of Article 356.1 (looting) and enhanced penalties for desertion and voluntary surrender. The State Duma also adopted amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code allowing for trial in absentia for deserters and those evading mobilisation, marking a significant departure from the ordinary procedural framework.
Garrison Courts and the Unified Judicial System
The garrison military court is the foundational institution of Russian military justice. Each garrison court serves a defined territorial area corresponding to the deployment of military units. The court consists of at least three judges appointed by the President on the recommendation of the Supreme Court. Garrison courts hear over 95% of all criminal cases involving service personnel. The Federal Constitutional Law on Military Courts requires garrison judges to have legal qualifications and service experience, though they need not be active-duty military personnel.
The military court system is integrated into the unified federal judicial system through the Supreme Court’s Judicial Collegium for Military Personnel, which ensures consistency of jurisprudence across the system. The Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation does not exercise direct appellate jurisdiction over military courts but may hear constitutional complaints from service personnel alleging violations of their constitutional rights.