The ship's charter of the Navy will receive an increased status with the approval by decree of the President of Russia. The corresponding bill was submitted to the State Duma by the Russian government.
At present, the Ship Charter of the Russian Navy does not give ship commanders the right to make an independent decision in the event of a situation, that could lead to international conflict, ie. when interacting with foreign ships, including a potential adversary. At its core, with 2007 year The ship's charter is “by-law”, and decision-making refers to the level of the president and the Foreign Ministry, so you have to ask “instructions from above”.
The new bill should raise the status of the Ship Charter to the level of other charters, approved by presidential decree. The introduction of the document into the legal field will give ship commanders broader rights in the framework of decision-making in a given situation in peacetime.
As stated in the explanatory note, The ship charter will be given the highest legal status, it will be a separate special normative legal act.
Arguments “I acted in accordance with the ship's charter” – often not accepted, based on that, what is a document of supreme legal force
– explained in the government, adding, that this incident will be corrected.
When will the new bill be passed, not yet reported. After the adoption by the State Duma, the law will be considered by the Federation Council and after that it will be signed by the President of Russia.
