The role of the Siberian Law Institute of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia in the implementation of the Anti-Drug Strategy of the Collective Security Treaty Organization member states for 2021-2025

PAVEL VLADIMIROVICH TEPLYASHIN, Professor of the Department of Criminal Law and Criminology of the Siberian Law Institute of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, Doctor of Law, Police Colonel

The evolution of law enforcement activities to combat drug trafficking and ensure anti-drug security has long risen to the interstate level, has acquired transnational cross-links of legal regulation and key regional agreements, which is caused by the constant growth of drug threats.

It should be noted that the "cornerstone" of the system of anti-drug security is strategic planning and the use of conceptual ideas to counter the constantly looming drug threats. Such provisions are enshrined in the Anti-Drug Strategy of Collective Security Treaty Organization (hereinafter – CSTO; Organization) member states for 2021-2025 (hereinafter - Strategy), approved by the CSTO Collective Security Council on December 2, 2020. The Strategy fixes the most important characteristics of the drug situation in the CSTO member states, the key factors of its negative development, threats, the goal and objectives of the Strategy, the principles of cooperation in combating drug trafficking and their non-medical consumption, the system of measures to reduce drug supply, measures to counteract the external drug threat, measures of law enforcement and organizational nature, directions of the system of prevention of non-medical drug use, international cooperation, mechanism for the implementation of the Strategy and the expected results.

The core idea of the Strategy is to consolidate further expansion of interstate cooperation against the backdrop of aggressive challenges and permanent threats of the modern era. It is precisely the drug threat that is one of the modern challenges that determines the interstate consolidation of collective efforts.

Section 10 of the Strategy, which deals with international cooperation, states that the Collective Security Treaty Organization member states participate in scientific and practical events. And this is not by chance. It is the effective achievement of the strategic objectives of anti-drug policy that is possible with the proper scientific support of such activities. Mobilization of scientific research can provide sound and effective recommendations of criminological, criminal procedural, criminal legal and other nature in the field of counteraction to criminal drug manifestations.

It is important to note that the scientific support of the CSTO anti-drug activities has different origins. It seems correct to consider that the scientific support of such activities is engaged only in those research centers that are directly related to the functioning of this Organization. One of such centers is the Siberian Law Institute of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia (hereinafter - the Institute). The choice of the higher educational institution on the Krasnoyarsk land is conditioned by a number of the following factors.

Firstly, according to the order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia dated March 18, 2013 № 150, the main direction of scientific activity of the Institute is research in the field of combating illicit drug trafficking.

Second, in accordance with the decision of the CSTO Collective Security Council of December 2014, the Institute was granted the status of a basic institution of higher and additional professional education to train drug control specialists for the Organization's member states. Acting as a basic educational platform for training current and future drug police officers, the Institute is building an approach to the system of teaching relevant disciplines, according to which the mutual exchange of experience, more in-depth study of the specifics of the drug situation and anti-drug legislation, as well as forms and directions of drug control in the Central Asian region are implemented.

Third, there is close scientific cooperation with a number of educational organizations from all CSTO member states – the Republics of Armenia, Belarus, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. Such cooperation is an effective tool for maintaining and strengthening representative and mutually beneficial ties, a way to bring together scientific venues for substantive discussion on topical issues of combating drug-related crime.

Fourth, collective research work is carried out with representatives of the scientific community from all CSTO member states. Joint scientific events of representative format contribute to the discovery of common problems in the field of combating drug trafficking, the development of common approaches to the normalization of the current drug situation in the CSTO member states.

These factors create a solid scientific basis for conducting high-quality research aimed at scientific support for the implementation of the anti-drug strategy of the CSTO member states. These studies are implemented in the following main forms.

I. Since 2014, the Institute has been developing analytical materials on the state of the drug situation in the CSTO member states. Since the analytical materials are a succinct scientific and methodological description of the current state and development of the drug situation in the CSTO region of responsibility, the materials under consideration essentially form a "road map" for further scientific research in the investigated area of transnational relations. Thus, one of the objectives of the CSTO Anti-Drug Strategy is to undermine the economic foundations of drug-related crime. In unison with the noted attitude, the analytical materials prepared back in 2018 contain a conclusion according to which the inherent pattern of the drug situation is that "on the "criminal map" the mechanism of the drug industry, reflecting four main groups of criminal elements, is becoming more and more apparent: drug production... drug business... social narcotism... criminal drug technology. It is through these criminal elements that the economic, socio-cultural and technological aspects of the drug threat manifest themselves in the CSTO member states' region of responsibility

II. The scientific support of the implementation of the Anti-Drug Strategy of the CSTO member states is also facilitated by the advisory assistance provided by authoritative experts in assessing the subregional drug situation and anti-drug security in the Central Asian region. One such specialist is Mikhail Gennadyevich Melikhov, who, as Advisor to the CSTO Secretariat and the Deputy Secretary of the Coordinating Council of Heads of Competent Bodies for Combating Illicit Drug Trafficking of the CSTO Member States, takes an active part in the work on the preparation of research projects, providing the Institute with extremely valuable information on the drug situation in the Organization's member states, commenting on the most complex and controversial criminological trends in its development and announcing analytical materials.

III. The orbit of scientific support for the CSTO anti-drug activities includes the process of preparation and publication of a number of research papers by the staff of the Institute drawing attention to the core problems of combating drug-related crime under the auspices of the Organization. This research contributes to the discovery of available reserves for the progressive development of anti-drug legislation and strengthening of the established principles of the anti-drug activities of the Organization. After all, one of the expected results of the CSTO Anti-Drug Strategy is the development of unified approaches aimed at harmonizing the legislation of the CSTO member states in the field of anti-drug activities.

Thus, it is possible to point out the significant role of the Siberian Law Institute of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia in the scientific support of the implementation of the Anti-Drug Strategy of the Collective Security Treaty Organization member states for 2021-2025. Further scientific support of anti-drug activities of CSTO will acquire a pronounced practice-oriented character. In this case, the primary field of research will be the ways to overcome the existing and possible drug threats to collective security, as well as the detection of the risks of losing control over the existing regional drug situation and, accordingly, the directions of further consolidation of anti-drug policy in the region of responsibility of the CSTO member states.

It is advisable to promote the development of practice-oriented recommendations of criminological, criminal law, procedural, investigative, social and humanitarian and other nature, aimed at the consolidation of anti-drug policy in the region of responsibility of the Collective Security Treaty Organization member states.