Chapter 39.
CUSTOMS OFFICES AND THEIR FUNCTIONS
§3. Use of Physical Force, Special Devices and Firearms
by Customs Officers
Article 414. Conditions Stipulating the Use of Physical Force, Special Devices and Firearms by Customs Officers
1. The customs officers have the right to resort to physical force, special devices and firearms in accordance with the procedures stipulated by this Customs Code.
2. Use of physical force, special devices and/or firearms shall be preceded by an explicit warning of officer’s intent to use them, or by firing warning shots, as in the instance of use of firearms.
Note: the customs officer concerned shall be obliged to:
[1] offer sufficient time for fulfilling his (or her) lawful demands, except for the instances when a delay in the use of physical force, special devices and/or a firearm is likely to pose immediate threat to the officer’s life and health or entail other grave consequences, as in the instance of a sudden or armed assault, an attack with the use of combat materiel, vessels or means of transport, as well as under other circumstances when a warning is deemed inappropriate or impossible;
[2] provide first aid to the persons who have suffered body injuries and immediately advise the chief of the customs office of the occurrence, the latter being obliged to report the incident to the prosecutor within 24 hours.
3. In the instance of use of physical force, special devices and/or firearms, depending on the nature and gravity of the offence and the intensity of offenders’ resistance, customs officers shall seek to minimise the damage incurred in the act of elimination of danger.
4. In case of the use of physical force, special devices and/or firearms in violation of the established procedures the customs officers shall be held responsible in accordance with the Russian legislation.
Article 415. Use of Physical Force by Customs Officers
1. Customs officers have the right to use physical force, including martial art techniques, only in the situations when the use of non-violent methods cannot ensure the fulfilment of the duties vested in the customs office.
2. Physical force shall be used for:
[1] stopping an offence in progress;
[2] apprehending the offender;
[3] overcoming the counteractions to customs officers’ lawful demands;
[4] preventing access to the rooms, the territory, or to the goods or means of transport under customs control.
Article 416. Use of Special Devices by customs Officers
1. Customs officers have the right to use handcuffs, rubber batons, tear gas, implements for unlocking rooms, devices intended for causing a forcible halt of a means of transport, and other special means devices in the following situations:
[1] for repelling assaults at customs officers and other persons;
[2] for repelling assaults at buildings, installations or means of transport belonging to or utilised by the customs authorities, at the goods and means of transport in customs custody, as well as for releasing said objects in case of its capture;
[3] for apprehending the offender(s) and/or delivering him (or her) to the service room of a customs offices or a law-enforcement department in case said offender(s) show disobedience, offer resistance, or are likely to cause injuries to the people or themselves;
[4] for deterring physical resistance offered to a customs officer;
[5] for blocking the means of transport whose driver has not fulfilled a customs officer’s lawful demand to stop.
2. Special devices may not be used against the women with evident signs of pregnancy, the persons with evident signs of disability and juvenile offenders, except for the cases when said persons offer armed resistance, perpetrate a team attack or another form of assault threatening human life and health and/or endangering safety of goods and means of transport under customs control.
3. The register of special devices in the inventory of the customs authorities is approved by the Government of the Russian Federation.
Article 417. Use of Firearms by Customs Officers
1. Under the conditions of requisite (self-)defence or in extreme emergency, customs officers have the right to resort to firearms and make use of any other available implements provided no special devices are available.
2. Customs officers in the line of duty have the right to use firearms in the following situations:
[1] for repelling assaults at customs officers when their life or health are in imminent danger provided the assault may not be deterred by other methods and devices;
[2] for preventing attempts to seize the firearms in possession of customs officers including the attempts undertaken by an apprehended offender to approach the customs officer by shortening the distance designated by the latter, or reach for the firearm held by said customs officer;
[3] for repelling a team attack or an armed assault at the buildings, installations, means of transport, seagoing vessels or riverboats owned or operated by customs authorities, as well as at the goods and means of transport in customs custody, or the installations where said goods and means of transport are stored;
[4] for apprehending the person(s) offering armed resistance, as well as armed person(s) refusing a customs officer’s lawful demand to surrender arms;
[5] for halting means of transport, seagoing vessels and riverboats by damaging them if they pose real threat to the customs officers’ life and health or ignore the customs officers’ repeated demands to halt following warning shots;
[6] for neutralizing the animals posing threat to customs officers’ life and health;
[7] for warning the offender(s) of the customs officers’ intent to resort to firearms, for signalling alarm or calling for help.
3. Firearms may not be used against women with evident signs of pregnancy, persons with evident signs of disability and juvenile offenders, except for those cases when they offer armed resistance, perpetrate a team or other assault threatening human life and health, as well as under the condition of a significant concentration of people when random people are likely to suffer.
4. Customs officers shall be obliged to report each case of the use of firearms to the chief of the customs office involved within the shortest possible time, the latter being obliged to report the incident to the prosecutor within 24 hours from the moment of the use of a firearm.
5. The register of firearms and ammunition thereto in the inventory of the customs authorities is approved by the Government of the Russian Federation.
6. A customs officer has the right to prepare his (or her) firearm for fire if he (or she) presumes that the ongoing developments are likely to create conditions for its use pursuant to Item 2 of herein.
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