NATO DEFENSE STANDARDS: LEGAL NATURE AND IMPLEMENTATION IN NATIONAL LEGISLATION

Abstract

An integration of Ukraine in the Euro-Atlantic defence system and achievement the compatibility of the Armed Forces of Ukraine with the relevant structures of the NATO member states comprise the implementation NATO military (administrative, operational and technical) standards into the national legislation. That is why understanding of legal meaning of NATO standards is so important for the determination of most effective ways of implementation of NATO standards and relevant procedures because it quite a large volume of technical prescriptions and rules that are complex and unusual for legal system of Ukraine. Military standardization and certification of weapons and military equipment in Ukraine according to NATO standards should take into account specific international law processes like adoption, ratification, implementation, change and cancellation of regulatory requirements. The purpose of the military standardization is to achieve, maintain and improve the interoperability of the Armed Forces of Ukraine with the armed forces of NATO and NATO member states on the base of interchangeability and uniformity of harmonized terminology in the field security and defense. In its legal nature the NATO standard is an international agreement that regulates and defines common rules in the field of defense joint procedures and establishes the unification of technical processes, weapons and military techniques. Therefore, the concept of “NATO standard” should consider precisely in the extended meaning, not in y narrow understanding, as it defined be Ukrainian legislation. National legislation provides definition of NATO standard as document that developed, adopted and published Organization of the North Atlantic Treaty. Such definition too narrowly reflects the complex nature of that international legal phenomenon and our country faces the necessity to review normative definition of multilevel system of NATO standardization. Solving the problem of interoperability of the security and defense sector of Ukraine with NATO is required through the creation of common conceptual and categorical conditions of standardization. Application of direct translation of the text of the standards NATO is not always correctly reflects content of the standard through essential difference in interpretation terms adopted in Ukraine from one side, and in NATO states on the other. The purpose of the article is to analyses the legal nature NATO standard and its impact on processes of adoption national military standards and to propose effective ways of implementation of the norms of international law in the sphere of defense and security into national legislation of Ukraine. General scientific and special methods of research were applied, in particular methods of system analysis and synthesis, comparative legal method, etc. Thorough analysis of organizational and legal standardization mechanism of NATO was done; it is determined that the system is military standardization in Ukraine should take into account the substance of international legal processes such as adoption, ratification, implementation, change and cancellation of NATO regulatory documents. It is established that new extended meaning regulatory and legal concept of NATO standard should be included in the national legislation. The need to develop a common Ukraine – NATO glossary was proposed. That glossary should contain an agreed terminological base in the field of security and defense, which would greatly simplify the activities of personnel not only in the sphere of military standardization, but also during the performance of their functional tasks.