The Union State of the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation: integration cooperation in the field of international information security

Duben' Andrei Kirillovich Scientific Associate, Institute of State and Law of the Russian Academy of Sciences; Assistant, Department of Civil and Administrative Proceedings, Russian State University of Justice 119019, Russia, Moscow region, Moscow, Znamenka str., 10 k.duben@mail.ru Other publications by this author

Special attention is paid to the issues of legal support of information security today in the light of modern geopolitical processes and their impact on all spheres of life. He draws attention to the fact that one of the tasks of modern society is the search for universal solutions to information security issues. One of the key roles in this issue is played by the Russian Federation, which initiates international conventions on information protection and ensuring international information security. For example, on December 7, 2022, the 77th session of the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution on international information security submitted by Russia and its friendly states and supported the activities of the UN Open-ended Working Group on Security in the Field of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) 2021-2025. On December 24, 2024, the UN General Assembly adopted the UN Convention against cybercrime, proposed by the Russian Federation, aimed at protecting society from digital threats. Consistent measures are being taken to strengthen the potential of multilateral regional associations and integration structures with the participation of the Russian Federation, including BRICS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Eurasian Economic Union, the Union State of the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation, and the Collective Security Treaty Organization.

A number of significant international legal acts in the field of international information security have recently been adopted within the framework of these regional organizations. Within the framework of this study, it is worth paying attention to the international organization as a Union State of the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation. The methodological basis of this research is a system of modern general scientific and private law methods. The study of the formation, development, place and role of the legal provision of information security of the Union State of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus was conducted using the following general scientific methods: analysis and synthesis, abstraction and modeling, generalization, description, etc. Special private law methods of cognition were also used in the work: comparative law, formal law, etc. Along with this, the use of the comparative legal method allowed the author to substantiate the conclusion about the general patterns of development of legal regulation of public relations in the field of information security of the Union State of the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation.

The most significant works on this topic were the scientific research of such well-known specialists in this field as I.L. Bachilo, G.G. Kamalova, A.V. Minbaleev, T.A. Polyakova, A.A. Smirnov, A.V. Ivantsov, O.A. Khotko, T.Z. Shalaeva, E.S. Zinoviev and others.

The Union State of the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation, established in 1999, has become one of the important integration associations in order to strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries in various spheres of life. Today, the formation of a common information space and the maintenance of international information security is one of the most important stages in the implementation and achievement of the main objectives of the Union State. These tasks are due to the fact that in the modern information and digital world, the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation are increasing international cooperation in the field of legal information security in regional and bilateral formats.

In the theory of information law, it is no coincidence that scientists raise the issue of the importance of international cooperation in ensuring legal information security in the context of the development of digitalization processes, the transformation of law, the improvement of information processes, the increase of new information challenges, risks and threats of a cross-border global nature, thus, the above factors determine the need for interstate cooperation ^{[1, p. 140]}. Thus, the Union State creates conditions for ensuring the peaceful and democratic development of states in order to strengthen friendship, improve well-being and living standards ^{[2, p. 154]}.

Of particular importance is the Union State of the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation. In 2023, the Concept of Information Security of the Union State of the Republic of Belarus and Russia was adopted, which defines the basis for the formation of a coordinated state policy and the development of public relations in the field of information security, as well as the development of measures to improve information security systems of the states parties to the Treaty on the Establishment of the Union State. The main purpose of the Concept is to protect the national interests of the States parties to the Treaty on the Establishment of the Union State in the information sphere. The concept defines the basis for the formation of a coordinated state policy and the development of public relations in the field of information security, as well as the development of measures to improve the information security systems of the States parties to the Treaty on the Establishment of the Union State. We believe that this regulatory legal act contributes to improving the security of the information infrastructure of the participating states and, above all, their critical facilities, and is also aimed at combating the destructive impact on the information resources of the Union State. According to the Concept, the participating States carry out their activities in the international information space in the interests of social and economic development, based on the objectives of maintaining international and regional security, in accordance with generally recognized principles and norms of international law and national legislation.

The strategic legal acts of the Union State in the field of international information security are dynamic due to changes in social and political relations. There is a growing tendency to perceive the information space not only as an area requiring the use of exclusively protective measures, but also involving active offensive measures to the extent necessary to protect national interests. In our opinion, the study of foreign experience, in particular, the adoption of the Concept of Information Security of the Union State and the international documents of the Open-ended Working Group on the Security of the use of ICT, allow us to develop new conceptual foundations of the doctrine of international information security. There are different opinions in the Russian doctrine about the place and role of information security of the Union State, in particular, S.V.V. Vinnichek believes that for the effectiveness of organizational and legal measures to ensure information security, it is necessary to make additions to the general provisions of the Concept of National Security of the Union State ^{[3, p. 32]}. Appealing to this position, we believe that an effective legal instrument for ensuring information security is the Concept of Information Security of the Union State, adopted in 2023, which defined a unified approach to the development of information security and identified the main challenges and risks in countering information threats, at the same time, the Concept of National Security of the Union State is at the stage of adoption and defines common vectors security, including current priority areas for ensuring the security of the Union State.

In turn, it is especially important today to ensure the information security of Belarus and Russia, which have been subjected by the West not only to economic sanctions, but also to attempts to exclude them from the system of international relations. The Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus are already stepping up efforts to create their own database protection software, while the Union State is creating its own information platform to ensure technological sovereignty.

One of the main directions of the Union State is the formation of a union program to create a Belarusian-Russian scientific expert and analytical infrastructure in order to implement a systematic mechanism for operational decision-making by the Union State authorities on security priorities; the implementation of a set of urgent measures to harmonize state legislation in order to form a unified legal framework for the Union State to ensure security in the information sphere (including the integration of information systems, distributed ledger technologies, digital identification, including biometric, etc.), which ensures not only the formation of a unified information and legal space, but also the creation of a unified information system that ensures legal awareness of all subjects of Belarusian-Russian society, its reliability and effective counteraction to any misinformation; the formation of measures to legislate the independent information infrastructure of the Union State based on sovereign information platforms, critical information security facilities that ensure the national interests of the Union State, including in the field of customs, tax, financial and other institutions that ensure the livelihoods of the population ^[4]. In addition, one of the areas of joint activity is the creation of an effective union information security system, which requires the development and improvement of the current organizational mechanism, which entails the need for harmonization, and ideally unification of national legislation and the formation of a union regulatory framework for information security ^{[5, p. 184]}.

Based on the analysis of international documents and the theoretical positions of the science of international and information law, we believe that in the future it is necessary to ensure on an ongoing basis the theoretical, legal, scientific and methodological orientation of the development and implementation of unified approaches to the legislation of the two member states of the Union State regulating the sphere of international information security. This conclusion is based on the main factors contributing to this interstate interaction: common threats, risks and factors of information security; strengthening the union integration of the information spheres of the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation; the identity of legal systems and the adoption of the Concept of Information Security of the Union State; creation of the technological and information space of the Union State; coordination of international actions of states and positions in foreign policyin the UN system, etc.

It is worth noting that the Union State has no analogues in the world, and the Union under study should be considered as being of crucial importance in strengthening integration relations, as a guarantor of the security of citizens of the union in the light of existing challenges and a number of restrictive measures ^[6]. It is important to pay attention to the expediency of systematizing lawmaking in the field of information security, since today there are legal grounds within the Union State to create a unified regulatory framework, and the fundamental acts in this area may be acts on security and digitalization, which will ensure the information security of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus.

In this regard, the issue of adopting a Plan for the implementation of the main directions of Belarusian-Russian cooperation in the field of international information security is urgent. As scientists T.A. Polyakova and A.A. Smirnov rightly point out, scientifically sound proposals are currently needed to develop a system of legal support for information security of the Union State based on optimal methods and legal mechanisms for regulating public relations in this dynamic sphere ^[7]. At the same time, the processes of digital transformation necessitate the "modernization of legal approaches to the regulation of new public relations" ^{[8, p. 4]}. A.V. Minbaleev rightly notes that in the current conditions, legal regulation methods should be flexible enough and ensure the prompt development of a system of ways and means of responding to new threats and challenges ^{[9, p. 4. 62]}. A.V. Ivantsov, a scientist of the Republic of Belarus, rightly notes that today there is a need to improve existing theoretical approaches to ensuring the international information security of the Union State based on strategic documents of the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation ^[10]. These arguments are particularly significant for the international legal regulation of the sphere of international information security of the Union State.

Thus, the legal framework for ensuring the information security of the Union State of the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation determines that the main goals and objectives of interstate cooperation are aimed at defining common rules of state behavior in the information space, increasing the level of information protection of critical infrastructure facilities and forming a unified information space in modern conditions. We believe that the adoption of a Plan for the implementation of the main directions of Belarusian-Russian cooperation in the field of international information security will contribute to improving the level of information security in the context of the development of digitalization processes, the transformation of law, the improvement of information processes, the increase of new information challenges, risks and threats of a cross-border global nature, thus, the above factors determine the need and relevance in interstate cooperation between the Union State of the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation.