MOSCOW. Dec 30 (Interfax-AVN) - The defense committee of the State Duma lower house of parliament will concentrate on legal backing of army development and military reform in 2003, committee chairman Andrei Nikolayev said on Monday.
"An extramural session on these issues is to take place behind closed doors in the Russian General Staff Academy already in January. The session will be titled "Concerning the Progress of Reforms in the Russian Armed Forces," Nikolayev told Interfax- Military News Agency.
Parliamentary hearings on ways of implementation of the federal law "Concerning Alternative Civil Service" are scheduled for February. An extramural session of the committee will be held in Pskov in March to discuss the progress of the professional manning experiment in the 76th airborne division.
The committee is planning to discuss the main spheres of legal regulation and prospects of restructuring the military science and education in April. The session will take place at facilities of the Ryazan Airborne Institute.
"Interim results of the problem's consideration will be summed up by the parliamentary hearings on the state and development prospects of Russian legislation on army development issues in May," Nikolayev said.