Up to 8 years in prison: Verkhovna Rada prepares punishment for violation of mobilization for TCC and VLC

28 January 18:00
Komersant ukrainskyi ANALYSIS

Unexpectedly, employees of the TCC and the JV and VLC are going to be prosecuted for violating the mobilization procedure up to 8 years in prison. The corresponding draft law by a group of MPs has already been registered in the Verkhovna Rada. According to the authors, the goal is to ensure that officials properly comply with the requirements of mobilization legislation, as well as respect the rights and freedoms of citizens during mobilization activities. Therefore, the parliamentarians propose to supplement the Criminal Code with new articles. Komersant ukrainskyi has found out what innovations the MPs are preparing for the society and the employees of the TCC.

According to the parliamentarians, they were prompted to take this step by

“cases of drafting citizens for military service who were not subject to such a draft according to the law; unreasonable granting of deferrals; non-punishment of persons evading the draft; failure to send to the pre-trial investigation body reports of a criminal offense by citizens who did not appear on summonses to be sent as part of teams, etc. In addition, violations of the procedure for conducting medical examinations to determine fitness for military service by military enlistment offices are often recorded, which leads to violations of citizens’ rights, evasion from military service or illegal dismissal of military personnel from military service.”

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Prison for overzealous work

These violations do not contribute to mobilization, undermine public confidence in state institutions and create a negative attitude towards the mobilization process. Therefore, MPs propose to add new articles to the Criminal Code of Ukraine:

  • Article 337-1 “Violation of the procedure for conducting a medical examination (military medical examination) to determine fitness for military service”. According to this article, intentional actions of officials that resulted in the conscription of a citizen who is not subject to such conscription for health reasons, or in the discharge of a citizen from military service for health reasons, shall be punishable by imprisonment for a term of 2 to 6 years. If these actions were committed repeatedly or by conspiracy by a group of persons, the maximum term is increased. In the case of martial law, the punishment is 3 to 8 years in prison with deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for a period of 1 to 3 years.
  • Article 426-2 “Violation by a serviceman of the procedure for conscription (acceptance) of citizens for military service”. The liability under this article is similar to that for members of the military enlistment commission, but with some mitigations. If a citizen who is not subject to conscription according to the law is sent to serve or a citizen is illegally exempted from conscription, the TCC employee may be subject to service restrictions for up to 2 years, detention in a disciplinary battalion for the same period, or imprisonment for up to 5 years. If such actions are committed during a special period other than martial law, imprisonment for a term of 3 to 6 years is envisaged. And in martial law, it is 3 to 8 years.
  • The parliamentarians also propose to expand the list of persons falling under Article 368-5 “Illegal enrichment” to include the heads, their deputies, members and secretaries of freelance permanent military medical commissions.

A few years too late

According to Oleksii Bahanets, a lawyer and former Deputy Prosecutor General of Ukraine, this draft law should have been adopted back in 2023, when the first cases of abuse in TCCs and JVs and among MECs began to appear. Today, it looks more like populism.

“The introduction of such criminal liability, which in fact means strengthening criminal liability for forgery of documents, not something else, is a road to nowhere. Increasing the period of criminal liability for this violation will not give any result. Every legislative act submitted to the Verkhovna Rada should have a goal – what it can solve, improve, etc. This draft law will not reduce the number of draft evaders, nor will it stop “busification” and abuses by the Military Registration and Enlistment Commission and JVs,”

– said Oleksiy Baganets in his commentary .

The lawyer also added that the draft law currently looks like a calculation for future voters, rather than a real desire to solve the problem.

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Author: Alla Dunina

Остафійчук Ярослав
Editor