The bill on strengthening mobilization, which has already become scandalous, presents more and more surprises. Thus, disabled people of groups II and III who received disability after February 24, 2022 are asked to re-pass the military medical commission. How legal is this provision and what problems may all participants in the process encounter during the implementation of this provision?
Conflict norm
It should be immediately noted that bill No. 10449 “On amendments to certain legislative acts of Ukraine on certain issues of military service, mobilization and military registration” in its original version established that people with disabilities of all groups are exempt from military service.
After the first reading, the bill was sent for revision; more than four thousand amendments were made to it: 3,776 electronically and about 500 manually. Everything has been fixed. And now - hello to the disabled!
According to the final provisions of the document, male citizens of Ukraine aged 25 to 55 years, who were diagnosed with group II and III disability after February 24, 2022, must undergo a military medical commission again by the end of 2024. For suitability for military service.
There are, of course, exceptions. Those who have been diagnosed with disability of groups 2 and 3 as a result of illnesses, wounds, injuries, concussions and mutilations received during the defense of the country are exempt from repeated IHC. As well as those who are missing a limb/limbs due to amputation.
“Neither the Regulations on MSEC, nor the Regulations on the procedure, conditions and criteria for establishing disability, nor the Regulations on military medical examination in the Armed Forces of Ukraine provide such a basis for reviewing disability as its receipt after February 24, 2022. Organizing such a review is possible only after making changes to a number of regulatory documents. In particular, with a view to the need to determine the order and consequences of such a review. For example, how will the status of a person with a disability be cancelled, how will the results of the review be appealed,” medical lawyer and member of the NAAU Medical and Pharmaceutical Law Committee Yulia Nikolaets tells Apostrophe.
In addition, according to her, the new norm directly conflicts with the already existing by-laws of the Cabinet of Ministers. For example, with Resolution No. 390 of March 30, 2022 “On introducing changes to some resolutions of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine regarding the period for re-examination of persons with disabilities and extending the validity of certain medical documents under martial law.”
This by-law expressly states that a re-inspection, the date of which fell during the period of martial law on the territory of Ukraine, is postponed until after the termination or cancellation of martial law, but no later than six months after its termination or cancellation.
But the initiators of the bill and people's deputies have their own logic. And, in principle, true. After all, it’s no secret that many men who were quite healthy before the big war suddenly became disabled after martial law was declared. And, accordingly, unsuitable for mobilization.
“There will be no violation of the rights of people with disabilities. But we believe this: if a person bought himself the status of a disabled person in order to avoid mobilization, then this should be corrected,” Fyodor Venislavsky, a member of the parliamentary committee on national security, defense and intelligence, tells Apostrophe.
For the second round
However, this provision of bill No. 10449 looks rather dubious from the point of view of its implementation.
“Given the length of time it takes to pass the bill, the need to make significant changes to the current legislation and develop new by-laws, and the workload of the relevant commissions (VVK and MSEC), the deadline for reviewing disability before the end of 2024 looks unrealistic,” says Yulia Nikolaets.
And therefore, unfortunately, persons with disabilities who may want to prove their innocence may have problems of a different nature. And the problems are quite serious.
“I draw attention to bill No. 10379 of December 25, 2023 “On amendments to the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses and the Criminal Code of Ukraine regarding strengthening liability for military offenses.” They provide for amendments to Art. 336 of the Criminal Code. The changes specify that refusal to undergo a medical examination is evasion of conscription for military service upon mobilization, and is punishable by imprisonment for a term of 3 to 5 years. Considering the short period allotted by Bill No. 10449 for the disability review, a serious question arises: won’t the very fact of failure to undergo the review by the end of 2024 be qualified as a refusal and a basis for bringing men to criminal liability?” says Yulia Nikolaets.
Thus, bill No. 10379 is now only being considered by the relevant committee of the Rada. Well, what if they take it and abruptly accept it. Deputies are such people... Unpredictable.
Another question arises - if people who have received the status of a disabled person must go through the commissions again, then shouldn’t the IHC and MSEC be reformatted? After all, most likely, the same people who could have issued a “false” disability certificate for money are still working there. And they will refuse the verdict that has already been rendered? And if the commissions are reformatted, will it be true that some citizens will have to pay bribes in the second round for the sake of disabled status?
“It's not impossible. So many corruption cases have already been filed against the leaders of the VVK and MSEC, and yet bribery continues. I don’t know why, but in the Goloseevsky TCC, three heads of the military medical commission have changed in two years,” he tells Apostrophe. O. chief physician of the Kyiv City Clinical Hospital No. 10, former military surgeon Daniil Mikhailov.
So there are more than enough disadvantages in this rule on recommission for disabled people. But there are few advantages.
