Ukraine legislature passes law revising military mobilization rules amid ongoing war – JURIST

Ukraine’s Parliament, known as the Verkhovna Rada, passed a bill on Thursday to overhaul the country’s military mobilization rules.

Law No. 10449 improves aspects of the organization of mobilization, military registration and social protection of servicemen, as well as addresses certain issues of military service to improve the quality of personnel selection to strengthen Ukraine’s defense capability to repel armed aggression.

The government’s draft law “On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine on Improving Certain Issues of Mobilization, Military Registration and Military Service” was submitted by the Cabinet of Ministers to the Ukrainian Parliament Verkhovna Rada on December 25 , 2023. The updated draft law was approved and submitted to the Parliament on January 30. On February 7, the Verkhovna Rada passed the draft law in the first reading. It was later returned to the government for revision. On April 9, the Verkhovna Rada Committee on National Security, Defense, and Intelligence completed the draft law on mobilization for the second reading. It was stated that the document was ready for consideration in the parliamentary hall.

The main changes made by law on mobilization include:

• Citizens will continue to be served only in paper form, with no summonses in electronic offices.
  The electronic account for conscripts, persons liable for military service, or reservists is registered voluntarily.
• All persons liable for military service will have 60 days to update their military registration data, after the law is published.
• Citizens who permanently reside abroad must register for military service in Ukraine.
• Those convicted to a suspended sentence may be called up for military service, except for those who have committed crimes against the national security of Ukraine.
• There will be no mandatory mobilization of women, with exceptions for those in medical or pharmaceutical professions or with a military specialty who may register for military service voluntarily.

The mobilization issue is one of the most pressing while the war in Ukraine continues. A recent report from the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) revealed that Ukraine has suffered an increase in civilian casualties from the war in the past month due to an increase in Russian aerial strikes. The UN found, “[A]t least 604 civilians were killed or injured in Ukraine in March 2024, a 20 percent increase compared with February 2024.”