Publication date: 06.02.2024
I' m a lawyer in civil, tax, family cases
Military legislation states that every conscript, serviceman, conscript must appear at the summons of the TR and SSC for a medical examination.
There are quite a few rare cases when a person receives a summons to undergo a military medical commission (MMC) even if there are grounds for obtaining a postponement, since the TR and SSC may not have reliable and complete information about a person who is entitled to a postponement. After all, time passes and after the introduction of martial law in the country, the conscript's family status, state of health, other life circumstances may have changed (admission to a university, availability of guardianship, independent upbringing of a minor child, constant care for a sick relative, etc.). Since the postponement of the draft during mobilization has a validity period, it is for these reasons that the TR and SSC directs a person to undergo a medical examination, where the military medical commission determines the degree of suitability for military service.
However, what to do if a person who has the right to a deferment from conscription for military service nevertheless received a summons to pass the MMC? It is worth noting that the right to a deferment from the draft in itself is not a properly formalized deferment from military service during mobilization. If there are legal grounds for obtaining a postponement of the draft during mobilization, you should not wait for the summons to be served, and the conscript must initiate the issue of postponement from mobilization on his own or a military lawyer will help deal with this issue.
If there are reasons that give the right to receive a deferment, a written application for receiving a deferment from the draft during mobilization should be submitted to the territorial recruitment and social support center (TR and SSC) in which the conscript is registered.
If the man did not live at the place of registration, did not inform the relevant TR and SSC about the change of residence and he was served with a summons, then in this case he must appear at the TR and SSC to which the conscript is invited.
Evidence of grounds for postponement are documents that confirm the grounds for its issuance.
The legislation does not specify the form of an application for a postponement. Therefore, it is possible to do it in a different way than a personal appeal to the TR and SSC. That is, an application with the required package of documents can be sent either by a lawyer for the military, or it is possible to send the application and a package of documents on the post office, a valuable letter with a description of the attached documents with a notice of delivery by mail.
So, to sum up, the TR and SSC can send a person who has the right to deferment of conscription during mobilization to pass the MMC and these requirements will be completely legal, since the officials of the TR and SSC are guided first of all by the "Regulations on Military Medical Examination in the Armed Forces of Ukraine" № 402.
It should be noted that the requirements of the TR and SSC to send a person to the MMC will be legal, provided that the summons for the MMC is duly served.
If, after all, the conscript refuses to pass the MMC, motivating this refusal by the existence of grounds for receiving a deferment from mobilization during martial law, then the person may be held administratively or even criminally liable, depending on the circumstances.
