Ukrainian courts rule in favor of servicemen mobilized without summons

Ukrainian courts are issuing rulings in favor of military-age men who were forcibly sent to training centers without proper documentation — bypassing the legally established conscription procedure.

This was reported by the outlet Strana.

According to Kyiv resident Mykola, he was detained right outside the entrance to his own home, after which he was immediately taken to a military medical commission, which he describes as “an absolute formality,” and then sent to a training unit for basic military training.

“I never even went to the TCC. They grabbed me outside my building and immediately took me to the military medical commission, which was an absolute formality. After that I was sent to a training unit for basic military training,” — Mykola said.

Meanwhile, Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 560 of 2024, which establishes the procedure for calling citizens up for military service during mobilization, explicitly provides that after a medical examination, the military-age person must be issued a summons for conscription into military service under mobilization and dispatch to the place of service — the so-called mobilization order. If a person is simply placed in a vehicle after the military medical commission and taken to a training center without proper documentation, this constitutes a violation of the law.

Attorney Rostyslav Kravets confirmed to the outlet that Ukrainian courts are already hearing cases in which the absence of evidence that the procedurally required summonses were served is becoming a significant circumstance.

“Formally this is a violation, and the courts are taking note of it,” — the attorney said.

A positive body of case law has already emerged. In case No. 160/3858/26, the Dnipropetrovsk District Administrative Court found that the conscription procedure had been violated: the TCC failed to provide adequate evidence that the relevant summonses had been served on the military-age individual. The court requested documents confirming the legality of the procedure under Resolution No. 560, but it emerged that the dispatch to the training center had taken place without proper documentation. The court ultimately ordered the military unit to remove the plaintiff from its personnel rolls.

In another case — No. 160/9263/26 — the court also demanded that the TCC provide evidence of the preparation and service of the conscription and dispatch summons. The case materials recorded that officials of the notification group had subjected the plaintiff to psychological pressure, threats, and physical violence with a display of weapons, and had also deprived him of his liberty without drawing up the relevant procedural documents. The court noted that such actions may indicate elements of criminal offenses under Part 1 of Article 146, Part 1 of Article 146-1, Articles 365 and 426-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, and ordered the prosecutor’s office and the State Bureau of Investigations to enter information about this into the unified register of pre-trial investigations.

Thus, the emerging body of case law shows that the TCC is obliged to confirm on what grounds a person was conscripted and how the legally prescribed procedure was observed. A finding by the military medical commission that a military-age person is fit for service does not in itself confer the right to automatically send him to a training center without completing the subsequent stages of the conscription process. If the TCC cannot confirm that the conscription and dispatch were carried out in the prescribed manner, the actions can be challenged in court.

Previously, the attorney also stated that military commissars are mobilizing men with obvious signs of severe mental illness, serious injuries, and drug addiction. Furthermore, military commissars do not use body cameras when detaining people on the street.