Freedom of Movement Abroad on Martial Law: Legal Problems and its Solution in Ukraine

Abstract

The article is devoted to the analysis of the aspects, problems and contradictions around the restrictions on the freedom of movement and travel in Ukraine after the martial law announcement. On February 24, 2022 the Russian Federation attacked Ukraine, so the Ukrainian government has forbidden travelling abroad to the men liable for military service. We overview the negative and positive results of this decision in the social, political, economical, foreign political spheres. Special attention is given to the contradictions in the legal acts regarding the definition of the persons liable for military service and the persons who are permitted to cross the border. Decisions on granting the permissions to travel abroad to the different categories of the men liable for military service were delegated to the State Border Service and the local military agents. In fact, this delegation has blocked the permission granting process, because these bodies have neither legislation authorities, nor definite systems, or provided procedures in these cases. Uncertainty of the procedures creates the corruption risks. Integration of the economy of Ukraine with other countries demands permanent open borders movement. Restriction of this movement to the active labor force brings financial loses to the state and households – what could be crucial during the war, when the army needs financial support. In the same time, system of the whole-population general military service in the new era of modern military art and strategies seems to be not effective, and, in our opinion, should be changed to the professional, high-qualified and high-motivated troops. For these reasons we propose to implement the special legal instrument of the bail for the travelling abroad. Persons or legal entities would deposit money into the state account for a man liable for military service, who needs to travel abroad. After his coming back – the money return to the depositor, if the man decides not to return – the money would be transferred to the state budget for the future military aims and purposes. This mechanism could satisfy all the sides and solve most of the problems: persons who are theoretically liable for the military service, but don’t have necessary experience and perks – can free work and bring financial benefits to their families and state; army can get financial support from those, who decided to leave the country; corruption risks are minimized with the clear and transparent procedure of the state bail. Key words: freedom of movement, martial law, restriction of rights and freedoms.