The historical and legal discourse on the obligation to perform military service in Ukraine

Abstract

The article is devoted to clarifying the peculiarities of legal (constitutional) consolidation of military duty at different stages of Ukrainian state and law-making. It is argued that the process of forming (reforming) an effective legal framework for the Armed Forces of Ukraine is necessarily associated with the study and consideration of the historical experience of legislation evolution throughout the centuries-long history of the Ukrainian State. The author has studied in detail military duty in Ukraine in the historical context. Particular attention was paid to the analysis of the legal regulation of military duty during Ukraine's membership in the Soviet Union, as the conscription system in Ukraine is a successor to the Soviet system with all its advantages and disadvantages. The author also reviewed the legislation on military duty for the period 1991-2023 and noted that even today, certain provisions are imperfect and contradictory and need to be changed, so there is an urgent need to form an integral system of interrelated legal acts. The author highlights the main violations of the rights of servicemen (the right to fair and just treatment, unjustified restrictions on alternative (non-military) service, the right to education, the right to liberty and security, the right to health and medical care, the right to privacy, the right to proper legal representation) and suggests ways to address them. The author emphasises the need to improve the effectiveness of protection of the rights of servicemen, namely, the introduction of the military ombudsman institution.