The Right to the Social Protection of Citizens in Conditions of the Armed Conflict in Eastern Ukraine: Legislative Challenges

Abstract

The article focuses on problematic issues of the implementation of the right to the social protection of persons who have suffered from an armed conflict in Eastern Ukraine. It presents a general analysis of the shortcomings of national legislation that limits the constitutional provisions for citizens of Ukraine to obtain the appropriate level of social protection. The article shows the problems of the status of internally displaced persons (IDPs), which should provide for them additional guarantees from the state, including social ones. However, the carried out research shows that this status often becomes a discriminatory factor that imposes disproportionate restrictions on individuals. The current legal regulation of social payments for internally displaced persons contains a number of rigid and rather complicated administrative procedures that significantly restrict, and in some cases even generally make it impossible to obtain social protection. The only effective remedy for the protection of an infringed right for pensions or other social benefits for internally displaced persons is an appeal to a court. The courts do not always carry out effective and prompt protection of the violated law. Despite positive examples of judicial practice, it can not always provide an adequate and well-timed level of social protection, which causes the need for the improvement of national legislation.