Mobilization in a new way: what are electronic summonses that are proposed to be served in the Verkhovna Rada
A new draft law No. 15236 has been registered in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, which aims to change the approach to the mobilization process. The document, titled “Draft Law on the Reform of Territorial Procurement Centers and the Mobilization Service Model,” provides for full digitalization and minimizing physical contact between citizens and representatives of the TCC and JVs.
The authors of the legislative initiative propose changing the philosophy of the centers’ work by turning their employees into consultants. To minimize corruption risks, it is proposed to transfer interaction to an electronic office, introduce online summonses with confirmation of receipt, and ensure open access to information on the status of a conscript.
At the same time, lawyers specializing in mobilization issues express doubts about the practicality and feasibility of this initiative.
“But the CCC and the SP are not an institution, but a military management body, accountable to the Ministry of Defense, and it has never been authorized to perform the functions of a “law enforcement body” or “manual contact.” And the consequences for any kind of “manual contact” are already provided for by the Criminal Code of Ukraine, and the issue is not in “reform” and “digitalization”, but in holding accountable officials who abuse their official position, inflict bodily harm, and detain people against their will without any authority or procedure,” noted lawyer Anzhela Vasilevska.
She believes that an order from senior management is enough to stop the street announcements, not a new law, since the current regulatory framework is already high-quality, but the problem lies in the lack of real accountability for violators. The lawyer also criticizes the idea of transferring interaction exclusively to an electronic format, emphasizing that using an office is not mandatory.
“Regarding the idea of serving summonses in electronic form, as indicated in the draft law, receipt fixation, then I don’t think there is a technical possibility to obtain that “fixation”. If the author of the bill hints at the possibility of sending a summons to an electronic office, then, again, using the office using the “Reserve+” application is voluntary and citizens are not obliged to check the receipt of notifications in “Reserve+” every day,” emphasized Anzhela Vasilevska.
In her opinion, the document has weak legal techniques, contradicts a number of existing regulatory acts and requires a large budget for the creation of another regulatory body and technical implementation. Experts believe that a more effective solution to the problem is to force officials to strictly comply with current regulations.
The submitted legislative initiative has sparked a lively discussion in society and the expert community regarding the balance between digitalization and legal regulation. The further fate of bill No. 15236 will depend on the conclusions of the relevant committees of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and the results voting in the session hall.
