Refusal to receive administrative services without a military registration document: comments of lawyers

For the third year in a row, hostilities continue on the territory of Ukraine. No branch of legislation is currently undergoing such global changes as the one that regulates mobilization processes. At the same time, the changes in the legislation concern the majority of the country’s population, because they limit their constitutional rights.

The spring and early summer of 2024 became the most unpredictable period and almost all other news, except for mobilization, disappeared from the news columns. Another surprise, which caused a wave of indignation among people, was the statement of the Minister of Justice Denys Malyusyka about the refusal to receive administrative services from state bodies depending on the presence of a citizen’s military registration document.

“This is a normal, correct, natural process. I believe he will appear more and more often. Increasingly, the state will request a military registration document to provide services to conscripts.” — noted Denys Malyuska.

IA “FAKT” invited specialists of the “Repeshko and Partners” bar association to comment on what a military registration document should be, as well as the legality of the statement of the Minister of Justice.

A military registration document is a document that confirms that all necessary data about a citizen and his military status are contained in the military registration system. During mobilization, the obligation to have it with you applies to all men aged 18 to 60.

There are the following types of military registration documents:

• for conscripts – a certificate of registration at the conscription station;
• for conscripts – a military card or a temporary certificate of a conscript;
• for reservists – a military card.

According to the current legislation, a military registration document is a document that determines the eligibility of its owner to perform military duty, which is drawn up (created) and issued to a citizen of Ukraine who is a conscript, conscript or reservist, including if he was excluded from military registration of conscripts, conscripts and reservists.

Please note that those citizens who were excluded from military registration must also have a military registration document. It should be noted that it can be of two types:

• in electronic form
• in paper form.

The military registration document is drawn up (created) and issued in electronic form by means of:

• The electronic account of a conscript, conscript, reservist, in particular using his mobile application;
• State web portal of electronic public services in the field of national security and defense;
• The unified state web portal of electronic services (hereinafter – Portal Diya), in particular using the mobile application of Portal Diya (Diya) (in case of technical implementation).

In paper form, a military registration document is drawn up on a form, the form of which is approved by Resolution No. 559 of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine dated May 16, 2024. At the same time, a person can have only one military registration document on the form.

The military registration document in electronic form and in paper form have the same legal force. The latter is valid only with the presence of the QR code and cannot be used without it. It is formed free of charge at the request of a person after he passes electronic identification and authentication.

As for the paper form, citizens are obliged to securely store the military registration document on a form, to monitor timely and accurate changes to it, and to comply with the rules of military registration.

An innovation in the legislation was that the military registration document on the form, in the case of submitting an application for the registration of the death of a citizen, must be submitted by the applicant to the body of state registration of acts of civil status, as well as the passport of a citizen of Ukraine.

According to the statement of the Minister of Justice Denys Malyusyka, citizens of Ukraine without military registration documents will be refused administrative services more often in the future.

It should be noted that the centers for the provision of administrative services in Ukraine today provide approximately 200 to 400 administrative services to citizens, and their number is constantly growing. These can be quite standard services – registration of a person’s place of residence or stay or state registration of ownership of real estate. Services that are needed by the general public are also provided – providing one-time material assistance to cancer patients or issuing a permit to carry out diagnostic, experimental, testing, measuring work at enterprises, institutions, organizations whose activities are related to the use of sources of non-ionizing radiation.

The requirement to present a military registration document when carrying out some legally significant actions has always existed, but in connection with peaceful life, it was not controlled by state authorities.

According to Article 9 of the Law of Ukraine “On Administrative Services”:

“In order to receive an administrative service, the subject of the application, in the cases provided for by law, submits, in particular, the following documents (if the information contained in them is not entered into the relevant information bases in the amount sufficient to provide the administrative service):

1. documents certifying identity and confirming citizenship of Ukraine, including those of military personnel;
2. military registration documents”.

This provision of the law was enshrined in the law even before the beginning of the invasion of the Russian Federation. Since the state currently provides most of the services through the Centers of Administrative Services, which operate on the basis of the mentioned law, no revolution in the legislation is foreseen, as well as additional changes – everything is already prescribed in advance.

So, currently, presentation of a military registration document is required when performing the following services:

• obtaining passports and other identity documents;
• registration, change of place of registration of a person’s residence;
• admission to educational institutions;
• employment;
• submission of an application for marriage registration/marriage dissolution in the RACS bodies;
• placing on consular registration abroad;
• registration of the unemployed at the employment center;
• crossing the state border of Ukraine;
• obtaining a driver’s license, etc.

Moreover, this rule applies to both men of military age (18-60 years for men) and women who have a medical or pharmaceutical specialty, because now in Ukraine, according to the latest version of Art.  1 of the Law of Ukraine “On Military Duty and Military Service”:

“Women who are fit for military service due to their health and age and who have graduated from professional (vocational-technical), professional pre-higher or higher education institutions and have obtained a medical or pharmaceutical specialty, are subject to being entered into the military register of conscripts.

Women who are on the military register may be called up for military service or involved in work to ensure the defense of the state in wartime on a voluntary basis. In peacetime, women can be accepted for military service and service in the military reserve only on a voluntary basis (under contract).

Women perform military duty on an equal basis with men (with the exception of cases provided for by legislation on maternity and childhood protection, as well as the prohibition of discrimination on the basis of sex), which includes voluntary acceptance (under contract) and conscription, completing military service, serving in the military reserve, performing military duty in the reserve and observing the rules of military accounting”.

Thus, the same rules of military registration as for men apply to women who have obtained a medical or pharmaceutical specialty. This must be taken into account.

Currently, the following actions do not require the presentation of a military registration document:

• drawing up agreements for the purchase and sale of movable and immovable property, registration of such property;
• opening accounts in bank institutions, carrying out settlement banking operations;
• receiving medical services;
• registration of a sole proprietorship or legal entity, making changes to information, etc.;
• performance of any notarial actions.

In turn, the Minister of Justice Denys Malyuska assured that critical services will still remain available to the general public, such as services related to family members of conscripts and children of conscripts.

Time will tell for which administrative services the mandatory presentation of a military registration document will be determined in the future, but taking into account the current changes to the current legislation, including mobilization legislation, it is possible to predict that in order to fully control the state over military registration and mobilization, the provision of the specified the document will be widely used.