On December 13, 2022, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine passed draft law No. 8271. It is aimed at increasing penalties for service members in the context of martial law. Currently, the law is submitted to the President for signature, and the public is already calling for a veto.
The NAKO team has analysed this law. We warn that, given the mobilization of hundreds of thousands of citizens into the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, this can result in significant negative consequences for persons who are not ranking military personnel, as well as narrow their rights to a fair trial and proper remedies.
In particular, the passage of this law entails the following risks:
- Inequality of justice due to the impossibility of mitigating the punishment and the prohibition of the option to release a service member with a probationary sentence.
- Abuse and violation of rights due to the expansion of command officers’ influence on military personnel.
- Violation of service members’ rights following lack of definition for cases when an examination for alcohol, drug, and other intoxication can be carried out.
It should be emphasised that the draft law had no proper public discussion. Also, it was not examined by a subject committee and was hastily adopted by the Verkhovna Rada within short deadlines.
Given the abovementioned risks, the said law undoubtedly requires additional revision. Therefore, we call on the President to veto it and citizens to support the related petition.
An excessive and unjustified increase in liability limits service members in protecting their rights and deprives them of a fair trial.
A detailed analysis is available below: