Mother abroad for more than three months: they want to give the father the right to deferment

In Ukraine, it is proposed to significantly expand the list of grounds for deferment from mobilization. One of the most controversial innovations is the right to a deferment for the mother or father of a minor child if the other parent is outside Ukraine for 90 or more days during the year.

The relevant changes are provided for by draft law No. 15494, which proposes to amend Article 23 of the Law of Ukraine “On Mobilization Preparation and Mobilization”.

It is important that at the moment this is only a legislative initiative. The proposed rules have not yet entered into force.

Mother abroad for more than 90 days: what is proposed to be changed

The draft law proposes to redefine the cases when the mother or father is actually raising a minor child on their own and can apply for a deferment.

It is proposed to grant such a right to women and men who have a child under the age of 18 if the other parent:

died;
was deprived of parental rights;
permanently resides in another country;

is outside Ukraine for 90 or more days during the year;
is declared missing or missing;
declared deceased;
is serving a sentence in a place of imprisonment.

Separately, it is proposed to provide for the right to a deferral for persons who independently raise and support a child by court decision, as well as in cases provided for in Part One of Article 135 of the Family Code of Ukraine.

Why did the 90-day rule appear?

The logic of the proposed rule is to protect a child who actually stays in Ukraine for a long time with only one of the parents.

If, for example, the mother of a minor child is abroad for a long time, and the father remains the only parent who is constantly with the child, his mobilization may raise the question of who will continue to provide actual care.

It is such situations that the author of the draft law proposes to take into account when determining the right to a deferral.

Will three months abroad mean an automatic postponement

This is where one of the main problems of the draft law arises.

The wording about the second parent staying abroad for 90 or more days a year requires additional clarification.

In particular, it is unclear whether it should be about 90 days of continuous stay outside Ukraine, or whether it is enough for the corresponding number of days to accumulate during the year.

The issue of how to distinguish actual long-term residence abroad from business trips, studies, long trips, or other temporary circumstances also needs to be resolved.

Without detailing the mechanism, a situation may formally arise when even a temporary stay of one parent abroad will create grounds for the postponement of the other.

The CCC wants to prohibit mobilizing a person during the consideration of the postponement

The draft law also provides for significant changes in the interaction of citizens with territorial recruitment and social support centers.

If a person has documents or copies of them confirming the right to a deferral, the CCC proposes to prohibit the implementation of conscription measures against him.

In particular, this concerns a ban on keeping such a person in the CCC or sending him to a military medical commission.

In addition, it is proposed to establish a kind of protective period for the period of consideration of the application for a deferral.

It will not be possible to mobilize a person until he receives a written notification of the refusal to defer or until the expiration of the period during which such a refusal can be appealed in court.

The CCC proposes to prove the absence of the right to a deferral

Another fundamental innovation concerns the burden of proof.

If the CCC considers that a citizen does not have sufficient grounds to receive a deferral, the draft law proposes to place the obligation to prove this precisely on the recruiting center.

The CCC also wants to oblige the CCC to independently check the necessary information through state registers and send requests to the relevant authorities.

Thus, the citizen will not have to independently collect some of the information that is already at the disposal of the state.

They want to expand the deferral for relatives of the deceased

The draft law No. 15494 contains another important change.

The right to a deferral is proposed to be extended to persons whose close relatives died or went missing while providing volunteer assistance.

They also propose to include relatives of civilians who died or went missing as a result of missile strikes, bombings or other hostilities in the relevant list.

Thus, the authors of the initiative seek to expand the current social guarantees, which are currently primarily related to the death or disappearance of servicemen and participants in hostilities.

What is proposed to change regarding the VLK

The draft also clarifies the norm of Article 23 of the Law on Mobilization regarding health status.

It proposes to explicitly mention persons who have been declared unfit for military service by a military medical commission due to health conditions, along with the category of those temporarily unfit for a period of six to 12 months.

Why the bill may cause discussion

The criterion of 90 days of the second parent’s stay abroad is the one that raises the most questions.

Without additional safeguards, such a norm could potentially