International experience regulating criminal responsibility for conscription evasion in the conditions of martial state: experience for Ukraine

Abstract

In the process of investigating the issue of criminal liability for draft evasion, a full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation took place on the territory of sovereign, independent Ukraine. This event gave a new wave in the mobilization process to the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and other military formations, therefore it gained new significance and relevance for Ukrainian society.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, the so-called "special military operation" will forever remain a tragic page in the history of Ukraine, which is abundantly sprinkled with the blood of our defending soldiers and civilians. The heroic behavior of our defenders broke the plans for a quick capture of the capital and made significant adjustments to the plans of the invader. Unable to carry out the plans of the higher leadership, the invading soldiers committed a huge number of criminal offenses against the civilian population, violating the rules of war. In Buch alone, the Russians shot at least 280 civilians. They were killed just on the street, some had their hands tied and shot in the back of the head, some of the killed were minors. In a difficult period, when all of Ukraine rallied to resist the invaders, unfortunately, there were also cases of evasion of the draft, which also had a negative impact on the number of victims, and it is to the responsibility for this criminal offense that we decided to dedicate our article.

The problem of proper regulatory and legal regulation of the mobilization process and responsibility for draft evasion does not lose its relevance, and its solution will allow to improve the functioning mechanism of both the Recruitment and Social Support Centers and the general mobilization process, both at the beginning of the deployment of hostilities at the most critical moment, and currently in the process of strengthening the state's defense capabilities and continuing de-occupation measures in the East and South of Ukraine.

The article analyzed the approaches, methods, and features of regulatory and legal regulation of the mobilization process and responsibility for draft evasion in various European and post-Soviet states. We proposed our own model of criminal law enforcement of responsibility for evasion of the draft during mobilization.

In the course of the scientific research, a number of common approaches enshrined in the legislation of Ukraine and the criminal codes of most foreign countries regarding responsibility for evasion of the draft during mobilization were revealed. Although they are common in nature, they provide for different sanctions for committing a criminal offense, which arouses the increased interest of researchers.

When choosing a country whose legislation was to be analyzed, attention was paid, first of all, to states: with a high level of defense capability, the socio-political component of the state, how often and how successfully it participated in military operations and wars of various levels and nature of hostilities.

Studying and summarizing the positive experience of criminal law enforcement of liability for draft evasion during mobilization allowed us to propose ways to improve national legislation on the prevention and resolution of the draft evasion problem.