Venice Commission: Believers cannot be forced into military service
A meeting of the Venice Commission. Photo: BBC
The Venice Commission has issued an opinion stating that Ukraine cannot force individuals to carry or use weapons if they refuse military service on grounds of conscience, according to Sudebno-Yuridicheskaya Gazeta (Legal and Juridical Newspaper).
This ruling was made in response to a request from the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, which was reviewing a mobilization case involving a member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. In a letter dated December 4, 2024, Victor Kryvenko, who was acting chairman of the Constitutional Court at the time, requested an amicus curiae opinion from the Venice Commission regarding alternative (non-military) service.
Ukrainian courts had ruled that national legislation does not provide for an alternative to military service during mobilization, and that the right to express one’s religion or beliefs is not absolute and must comply with the constitutional duty to defend the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the state against foreign aggression.
However, after analyzing international and European law, the Venice Commission concluded that conscientious objection to military service cannot be completely denied even during wartime and that under no circumstances can a conscientious objector be forced to carry or use a weapon, even for the self-defense of the country.
It is worth noting that the Supreme Court of Ukraine previously ruled that religious beliefs do not grant a person the right to defer mobilization.
Earlier, the UOJ reported that the Venice Commission had agreed to review the issue of alternative service in Ukraine.
Read also
Sand for construction of Yermak’s residence brought from cemetery, MP says
MP Yaroslav Zhelezniak said that sand illegally removed from a cemetery in Ukrainka was used in the construction of the elite Dynasty cooperative in Kozyn.
Italian court recognizes family with three parents as legal
In Bari, the appellate court ordered authorities to register an adoption according to which a child is listed as having two "fathers" and one mother.
Archaeologists discover biblical Bethsaida on shore of Sea of Galilee
Researchers have discovered a first-century residential house beneath the apse of a Byzantine church and a mosaic inscription mentioning the Apostle Peter.
Israeli soldiers receive jail terms for mocking statue of the Virgin Mary
Those involved in the act of sacrilege in the village of Debel will spend several weeks behind bars for desecrating a statue of the Mother of God.
Serbian Church officially receives back land of 15th-century monastery
An agreement was signed in Belgrade transferring the territory of the ancient Vojlovica Monastery to the Banat Eparchy.
Pat Daniiel comments on conflict between Phanar bishop and community in Turkey
The Bulgarian Primate believes that the hierarch of the Constantinople Patriarchate should not have forced the Bulgarian community in Edirne to serve in Greek.