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.

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