Supreme Court: Religious beliefs do not exempt citizens from mobilization

Under Ukrainian law, religious beliefs do not provide an exemption from mobilization. Photo: sud.ua

Ukraine's Supreme Court has upheld the legality of refusing to allow citizens whose religious beliefs prohibit them from bearing arms to perform alternative (non-military) service instead of military service upon mobilization, according to the Judicial and Legal Gazette.

The Administrative Court of Cassation within the Supreme Court reviewed an appeal filed by a member of the Independent Religious Community of Evangelical Christian Baptists in Vinnytsia. The believer challenged rulings by Vinnytsia courts that had denied his request to perform alternative service on religious grounds.

The Supreme Court upheld the lower courts' decisions. The judges explained that Article 35 of the Ukrainian Constitution guarantees the right to alternative service, but the procedures for performing such service are determined by law. Current legislation clearly distinguishes between compulsory military service and mobilization, with no provision for alternative service under martial law.

The Supreme Court concluded that, amid the full-scale armed aggression against Ukraine, protecting the state and human lives constitutes a legitimate aim that may justify restricting the right to refuse military service on religious grounds.

Earlier, the UOJ reported that Ukrainian authorities had ignored demands from human rights advocates to explain why citizens were being denied their constitutional right to alternative service.

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