Senator Klishas clarified the fate of an important amendment to the law “On Military Duty”

At the very end of the spring session, the State Duma adopted, the Federation Council approved, and the President signed several laws changing the rules of military registration, the conduct of the conscription campaign and liability for violations related to military registration. Many amendments were made to these laws literally just before the second reading, and it was difficult to carefully study them at the time of adoption.

Be that as it may, one of these laws attracted the attention of senators. On the eve of the consideration at the meeting, the head of the Federation Council Committee on Constitutional Legislation and Andrei Klishas said that a certain provision in the document looks dubious from the point of view of the Constitution, namely Article 48, which guarantees everyone “the right to receive qualified legal assistance.”

The fact is that in Article 35.2 of the Law “On Military Duty and Military Service”, which talks about pre-trial appeal of decisions of the draft commission, instead of the previous wording “a complaint is filed by a citizen or his authorized representative”, another one has appeared: “a complaint is filed by a citizen or his legal representative ” It would seem, what’s the difference? But from a legal point of view there is a difference.

The legal representative is a parent or guardian if we are talking about a minor or incapacitated person, but such people are not drafted into the army. And an authorized representative is a lawyer with a power of attorney, a lawyer.

“This amendment deprived all persons who filed complaints against decisions of draft commissions of the right to use the services of lawyers, but these people may find themselves in a situation where they themselves will not be able to file a complaint,” Klishas said at a meeting of the Federation Council. “How could this happen?” – Speaker Valentina Matvienko asked Deputy Head of the Ministry of Defense Nikolai Pankov. He agreed that “the mistake needs to be corrected,” admitting at the same time that “in fact, nothing terrible happened,” and “the error is not fatal.”

In the fall, the Committee on Constitutional Legislation and State Building of the Federation Council will definitely propose changes to the adopted law that will correct the situation, Klishas promised then.

The law was approved by senators and signed by the president with an “error.” Most of its provisions, including those about “legal representatives,” came into force immediately after publication, on August 4.

Mid-September, autumn has arrived. In a conversation with MK, Mr. Klishas confirmed that the plans have not changed, and “amendments will be made after the start of the State Duma session.” It is unknown whether these amendments will be formalized in a separate bill, or whether they will be submitted for the second reading to some bill already in the Duma Defense Committee and adopted in the first reading. Klishas is not yet ready to talk about specific wording, and suggests waiting.

The first meeting of the State Duma, we recall, is scheduled for September 19.

Meanwhile, in August, two initiatives appeared in the Duma legislative work base that directly or indirectly propose to either take into account or correct that very “mistake.”

The author of one of them is the head of the Duma Committee on Family, Women and Children Nina Ostanina (Communist Party of the Russian Federation). The explanatory note to her bill states that changes to the law “On Military Duty and Military Service” caused a “wide public outcry”, and reminds that in general “adults with legal capacity cannot have legal representatives.” Mrs. Ostanina wants to return everything to the way it was.

The second initiative, a group of deputies from the “New People” faction, proposes to supplement the mandatory composition of the draft commission with representatives of the human rights commissioner in the constituent entity of the Russian Federation, representatives of political parties represented in the local municipal assembly, and representatives of NGOs “specializing in the protection of the rights of those liable for military service or military personnel ” But as one of the arguments “for” in the explanatory note, the authors name that very “mistake”, because of which, according to them, “only those liable for military service, military personnel and their legal representatives will have the right to file complaints with military registration and enlistment offices,” which will deprive citizens the right to qualified legal assistance and “will reduce the legal protection of the conscript.”

The relevant Defense Committee has not yet considered these bills, and government feedback on them has not yet been received.

By the way, when the law “with an error” was discussed in the Federation Council, the head of the Defense Committee, Viktor Bondarev, said that until the “error” was corrected, the Ministry of Defense promised “to resolve these issues in the same way as before.” “MK” turned to the Moscow Committee of Soldiers’ Mothers with a question whether this is the case, and whether conscripts can still use the services of lawyers.

The Committee of Soldiers’ Mothers said that the change about representation is “not the most significant change” that was made to the law “On Conscription and Military Service” in recent months. And in terms of representation in practice, everything really remains approximately the same as it was before August. All the same, it is the conscript himself who signs the documents and petitions, and not the lawyer or lawyer, and in many places lawyers and lawyers were not allowed into the military registration and enlistment offices, and are not allowed, citing either the fact that the day is not a reception day, or the fact that All conscription activities must be carried out by the conscript himself.

“Conscripts don’t need to worry about this, but about bringing back the security provision that disappeared from the law in April 2023,” say human rights activists: previously, at the time of filing a complaint against the decision of the draft commission to the draft commission of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation or to the court, the decision on the draft was suspended pending review, and a person with asthma, heart disease or other diseases, for example, could, having received a decision from the draft board that he was fit for military service, go out, challenge this decision, and have the opportunity to prove his case. And now, immediately after the commission makes a decision, the military commissar signs the order, and the conscript is sent to the assembly point…

By the way, a bill has been awaiting consideration in the State Duma since the end of April, which proposes exactly what to bring back this interim measure. In the explanatory note to it, the author, Sergei Shargunov (Communist Party of the Russian Federation), draws attention to the fact that “the special constitutional significance of military service requires the provision of increased guarantees to persons subject to conscription for military service.” For more than 20 years, the law “On Military Duty and Military Service” has spelled out a mechanism for suspending the decision of the draft commission while the complaint is being considered, the deputy recalls, and decisions on the fitness category are most often appealed, and as a result of an incorrect diagnosis during the examination, they can end up in the army people who, due to their physical or mental qualities, should not serve, because they pose a threat to themselves and others…

The relevant Duma Defense Committee has not yet expressed its opinion on this initiative. But the government sent an official review at the end of August – it is very brief, “the bill is supported.” The presence of a positive review from the government gives hope that the interim measure will be returned to the current law on military service.