Translated material
Not a decree, they say
The Supreme Court decided that partial mobilization was not completed. The rest is all words
Photo: Donat Sorokin / TASS
The Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation confirmed what I wrote about in Novaya Gazeta in December: partial mobilization, announced by Decree of the President of Russia No. 647 of September 21, 2022, despite the numerous statements of various officials, including the highest ones, was not completed.
To end it, a presidential decree is necessary, setting a clear date and the time of its cancellation.
This seriously diverges from the position of the Presidential Administration, which declares to the deputies of regional parliaments from Yabloko, calling for a decree on the completion of mobilization, which is supposedly “no legal grounds” for the publication of such a decree.
As it turns out, it is very available. And this is the opinion of the highest court in the country.
The decision of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation of May 18, 2023 “On the practice of consideration by courts of criminal cases of crimes against military service”, many important issues were considered.
Including for the first time a legal definition of wartime, armed conflict, military and military operations is given.
But, perhaps, the most significant thing is that “periods of mobilization (general and partial) begin with the date and time of the start of mobilization, which are established by the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation on the announcement of mobilization, and end with the date and time of the abolition of mobilization.”
In other words:
So far, a legal act has not been issued (and in this case it can only be a decree of the president, since its decree was declared partial mobilization) on the date and time of the cancellation of partial mobilization, it is not completed.
In the meantime, it is not finished, as the “new” said, in accordance with the 647th decree, the effects of contracts on military service concluded by military personnel continues. That is, if someone even ended the term of the contract, he is still not fired, and he continues to serve.
In addition, while this period lasts, a list of grounds for dismissal (including early) from military service for “contractors” and mobilized after September 21 (they have the status of the president have the status of a contract of contract) is sharply reduced (compared to the military law and military service).
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Not a decree
The law indicates dozens of grounds for dismissal, including for family reasons, in connection with the need to care for relatives and many others, and only three reasons are left in the decree: recognition as worthless to military service, the entry into force of the court verdict on deprivation of liberty and the achievement of the limiting age.
Yes, a variety of officials have repeatedly stated that "partial mobilization is completed."
On October 28, 2022, Minister of Defense Sergei Shoigu stated this,
On October 1, this information was posted on the official website of the President of Russia.
On November 1, 2022, Presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov reported, referring to a certain “legal position”, that a decree on the completion of partial mobilization is not needed at all.
President Vladimir Putin, speaking in December 2022 at a summit in Bishkek, said that "there are no factors for the new partial mobilization in Russia now."
But all these are words. And not documents with legal force. In the meantime, there is no such document, the courts (there were precedents) refuse to recognize the decisions of mobilization illegal, since it is not officially completed. And the military registration and enlistment offices may well continue to send the subpoenes to citizens ...
Deputies from Yabloko of four regional parliaments-St. Petersburg, Moscow, Pskov, Karelia, as well as from Veliky Novgorod-sent appeals to the President of Russia, urging the decree on the end of the partial mobilization period.
And they received almost the same answers with refusal.
So, in the response that came from the Yabloko faction in the Legislative Assembly of St. Petersburg-Alexander Shchelov and me, it is said that the call to mobilize was “carried out before the established number necessary for the fulfillment of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation,” and that “according to the Ministry of Defense of Russia, the established number was reached, in connection with which the mobilization call was completed.” Therefore, "there are no legal grounds for the publication in connection with this Act of the President of the Russian Federation."
Emilia Slabunova from the Legislative Assembly of Karelia answered, like Petersburgers: there will be no such decree, since there are no “legal grounds” for him. Anna Cherepanova from Veliky Novgorod received a similar answer. In addition, the Ministry of Defense also announced the completion of partial mobilization measures.
But Arthur Gaiduk in the Pskov Regional Assembly of Deputies came from the Presidential Administration that the decree on mobilization continues to operate, since “military commissariats continue to recruit military units at the expense of citizens who have expressed a desire to voluntarily participate in their, as well as citizens who want to go to military service under the contract” ...
It is easy to assume why they do not want to issue a decree on the end of the “partial mobilization”, limiting only in words.
This allows for an indefinite period to maintain the “consolidation” of military personnel, not allowing their dismissal from the army, and allows at any time, quite legitimate and without any publication of new legal acts, to continue partial mobilization.
By saying, for example, that to “fulfill the tasks set” we need an additional number of armed forces.
So, if the authorities want to reduce the level of anxiety in society - the publication of the decree on the clear date and time of the end of partial mobilization is absolutely necessary.
The only question is the presence of political will for this.