How not to become cannon fodder

Instructions for relations with the army from a lawyer for schoolchildren and their parents in warring Russia

The legislation on the draft service has changed greatly, starting in 2021, and, judging by the plans of the Russian authorities, will change on. The new rules regarding the summons, the electronic register of accounting, as well as the planned change in draft age is an incomplete list of changes that adolescents will encounter after the initial registration in the military commissariats. We will figure out that it is the new laws that are being changed in the interaction of school graduates and their parents with military registration and enlistment offices.

Initial registration

Potential conscripts in Russia are registered at 17 years old. Previously, the registration was found in person: a personal file was made to the drafte, collected the necessary documents, conducted a medical examination and psychological selection.

Now the initial registration will partially go into remote mode. All necessary information about the conscript will be transmitted through state information resources and systems. Medical examination and other events will be held on the fact of confrontation with the military enlistment office. If the electronic register that prepares the mincifers will work at full capacity, with a high degree of probability, almost everyone will be recognized as suitable, therefore, it is better for the initial examination to be independent and bring all available medical documents about the state of health.

In the presence of at least the minimum grounds for obtaining category “B” (limitedly suitable), releasing from military service, it is necessary to act precisely from the stage of the initial registration.

A good result at this stage is to obtain a category “G” (temporarily not suitable). The specified category in the language of the draft commission means that medical documents were studied and taken into account. In the future, category "G" will be a help to communicate with the military registration and enlistment office.

Military age

In the State Duma, the consideration lies a bill on a phased change in draft age. The legislator plans to raise the lower limit to 21 years (currently from 18 years), and the upper - up to 30 years (currently - up to 27 years). The bill, most likely, will be adopted before the end of 2023 and will enter into force on January 1 of next year. This is evidenced by many indirect features. One of them is the recent changes made by the Supreme Court into his decision of the Plenum of 2008, in which, among other things, they removed an indication of a specific draft age (from 18 to 27 years), leaving instead of this a reference to the age indicated in the legislation.

On the one hand, graduates will receive extra time to retake final exams. Now the young men who do not pass the exams fall under the wave of draft in the army. According to the new rules, since 2024, eighteen -year -olds will not be subject to conscription for military service.

On the other side,

An increase in the upper limit of draft age now does not prevent the conduct of draft measures against citizens who have completed training in graduate school without a degree of candidate of sciences.

Currently, most graduate students, without an extent, finish training at 27 years old, and subsequently get a military ID without any problems, bringing their diplomas and certificates of training at universities during the draft age.

At the same time, studying continuously with delay according to the new rules will still be possible, but only from 2026, when the lower limit of draft age will be fixed at the mark of 21 years. Prior to this, in 2024 they will be called up from 19, and in 2025 - from 20 years. Such citizens can be recommended to go to universities, respectively, at the age of 19 and at the age of 20, and then receive a deferment or exemption from military service for health reasons or use the right to alternative civil service.

Alert of the summons

In April, new rules were adopted to notify the summons of conscripts and military liability. Now the military registration and enlistment office may not accept any active delivery actions. A special register is created, placed in which the agenda after seven days is recognized as correctly handed, and the conscript cannot affect the consequences in any way. The Government of the Russian Federation is preparing to accept the draft Regulation on the electronic register of military records, in which it notes that the electronic register should begin to work from January 1, 2024. The date exactly coincides with the entry into force of the planned changes in conscription age.

The loophole in the legislation regarding the rules of presentation has repeatedly played into the hands of conscripts. The employees of the military registration and enlistment office could be handed over only personally on receipt, as well as through a university or employer. And if the latter did not always have the motivation to look for his student (employee) and hand him a summons personally, then the military registration and enlistment office most often did not have enough resources to pass through all conscripts according to the list. The search for the slope took place superficially: it was possible to hide from the military registration and enlistment office, simply changing their place of residence.

Now it will be impossible to hide from the summons. Non -appearing on the agenda for draft measures may entail the initiation of a criminal case under Article 328 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. And in this regard, the role of delay from the draft service again increases very much. The current provision on the call - after all the changes - retained the provision that all conscriptions are subject to call for a medical examination and meeting of the draft commission, except for a deferred from the draft.

Thus, now

Studying under the programs of undergraduate, magistrates, specialtors and graduate schools allows you to forget about the military registration and enlistment office and electronic agendas for a long period of time.

The exception will be the agenda to clarify military accounting documents, which can be sent all year round. However, they, in turn, do not lead to the implementation of draft measures.

Exemption from the draft service for health reasons

Amendments to the legislation on military service did not affect the procedure for a medical examination. The procedure for assigning categories of fitness, passing the medical commission and additional medical examination remains the same.

Most of the draftees do not pay due attention to their health and do not collect medical documents in advance.

In the current conditions, the issue of searching for a “non -condemnate disease” becomes especially relevant. Practice shows that almost every conscript can find a disease,

suitable for category "B" (limitedly good in peacetime). With existing documents, the conscript may undergo an additional medical examination and, most often for two draft campaigns, receive exemption from military service - category “B”.

Appeal procedure

According to the new rules, the procedure for appealing the decisions of the draft commissions has also changed. The old way used by conscripts and lawyers now does not work. It is impossible to suspend the execution of the decision of the draft commission through appeal in court. However, there are two ways to try to use.

The first way: to appeal the decision to call the court and file a petition for preliminary protection measures in the form of suspension of the decision of the draft commission. If the petition is satisfied, then you can calmly engage in the appeal procedure without risks to go to the military unit.

The second method: through a representative for notarial power of attorney, complain to a higher draft commission with a petition for the application of preliminary protection measures. At the same time, the conscript of appeal in a higher draft committee must disappear from the field of view of the military registration and enlistment office: to live not at registration, use someone else's phone, and not appear in person at the place of study or work. If the petition for preliminary protection measures approve, then you can deal with the appeal procedure without leading a partisan lifestyle, and if not, then wait for a decision on a complaint and appeal the decision of a higher draft commission to the court. After filing a claim to the court, the decision on the draft will be suspended by virtue of the law.

Alternative Civil Service (AGS)

New amendments did not affect the law on alternative civil service. In conditions of total control over the recruits of the AGS, it can be considered as a way to avoid draft military service, as well as a good help for passing a call on mobilization in a civilian.

Firstly, the AGS can be used for its intended purpose: six months before the start of the draft campaign to submit an appropriate application, state the reasons on the paper why you want to replace military service with an alternative, and get a positive decision of the draft commission. Judicial practice shows: the main part of the refusals in the AGS is due to the fact that the deadlines for filing an application were violated. At the same time, the deadlines can be tried to restore with the appropriate application if you did not have time to submit an application six months before the start of the draft campaign. AGS does not exempt you from military duty, but you will definitely not find yourself in the military unit in the conditions of the war of Russia with Ukraine. Moreover,

The military service in the AGS format is a strong argument for ships when replacing the mobilization service on the AGS.

Judicial practice began to form in this part on the side of the draftees.

Secondly, the AGS can be used to appeal the decision of the draft commission. The appeal lawyers reasonably advise to carry a completed application for the AGS with them in order to submit it to the draft commission in an emergency, for example, when dialing and forcibly delivery to the military registration and enlistment office. The commission must consider such an application for the meaning of the legislation separately. In case of refusal to replace military service on the AGS, you can appeal such a decision of the draft commission. Moreover, by virtue of the law, the decision of the draft commission is suspended.

Conclusions

In 2023, the military registration and enlistment office received a tremendous advantage in organizing a call for military service. However, the legislation still retain the norms with which you can get a delay or release, as well as replace military service with an alternative. If now you do not have the opportunity to leave Russia, then you should seriously relate to a delay in education, the search for medical grounds that impede the urgent service, as well as to alternative civil service.