Declared fit in one day: court canceled the VLK conclusion due to medical examination violations

The Kirovohrad District Administrative Court considered dispute No. 340/2690/25 regarding the legality of the military-medical commission's decision, which recognized the conscript as fit for military service. The plaintiff challenged the VLK conclusion, believing that during the medical examination the commission did not take into account his existing illnesses and violated the procedure established by law for conducting military-medical expertise.

The court checked compliance with the requirements of the legislation and the Regulation on Military-Medical Expertise in the Armed Forces of Ukraine during the medical examination and the adoption of the decision on fitness for military service.

Essence of the case

The plaintiff applied to the court with a demand to recognize as unlawful and cancel the decision of the military-medical commission, formalized by a certificate dated January 24, 2025, which recognized him as fit for military service. He also requested to oblige the commission to conduct a repeated medical examination in accordance with the requirements of the Regulation on Military-Medical Expertise in the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

To substantiate the claim, the plaintiff stated that the VLK decision was not based on a comprehensive and complete study of his health condition. According to him, when determining the degree of fitness for military service, the commission did not take into account existing diseases, including hypertension and heart failure. The plaintiff insisted that the conclusion on fitness for military service was erroneous because a proper medical examination was not actually conducted.

The defendant opposed the satisfaction of the claim and noted that the plaintiff did not provide specific violations of the procedure for conducting the medical examination or documenting its results. In addition, the defendant pointed out that the plaintiff did not use the prescribed procedure for appealing the VLK conclusion to the Central Military-Medical Commission.

From the case materials, the court established that based on the results of the medical examination, the military-medical commission adopted a decision formalized by a certificate dated January 24, 2025, which indicated the diagnosis "hypertensive disease stage 1, CHF-0" and concluded fitness for military service. At the same time, the plaintiff claimed that he actually has stage 2 hypertension and other diseases that were not properly examined during the VLK process.

Court's position

The court cited the legal positions of the Supreme Court, according to which the administrative court does not have the authority to assess the professional actions of the doctors who are members of the VLK, the correctness of the diagnoses they established, or the conformity of these diagnoses to specific articles of the Disease Classification. Such issues require special medical knowledge and fall within the competence of military-medical commissions.

The court noted that the issue of determining the presence or absence of a certain disease and establishing the fitness or unfitness of a person for military service are discretionary powers of the VLK. Therefore, the court is not entitled to substitute this body and independently decide medical matters.

At the same time, the court emphasized that when considering disputes regarding appeals against VLK decisions, it has the right to verify compliance with the procedure for conducting the medical examination and the legality of the adoption of the respective conclusion.

After examining the case materials, the court established that at the time of the medical examination, the plaintiff was 45 years old. According to the requirements of Regulation No. 402, persons over 40 years old must undergo mandatory intraocular pressure measurements and blood sugar tests.

However, the case materials lack any evidence of such mandatory tests being conducted. The defendant did not provide the court with the medical record, test results, or other documents confirming the proper conduct of the medical examination and compliance with the established procedure.

The court also noted that to establish a diagnosis of arterial hypertension, Regulation No. 402 requires multiple blood pressure measurements during several visits to the doctor and confirmation of the stable nature of elevated pressure. At the same time, the case materials indicate that the plaintiff underwent the medical examination and was recognized as fit for military service on the same day. Under these circumstances, the court concluded that it is impossible to determine when and how the measures to determine the level of hypertensive disease were carried out.

In addition, the court noted that the defendant did not take any actions to confirm or refute the diagnosis of stage 2 hypertension, which the plaintiff referred to.

Court conclusions

The court concluded that the procedure established by the Regulation on Military-Medical Expertise in the Armed Forces of Ukraine was violated during the medical examination. In the court's opinion, the disputed VLK decision was made under incompletely established circumstances and without proper compliance with the legal requirements regarding the medical examination of conscripts.

The court emphasized that it does not assess the correctness of the established diagnosis or determine the degree of fitness of a person for military service, as this falls within the competence of the military-medical commission. At the same time, violation of the procedure for conducting the medical examination is sufficient grounds to recognize the VLK decision as unlawful.

As a result, the Kirovohrad District Administrative Court recognized as unlawful and canceled the decision of the military-medical commission, formalized by certificate No. 38/781 dated January 24, 2025, regarding the plaintiff's fitness for military service, and also obliged the military-medical commission to conduct a repeated medical examination in accordance with the requirements of the Regulation on Military-Medical Expertise in the Armed Forces of Ukraine and taking into account the court's conclusions.

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