Three children did not help: court denied stepfather in dispute with the Territorial Recruitment Center regarding mobilization deferment

The Rivne District Administrative Court considered the case filed by a conscripted individual against the district territorial recruitment and social support center challenging the commission's decision to deny a deferment from military service during mobilization. The plaintiff requested to declare the commission's decision unlawful and to cancel it, as well as to oblige the provision of a deferment based on the third paragraph of part one of Article 23 of the Law of Ukraine "On Mobilization Preparation and Mobilization" due to the presence of three minor children under his care.

Essence of the case

In December 2024, the conscripted individual applied to the territorial recruitment and social support center for a deferment from conscription during mobilization. To confirm the grounds for deferment, he submitted documents which, in his opinion, evidenced that three children under 18 years old were under his care.

The commission reviewing deferment requests during mobilization denied the application. The refusal was based on the absence among the submitted documents of birth certificates for three or more children indicating the conscripted individual's paternity, as required by Appendix 5 to the Procedure for conscription of citizens for military service during mobilization, approved by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine Resolution No. 560 dated May 16, 2024.

Challenging this decision, the plaintiff argued that the provision of paragraph 3 of part one of Article 23 of the Law of Ukraine "On Mobilization Preparation and Mobilization" does not link the right to deferment solely to the fact of paternity regarding children. In his view, the decisive factor is the presence of three or more minor children under the conscripted individual's care, and therefore the refusal by the territorial recruitment center was unlawful.

During the case review, the court established that the plaintiff is married to the mother of three children. However, only one child is his biological daughter. The other two children were born in his wife's previous marriage, and according to their birth certificates, their father is another person.

Attached to the deferment application were birth certificates of the children, a marriage certificate, a court decision on the dissolution of the wife's previous marriage and determination of the children's residence, a certificate of a large family, certificates, and other documents. However, the court found that at the time of the commission's contested decision, there were no documents confirming the plaintiff's paternity regarding the three children or the presence of legal grounds to impose on him the obligation to support his wife's children as stepson and stepdaughter.

The court also noted that some documents the plaintiff later referred to during the court proceedings were not submitted to the territorial recruitment center and were created after the disputed decision was made, and therefore could not affect the assessment of its legality.

Court's position

The court noted that according to Article 23 of the Law of Ukraine "On Mobilization Preparation and Mobilization," the right to deferment is granted to women and men who have three or more children under 18 years old under their care, provided there is no arrears in alimony payments exceeding the amount of payments for three months.

At the same time, the procedure for confirming such a right is defined by Procedure No. 560. Appendix 5 to this Procedure requires submission of birth certificates for three or more children indicating the conscripted individual's paternity and other documents confirming the relevant family relationships.

The court established that of the three submitted birth certificates, only one confirmed the plaintiff's paternity. The father of the other two children is another person. Under these circumstances, the commission reasonably stated the absence of documents required by Procedure No. 560.

Assessing the arguments about the actual support of three children, the court referred to the provisions of the Family Code of Ukraine. The court emphasized that the law imposes an unconditional obligation to support minor children specifically on their parents. A stepfather has the right to participate in the upbringing of a stepson and stepdaughter, but his obligation to support them arises only in the absence of parents or other persons defined by law, or if such persons for valid reasons cannot provide proper support for the children.

The case materials did not confirm the absence of the children's father or his inability to fulfill the corresponding obligation. The provided calculation of alimony arrears did not prove the father's evasion of child support at the time the disputed legal relations arose. The school certificate and the large family certificate also did not confirm that the children were under the plaintiff's care.

The court concluded that the documents submitted with the deferment application confirmed support of only one minor child — the plaintiff's biological daughter. They did not confirm that three or more children under 18 years old were under his care.

Court conclusions

The Rivne District Administrative Court in case No. 460/1027/25 recognized that the territorial recruitment and social support center acted within its authority, in accordance with legal requirements and following the established procedure. The commission lawfully refused to grant a deferment due to the failure to submit documents required by Procedure No. 560, and the available materials did not confirm the existence of grounds for applying paragraph 3 of part one of Article 23 of the Law of Ukraine "On Mobilization Preparation and Mobilization."

Accordingly, the court denied the claim to recognize the commission's decision unlawful and to cancel it. The derivative claim to oblige the provision of a deferment was also rejected. Furthermore, the court noted that the plaintiff is not deprived of the right to reapply to the territorial recruitment and social support center with a new application and proper supporting documents to resolve the issue of granting a deferment in the manner prescribed by law.

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