A man demanded a one-time disability benefit 51 years after discharge from military service — what the Supreme Court decided

The Cassation Administrative Court within the Supreme Court confirmed that a conscripted serviceman does not acquire the right to a one-time monetary benefit if the disability is established after three months from the date of discharge from service, since this condition was provided by the legislation in force at the time the right to payment arose.

The Supreme Court’s Cassation Administrative Court dismissed the cassation appeal of a man who served conscripted military service from 1963 to 1966. In 1966, he was assigned disability group III due to an illness acquired during military service. In 2017, during a re-examination, he was assigned disability group I, after which he applied for a one-time monetary benefit.

The Supreme Court agreed with the conclusions of the lower courts that the legislation in force at the time of establishing disability group I in 2017 provided special conditions for conscripted servicemen to receive such assistance. One of these conditions is that the disability must be established during service or no later than three months after discharge. Since in this case the disability group I was established decades after discharge, the right to payment did not arise.

Circumstances of the case

The plaintiff served conscripted military service from November 1963 to July 1966. During service, he contracted urolithiasis, underwent treatment and surgery. The military medical commission established that the illness arose during military service.

In September 1966, he was first assigned disability group III with the reason stated as an illness acquired during service in the Soviet Army. Many years later, on October 30, 2017, following a re-examination by the Medical-Social Expert Commission (MSEC), the plaintiff was assigned disability group I.

After that, the man applied to the Ministry of Defense demanding the assignment of a one-time monetary benefit. He insisted that he was entitled to a payment amounting to 120 times the subsistence minimum, since the illness that caused the disability was related to military service.

However, in 2024, the Ministry of Defense Commission again refused to assign the benefit. Among the reasons for refusal was that at the time of the initial disability assignment in 1966, the legislation did not provide for such payment, and also that the disability was established significantly later than three months after discharge from service.

What the courts decided

The Zakarpattia District Administrative Court, and later the Eighth Administrative Court of Appeal, denied the claim.

The courts concluded that at the time the plaintiff was assigned disability group I in 2017, special rules applied regarding the payment of a one-time monetary benefit to conscripted servicemen. These rules did not provide the right to such payment if the disability was established after three months from the date of discharge.

Position of the Supreme Court

The Cassation Administrative Court agreed with these conclusions.

The court reminded that the right to a one-time monetary benefit is determined by the legislation in force at the time such right arises. For conscripted servicemen, the law establishes special conditions for receiving this payment.

The Supreme Court noted that the institution of a one-time monetary benefit for servicemen was introduced only from 2007. At the same time, the plaintiff’s initial disability was assigned back in 1966, when the relevant payment mechanism was not provided by law. The court stated that the issue of assigning such payments must be assessed taking into account the legislation in force at the time the right to assistance arose.

The court also emphasized that after legislative changes effective from January 1, 2017, a special procedure for receiving a one-time monetary benefit was established for conscripted servicemen. The right arises only if the disability is established during service or no later than three months after discharge, if the disability is related to an illness or accident that occurred during service.

Since the plaintiff was discharged in 1966, and disability group I was assigned only in 2017, the statutory condition regarding the timing of disability assignment was not met. Therefore, the right to a one-time monetary benefit did not arise.

Additionally, the Supreme Court rejected the plaintiff’s references to other Supreme Court rulings, noting that they concerned different factual circumstances and different legal regulations.

Conclusion

The Supreme Court dismissed the cassation appeal and confirmed the legality of the decisions of the lower courts. In case 260/89/25, the court concluded that assigning disability group I many years after discharge from conscripted military service does not create the right to a one-time monetary benefit, even if the illness is related to military service.

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