In Ternopil, Territorial Recruitment Center employees mobilized an incapacitated man with a Group II disability – was he able to return from service
The guardian of an incapacitated citizen filed a lawsuit with the Ternopil District Administrative Court against the Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Center and the military unit. The claims included recognizing the conscription actions during mobilization as illegal, declaring unlawful and canceling the decision of the permanent military-medical commission regarding fitness for military service, canceling the conscription order and the order to enroll the person in the military unit's personnel list, as well as obliging to release the citizen from military service.
Case circumstances
The basis for the lawsuit was that the person is incapacitated, has a lifelong Group II disability, and is under guardianship. There was no expression of will regarding military service by contract or voluntarily, as the citizen does not understand the significance of their actions and cannot control them. The conscription took place on September 30, 2025, without considering the person's disability status and without notifying the guardian.
The court established that by the decision of the Kozivka District Court of Ternopil region dated May 22, 2024 (case No. 951/940/23), which came into legal force on July 3, 2024, the citizen was declared incapacitated and a guardian was appointed. The citizen has a Group II disability, confirmed by the relevant medical-social expert commission certificate.
During conscription, the person was brought by police officers to the territorial recruitment center, where they underwent a military-medical commission. Based on the examination results on September 29, 2025, they were recognized as fit for military service (military-medical commission certificate No. 2025-0929-1905-4853-7). On this basis, by order of the head of the territorial recruitment center dated September 30, 2025, No. 2284, the citizen was conscripted for military service during mobilization and sent to the military unit. Later, they were enrolled in the personnel list.
Court decision
The Ternopil District Administrative Court in case No. 500/6609/25 partially satisfied the claim.
The court referred to Article 23 of the Law of Ukraine "On Mobilization Preparation and Mobilization," according to which persons with disabilities are not subject to conscription during mobilization (they may only be accepted under contract if they wish). The court also took into account the incapacitation status and the forensic psychiatric expert's conclusion about paranoid schizophrenia, a chronic mental disorder under which the person cannot understand the significance of their actions.
The court recognized the actions of the territorial recruitment center regarding conscription as illegal, declared unlawful and canceled the military-medical commission's decision on fitness for military service, and also canceled the conscription order in the relevant part.
Regarding the order to enroll the person in the military unit's personnel list, the court noted that such an order has exhausted its effect, so cancellation is not an appropriate remedy. Instead, the court obliged the military unit to release the citizen from military service and remove them from the personnel list, as the conscription was carried out in violation of the law. The court referred to the principle of effective protection of violated rights, the rule of law, and the practice of the European Court of Human Rights regarding "good governance" and restoration of violated rights.
The remaining claims were denied. The court fee of 968 hryvnias 96 kopecks was recovered in favor of the guardian at the expense of the budget allocations of the territorial recruitment center.
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