Why the court did not cancel the mobilization of a man excluded from military registration 25 years ago – case details

The Kyiv District Administrative Court denied the claim of a citizen who requested to recognize as illegal his registration for military service, conscription during mobilization, and enrollment in a military unit. The court concluded that after changes to the legislation, there are no longer grounds for his exclusion from military registration.

Case circumstances

The citizen filed an administrative lawsuit with the Kyiv District Administrative Court against the Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Center and the military unit, requesting:

• to recognize as unlawful the actions of the Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Center regarding the plaintiff's registration for military service;
• to oblige the Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Center to enter into the Unified State Register of conscripts, reservists, and military liable persons information about the plaintiff's exclusion from military registration based on paragraph 6 of part 6 of article 37 of the Law of Ukraine "On Military Duty and Military Service" (in the version effective on the day of the plaintiff's exclusion from military registration);
• to recognize as unlawful and cancel the order of the Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Center regarding the plaintiff's conscription for military service during mobilization and his assignment to a military unit for service;
• to recognize as unlawful and cancel the order of the military unit regarding the plaintiff's enrollment in the unit's personnel lists;
• to oblige the military unit to exclude the plaintiff from the personnel lists of the military unit and release him from military service.

The plaintiff justified his claims by stating that on October 19, 2000, he was excluded from military registration based on paragraph 6 of part 6 of article 37 of the Law of Ukraine "On Military Duty and Military Service" due to committing a particularly serious crime. On September 15, 2025, the plaintiff was stopped by police officers and the Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Center and forcibly taken to the Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Center. On September 17, 2025, the plaintiff was forcibly sent to a military unit, where he was enrolled in the personnel lists. The plaintiff claimed that he did not undergo a military medical commission, and all documents were processed without his participation.

The court established that according to the temporary military liable person's certificate, the plaintiff was excluded from military registration on October 19, 2000. According to a screenshot from the "Reserve+" application, the plaintiff has been registered since September 17, 2025. An extract from the order of the commander of the military unit dated September 17, 2025, shows the plaintiff was enrolled in the personnel lists of the military unit. An extract from the order dated September 30, 2025, considers the plaintiff as having left the unit without permission.

Court decision

The Kyiv District Administrative Court in case No. 320/53226/25 decided to deny the claim in full.

The court concluded that with the entry into force of amendments to article 37 of the Law of Ukraine "On Military Duty and Military Service," introduced by the Law of Ukraine dated April 11, 2024, No. 3633-IX, the plaintiff falls under its scope as a person for whom the current version of the law does not provide grounds for exclusion from military registration. The list of grounds for exclusion from military registration defined by the current version of article 37 of the Law is exhaustive.

The court noted that legislative changes that worsen a person's situation may contradict the principle of the irreversibility of the law's effect over time (article 58 of the Constitution of Ukraine) if it concerns retroactive application of the law. However, in this case, it is not about criminal or administrative liability but about the restoration of military registration, which is regulated by special legislation. The legislator has the right to change the criteria for military registration if it corresponds to the national interests of the state.

The court referred to the legal position of the Supreme Court set out in the ruling dated April 9, 2026, in case No. 280/6524/24, according to which legislative changes that worsen a person's situation may contradict the principle of irreversibility of the law's effect over time if it concerns retroactive application of the law. However, in this case, it concerns not criminal or administrative liability but the restoration of military registration.

Regarding arguments about violations of the medical examination procedure, the court noted that the decision on a person's fitness for military service is made by the military medical commission, not the Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Center. The claims do not concern challenging the decision of the military medical commission.

The court concluded that there are no grounds to satisfy the claims regarding the cancellation of orders on conscription and enrollment in the personnel lists, since after a person is enrolled in the personnel lists, legal relations of military service arise, termination of which is carried out in the manner and on the grounds defined by special legislation.

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