A man was detained during a vacation and mobilized the next day: the court found violations during the military-medical commission

A man who was vacationing with his sister in the Chernivtsi region was detained by the State Border Guard Service on suspicion of attempting to illegally cross the state border and was taken to the Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Center. The next day, the military-medical commission declared him fit for military service, after which he was mobilized. Later, the court closed the administrative offense case due to lack of offense, and the Seventh Administrative Court of Appeal canceled the military-medical commission certificate, finding significant violations in the medical examination procedure. The court also emphasized that the district military-medical commission certificate is an individual act that can be directly appealed in administrative court.

Case circumstances

As established by the appellate court, after the man’s detention, he was taken to the Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Center where he underwent the military-medical commission. Based on the examination results, the commission recognized him as fit for military service.

Disagreeing with this decision, the man appealed to the court. He claimed that the medical examination was conducted in violation of the Regulation on Military-Medical Expertise approved by the Ministry of Defense Order No. 402.

According to his arguments, mandatory medical tests, including a chest X-ray, were not conducted during the commission. The medical examination card lacked some required information, and the psychiatrist did not record the plaintiff’s reported diagnosis—bipolar affective disorder—even though the man informed about it during the examination.

The plaintiff also provided medical documents confirming that he had been under psychiatric treatment since 2021. In 2024, he was diagnosed with "bipolar affective disorder of mixed type," treatment was ongoing, and his mental state remained unstable.

After mobilization, the man filed complaints with the Central Military-Medical Commission, requesting the cancellation of the district commission’s decision and a repeat medical examination. The Central Commission forwarded the request to the regional commission, but the issue of reviewing the certificate on the merits was not resolved. Instead, the plaintiff was informed that after conscription, he could contact the military unit’s medical point for medical assistance and undergo a commission if grounds existed.

Decision of the court of first instance

The Chernivtsi District Administrative Court denied the claim.

The court concluded that decisions of district military-medical commissions should primarily be reviewed through administrative appeal to the Central Military-Medical Commission. Moreover, it noted that it could not assess the correctness of medical conclusions as this requires specialized medical knowledge.

Conclusions of the appellate court

The Seventh Administrative Court of Appeal disagreed with these conclusions.

The panel of judges noted that the certificate of the district Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Center’s military-medical commission is an individual act of a public authority that directly affects the rights of a specific person. Therefore, such a certificate can be an independent subject of judicial appeal according to Article 55 of the Constitution of Ukraine and the Code of Administrative Procedure of Ukraine.

The appellate court emphasized that the subject of review is not the correctness of the medical diagnosis but compliance with the procedure of conducting the military-medical expertise.

Examining the case materials 600/1254/25-а, the panel found significant violations of Regulation No. 402 during the commission. In particular, there was no confirmation of mandatory medical tests, the medical examination card lacked all necessary information, and the psychiatrist did not record the plaintiff’s reported diagnosis, did not properly examine him, and did not refer him for inpatient examination. The court noted that in the presence of such a disease, Regulation No. 402 requires additional examination with the preparation of a health status report.

The panel also noted that Article 16 of the Disease Classification provides different degrees of fitness for persons with bipolar affective disorder depending on the disease course. Therefore, determining the degree of fitness required proper examination of the plaintiff’s health. However, the case materials do not confirm that such an examination was conducted.

According to the court, the medical examination and fitness determination were conducted in violation of Regulation No. 402, and therefore the military-medical commission certificate was issued with significant procedural violations and cannot be considered lawful.

Court decision

The Seventh Administrative Court of Appeal satisfied the appeal, canceled the decision of the Chernivtsi District Administrative Court, and issued a new ruling.

The court recognized as unlawful and canceled the military-medical commission certificate dated August 6, 2024, which had declared the plaintiff fit for military service. At the same time, the court separately confirmed that administrative courts have the right to verify the legality of the military-medical expertise procedure and cancel commission decisions if significant procedural violations are found.

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