War and children’s issues: a scheme to evade conscription by depriving women of their parental rights

Whilst mobilisation measures are underway in Ukraine, news has spread across the country that a woman in Volyn has registered her nine children under the names of different men so that they might avoid conscription. Some men view this method of obtaining a deferral from military service as a way of depriving women of their parental rights.

Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, there has been a sharp rise in the number of court rulings in favour of fathers, under which mothers are deprived of their parental rights. There are frequent instances where such rulings are handed down by the very same court. In other words, this is both a scheme for officials to make illegal profits and a scheme for men to evade mobilisation, whereby the man becomes the sole carer of the child (or children).

Single fathers

Given the widespread practice in Ukraine of men evading mobilisation by having women’s parental rights revoked, this poses a problem for genuine single fathers.

Can a single father be mobilised?

If a man is entitled to a deferral and this entitlement has been duly formalised, he may only be mobilised with his voluntary consent.

If a single father does not have an officially approved deferment and has been served with a summons, he is obliged to report to the territorial recruitment and social support centre with the necessary documents confirming his right to deferment. After that, the deferment must be duly formalised.

What documents does a single father need to properly formalise his status?

A single father will need the following documents to obtain a deferral:

– the birth certificate(s) of the child/children, which must state the paternity of the person submitting the documents;

– one of the following documents, which may include: a death certificate for the mother of the child/children; a court order declaring the mother of the child/children deceased or missing; a court order terminating the mother’s parental rights; or a court order establishing that the child is being raised solely by the father.

These documents confirm the mother’s lack of involvement in the upbringing of the child(ren) and, consequently, the existence of valid grounds for granting the father of such a child (or children) a deferment from mobilisation.

It should be added that if a single father remarries, he will be deemed no longer to be raising the child on his own and will therefore lose his right to a deferral from military service.

However, obtaining a deferral requires going through a difficult legal process, given the heavy caseload of the courts. One of the common problems is the incorrect choice of court jurisdiction.

For example, in Case No. 383/593/24 of 20 May 2024, the applicant applied to the Bobrynets District Court in the Kirovohrad region for a declaration establishing the fact that he was solely supporting and bringing up the child. The applicant stated that the purpose of establishing this fact was: to exercise his rights and fulfil his obligations in the sphere of family law, in particular to terminate maintenance obligations; and to exercise his rights as set out in Article 23 of the Law of Ukraine ‘On Mobilisation Preparation and Mobilisation’. The court considers that, in and of itself, the court’s establishment of the fact that the father has been raising and supporting the child without the mother’s involvement does not give rise to any legal consequences for the applicant; that is to say, the establishment of these facts will not determine the creation, alteration or termination of the applicant’s personal or property rights. Such a fact may be confirmed by a court decision solely in cases concerning the determination of the child’s place of residence, the termination of maintenance payments, or the deprivation of parental rights where the mother fails to fulfil her obligations regarding the child’s upbringing, etc. The ruling of the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court of 8 June 2022 (Case No. 362/643/21) states that military service is a form of public service; therefore disputes concerning military service, in particular regarding the social protection of military personnel, fall within the jurisdiction of the administrative courts. A dispute may also arise concerning the demonstration of grounds for deferment from conscription during mobilisation (the applicant stated in his application that the purpose was to obtain such a deferment). Such a dispute is not connected with the creation or exercise of the applicant’s civil rights and obligations, nor with their creation, existence or termination. In terms of its subject matter and possible legal consequences, this dispute can relate only to the sphere of public law relations. Consequently, it cannot be resolved under the rules of civil procedure, nor can separate proceedings within such proceedings be used to resolve the dispute in an administrative court. That is precisely why the application to initiate proceedings was refused.

Read the full article on the ‘Yurydychna Gazeta’ website: here.