Perhaps few people know that since 2019, Ukraine has prohibited the wearing of military uniforms with military insignia by persons who are not entitled to do so.
For committing such an administrative offence, you will have to pay a fine of 2550 to 3400 hryvnias with the confiscation of such clothing.
In wartime, it was decided to go further and ban civilians from wearing even uniforms that look like military uniforms.The relevant draft law was registered by MP Serhiy Vlasenko.
The Institute of Legislative Ideas analysed the draft law and figured out who would be punished, what for, and how.
What will be punished for?
It is proposed that the Law of Ukraine ‘On the Legal Regime of Martial Law’ (hereinafter - the Law) prohibit the wearing of military uniforms.
It is stated that during the legal regime of martial law, civilians are prohibited from wearing military uniforms or any other uniform or clothing that resembles military uniforms and may be misleading.
The new Article 186-9 of the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offences will provide for liability for violation of this prohibition, which will punish civilians for wearing military uniforms or any other uniform or clothing that resembles military uniforms and may be misleading in violation of the requirements set out in the Law during the martial law regime.
How will you be punished?
The said administrative offence will be punishable by a fine of UAH 3,400 to 6,800 with confiscation of the relevant uniform or clothing.
Who will not be punished?
The Law defines exceptions to the general prohibition.
Thus, during the period of martial law, the right to wear military uniforms is granted only to
- The President of Ukraine;
- The Minister of Defence of Ukraine;
- military commanders;
- servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Territorial Defence Forces of Ukraine and other military formations
- persons liable for military service during training;
- reservists, cadets and lyceum students;
- Citizens who have been discharged from military service in the reserve or retired with the right to wear military uniforms.
The prohibition on wearing any uniform or clothing that resembles military uniforms and may be misleading does not apply to the wearing of official or special uniforms during working hours by employees of
- law enforcement agencies;
- special purpose bodies with law enforcement functions;
- prosecutor's offices.
Why can't this legislative initiative be supported?
The proposed legal regulation does not comply with the principle of legality, and contributes to corruption risks and violations of human rights.
The provisions of the draft law lack proper legal certainty. The concept of ‘any other uniform or clothing that resembles military uniforms and may be misleading’ is not specified . This will lead to the fact that persons will not clearly know what kind of clothing is prohibited, and the subject of prosecution will determine at its own discretion whether the clothing resembles a military uniform or not.
This creates an additional ground for corruption, for example, the demand for undue advantage in order to ensure that the clothing does not resemble a law enforcement officer's military uniform.
Thus, the requirement that legal provisions should be sufficiently accessible, accurate and predictable in their application is not met. This is unacceptable in the case of legal liability.
In addition, it is inappropriate to impose such a ban when more than 6 million people have become internally displaced in Ukraine. Most of them do not have an objective choice of clothing, so they will not be able to comply with the ban.
The provisions on cases where the ban does not apply to the wearing of official or special uniforms by law enforcement officers during working hours may also be interpreted ambiguously.
The fact is that the list of law enforcement agencies contained in the legislation is not exhaustive. Law enforcement agencies include prosecutor's offices, the National Police, security services ... other bodies that perform law enforcement or law enforcement functions.
Therefore, it is not clear from the provisions of the draft law who will not be subject to the ban.
To conclude.
Given the identified shortcomings, the draft law requires significant revision. MPs should focus on solving more urgent legislative issues that will help accelerate our victory over the enemy, rather than trying to introduce bans that will create additional problems for people already deprived by the war.
The Institute of Legislative Ideas continues to analyse the legislation adopted during the war and make sure that each law is another step towards our victory.
Source: Ukrainian Pravda