The Ministry of Justice explained how servicemen can challenge the decision of the Military Medical Commission.

Military medical commissions determine the fitness of servicemen for service

The Ukrainian legislation provides for the assessment of the health of servicemen by Military Medical Commissions (MMC) to determine their fitness for further service, the Ministry of Justice reported.

Referrals for medical examinations of servicemen are carried out:

• by direct commanders from the commander of a separate unit, equal and higher ranks, by staff MMC;
• by the heads of Territorial Centers for Recruitment and Social Support;
• by heads of healthcare institutions, military management bodies, and units of the Military Law Enforcement Service of the Armed Forces of Ukraine;
• by prosecutors;
• by investigators;
• by the court.

Servicemen directed for a medical examination by the MMC must have:

• referral;
• medical book;
• identification document (military ID);
• a photo 3 x 4 cm without headgear;
• service characteristics for the medical examination;
• medical characteristics.

The main reasons for undergoing a commission:

• getting leave for treatment;
• combination of injuries with the conditions of receipt;
• determining the degree of fitness for service;
• fixing diagnoses.

Duration of the MMC conclusion

The MMC decision on the degree of fitness of a serviceman is valid for 12 months. The MMC decision on unfitness for service or re-examination within 6-12 months must be implemented immediately.

Challenging the MMC decision

There are two ways to challenge the MMC decisions: extrajudicial and judicial.

For extrajudicial challenges:

• complaints against the MMC decisions of district (city) Territorial Centers for Recruitment and Social Support are submitted to the higher commission;
• decisions made by the MMC of regional Territorial Centers for Recruitment and Social Support are challenged in the staff MMC, the Central Military Medical Commission (CMMC) or the MMC of the region;
• decisions of the CMMC can be challenged in court.

For judicial challenges:

The MMC decisions can be challenged in court through administrative proceedings.

Deadlines for challenging:

• three months from the date of delivery of the decision of the higher instance MMC;
• six months from the date when the person learned about the violation of their rights.