| (2019) 2 Visn. Nac. akad. prokur. Ukr. 16–27 | |
| https://doi.org/10.34285/visnyknapu2019.02.016 | |
| Title of the article | Military Justice System as a Part of the Military Organization of Ukraine |
| Author(s) | VITALII VDOVYTCHENKO military prosecutor, Western Region of Ukraine, Lviv, Ukraine |
| Short title of the journal (ISSN) |
Visn. Nac. akad. prokur. Ukr. |
| Year | 2019 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | [16–27] |
| Language | Ukrainian |
| Abstract | Military justice is one of the elements of ensuring the military security of the state. The military security of the state is considered as the protection of state sovereignty, territorial integrity and democratic constitutional order and other vital national interests from military threats. The purpose of the article is to analyze the current state of military justice as a part of the military organization of Ukraine, identify the main problems of its functioning and make proposals for the creation of a full system of bodies of military justice. The article prepared by the author is an overview. It was stated that the conditions for the proper functioning of the defense forces are to maintain a high level of military discipline among the military, timely response to the committed offenses, and to prevent the violation of the state defense by criminal encroachment upon the legal relations arising in the process of military formations, proper protection of the rights and freedoms of servicemen, etc. It is for this purpose that the coordinated work of the system of military justice and all its components is required. The author substantiates the need to create a three-tier structure of the system of military justice, which should consist of: a) a pre-trial investigation body (possibly in conjunction with the units conducting operative-search activities, secret investigative (search) actions, etc.); b) the body supervising the pre-trial investigation (procedural management) and supports the public prosecution in court (in Ukraine it is the military prosecutor’s office); c) military courts. The effectiveness of the three-tier structure of the military justice system is confirmed by its presence in many developed countries of the world. The view was expressed that the employees of the State Investigation Bureau as a law enforcement agency with investigative functions need additional training in the military sphere in order to properly carry out pre-trial investigation in criminal proceedings on war crimes. The components of the system of military justice in modern Ukraine are analyzed; additional grounds for the need for the existence of military law enforcement structures and the same independent judiciary ‘ military courts, which they refused during the reforms. Examples of functioning of pre-trial investigation bodies and military courts during the former USSR in conditions of armed conflicts are given. The author suggests taking into account the experience of the developed countries that are part of the NATO bloc and have powerful forces to establish a system of military law enforcement agencies. |
| Keywords | military justice; military prosecutor’s offices; maintenance of law; military discipline. |
| References | REFERENCES List of legal documents Legislation 1. Pro natsionalnu bezpeku Ukrainy [On National Security of Ukraine]: Zakon Ukrainy [Law of Ukraine] vid 21 chervnia 2018 roku № 2469-VIII. URL: (accessed: 10.04.2019) (in Ukrainian). 2. Pro prokuraturu [On the Prosecutor’s Office]: Zakon Ukrainy [Law of Ukraine] vid 14 zhovtnia 2014 roku № 1697-VII. URL: (accessed: 24.01.2019) (in Ukrainian). 3. Pro vnesennia zmin do deiakykh zakoniv Ukrainy shchodo udoskonalennia diialnosti Derzhavnoho biuro rozsliduvan [On Amendments to Some Laws of Ukraine on Improving the Activities of the State Investigation Bureau]: Zakon Ukrainy [Law of Ukraine] vid 16 travnia 2019 roku № 2720-VIII. URL: (accessed: 21.05.2019) (in Ukrainian). Cases 4. An Overview of Canada’s Military Justice System. URL: (accessed: 22.03.2019) (in English). 5. Poiasniuvalna zapyska do proektu Zakonu Ukrainy “Pro vnesennia zmin do Zakonu Ukrainy “Pro prokuraturu” shchodo utvorennia viiskovykh prokuratur” [Explanatory Note to the Draft Law of Ukraine “On Amendments to the Law of Ukraine “On the Prosecutor’s Office” Regarding the Formation of Military Prosecutors”] vid 8 serpnia 2014 roku № 4446а. URL: (accessed: 30.05.2019) (in Ukrainian). Bibliography Conference papers 6. Vdovytchenko V, ‘Viiskova yustytsiia v Ukraini: suchasnyi stan, perspektyvy rozvytku’ [‘Military Justice in Ukraine: Current State, Prospects for Development’] Zakhyst prav liudyny: mizhnarodnyi ta vitchyznianyi dosvid: I Mizhnarodna naukovo-praktychna konferentsiia [Human Rights Protection: International and National Experience: international scientific and practical conference] (Natsionalna akademiia prokuratury Ukrainy 2019) 111–4. Journal articles 7. Grigor’ev O, ‘Dejatel’nost’ voennyh tribunalov v period vvoda ogranichenogo kontingenta sovetskih vojsk v Respubliku Afganistan’ [‘The Activities of Military Tribunals during the Entry of a Limited Contingent of Soviet Troops in the Republic of Afghanistan’] (2013) 3(45) Otechestvo i pravo 4–45 (in Russian). |
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