Discharge of a service member from military service due to the need to provide constant care for a parent with a disability

Case Summary

A serviceman contacted LLC «PRAVOVYI LIDER» after receiving a refusal from the military unit regarding discharge from military service due to family circumstances.

The basis for discharge was the need to provide permanent care for his father, who is a person with a group II disability and, due to his health condition, requires outside care.

The military unit refused the discharge, referring to the client’s sister as another first-degree family member who allegedly could provide care for the father.

Client’s Problem

The main problem was that the military unit formally took into account the mere fact that the client had a sister, without examining her actual ability to provide permanent care.

The client’s sister has been living outside Ukraine for a long time — in Canada — together with her minor child, has family and financial obligations, and objectively cannot provide the father with continuous and systematic care.

At the same time, the documents confirmed that the client’s father is a person with a group II disability and requires permanent outside care.

Despite these circumstances, the military unit refused to discharge the client from service.

What the Lawyers Did

The lawyers of LLC «PRAVOVYI LIDER» conducted a detailed analysis of the circumstances of the case, the documents regarding the health condition of the client’s father, and the grounds for discharging a serviceman due to family circumstances.

After that, the lawyers:

• analyzed the military unit’s refusal to grant discharge;
• checked the documents confirming the father’s disability and the need for permanent outside care;
• collected evidence regarding the client’s sister’s actual residence outside Ukraine;
• substantiated the absence of any real possibility for the sister to provide permanent care for the father;
• analyzed the current practice of the Supreme Court regarding the application of grounds for discharge due to family circumstances;
• prepared and filed an administrative claim with the court;
• formed a legal position regarding the unlawfulness of the military unit’s formal approach;
• provided legal support for the case during the court proceedings.

Result

The Vinnytsia District Administrative Court fully satisfied the client’s administrative claim.

The court declared unlawful the refusal of military unit A4051 to discharge the client from military service due to family circumstances in connection with the need to provide permanent care for his father, who is a person with a group II disability.

The court took into account the practice of the Supreme Court and noted that the presence of another first- or second-degree relative cannot be assessed purely formally. It is necessary to establish whether such a person has a real ability to provide the required permanent care.

In this case, it was established that the client’s sister lives abroad and objectively has no possibility to provide permanent care for the father.

The court obliged military unit A4051 to make a decision on discharging the client from military service due to family circumstances.

Thanks to the professional legal support of LLC «PRAVOVYI LIDER», it was possible to prove the unlawfulness of the military unit’s refusal and protect the serviceman’s right to discharge from service in court due to the need to provide permanent care for his father.

Official Documents

The case involved a report for discharge from military service, the military unit’s refusal, documents confirming the father’s disability and the need for permanent outside care, documents regarding the client’s sister’s residence abroad, the administrative claim, and the decision of the Vinnytsia District Administrative Court.

Case No. 120/3678/26