The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine registered two bills, one of which should force the return to Ukraine of those liable for military service who completely legally crossed the border and are now not in Ukraine, and the second establishes criminal liability for illegal crossing of the state border of Ukraine during martial law. Among the authors of both bills are Fyodor Venislavsky, member of the Committee on National Security, Defense and Intelligence, and Sergei Ionushas, \u200b\u200bChairman of the Law Enforcement Committee. Therefore, legislative initiatives have a real chance of being adopted in the near future; bills should be adopted, but their content is not written out enough, Andriy Klimosyuk, a lawyer at the Institute of Legislative Ideas, notes in his column..

Thus, according to draft law No. 7265, it is proposed to supplement the Criminal Code with a new article 337-1, which will establish liability "

The article refers to the Law of Ukraine "

persons who, by law, are subject to conscription for military service during mobilization;

members of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine;

heads of state authorities and their deputies;

People's Deputies of Ukraine;

rural, settlement, city heads;

law enforcement officers;

judges;

prosecutors.

At the same time, the following are considered valid reasons for non-return:.

ban on leaving the host country;

natural disasters, crashes, accidents;

business trips;

stay in hospital;

other circumstances preventing the departure from the host country.

Those specified in the law must return to Ukraine no later than fifteen days from the date the law enters into force, otherwise they face a penalty of imprisonment for a term of five to ten years.

The law will also apply to conscripts who are absolutely legally abroad, including all labor migrants aged 18 to 60. The law will also apply to certain categories of women holding relevant positions..

“Attention should be paid to the imperfection of the provisions that deprive the proposed article of the Criminal Code of due legal certainty.. This concerns the inexhaustibility of the list of valid reasons for non-return to Ukraine, defined in the aforementioned Article 10-1 of the Law. ... In practice, such "

Another draft law No. 7268 proposes to supplement the Criminal Code with a new article 332-3.

Thus, criminal liability will be threatened for crossing the state border of Ukraine during martial law by any means outside the checkpoints across the state border of Ukraine or at the checkpoints across the state border of Ukraine without relevant documents, or documents containing false information or with concealment from border control.

According to part 1, conscripts will be punished for these acts, that is, persons who, by law, are assigned to the conscription station, with a fine of five thousand to ten thousand tax-free minimum incomes of citizens or imprisonment for a term of three to five years.

Part 2 establishes responsibility for these actions for military personnel and those liable for military service, reservists who are subject to conscription for military service during mobilization, as well as persons authorized to perform the functions of the state or local self-government. This paragraph of the article will include all officials to whom Article 3 of the Law "

For the commission of this crime, these persons will be threatened with imprisonment for a term of five to ten years with deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for up to three years..

Part 3 provides for punishment for repeated acts specified in the first two paragraphs. This is punishable by imprisonment for a term of eight to twelve years with deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for up to three years or without it..

“It is difficult to establish how justified such a radical approach is for the return of citizens from abroad and whether there will be a real need for the return of hundreds of thousands, or even millions of military men living and working abroad, given the record amounts of funds transferred to Ukraine by labor migrants.. In any case, the provisions of the draft law need to be finalized to comply with the principle of legal certainty and prevent violations of the rights of citizens,” the authors of the analysis note..

At the same time, lawyers emphasize that the establishment of criminal liability for illegal crossing of the state border of Ukraine during martial law is a forced and necessary step that will reflect any desire of the fugitives to leave the country..