Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly-Vanadzor

On July 1, the main call-up was launched. HCA Vanadzor continues providing remote legal consultation to conscripts, servicemen and their relatives.

We have already received 3 alarms that after undergoing the medical examination, conscripts have to wait longer than the established timeframe for the documents, and factually, they do not have a chance to familiarise with them and appeal, if necessary.

Below we present HCA Vanadzor opinion regarding the organization of the process:

According to Article 17 part 2 of the RA Law on “Military service and the status of servicemen”, the Government of the Republic of Armenia establishes citizens’ health state examination and medical expertise, procedures of referring a citizen to health state examination and medical expertise, the bodies conducting examinations and medical expertise and the procedure of the functioning of those bodies, the lists of medical examinations and medical institutions, the procedure of compensating for the provided services, forms of expertise conclusions, list of diseases, in the presence of which a citizen’s or a serviceman’s level of fitness for military service is determined, as well as military service conditions that are contraindicated for a citizen’s or a serviceman’s health state.

According to the RA Government’s 12 April 2018 decision N 405-N, Appendix N 1 point 36 paragraph 2, a medical examination act of the serviceman’s health state is filled in in the medical institution. It is signed by the relevant medical institution’s commission members and approved by the stamp of the medical institution. The act is presented to the military commissariat by post or by hand and based on it a conclusion is given on the pre-conscript’s or conscript’s fitness for military service. 

As the invoked legal provisions show, in cases when during the announced call-up, a conscript undergoes an examination of health state in the medical institution, the above-mentioned decision of the RA Government does not establish the timeframe to present to the military commissariat (now Territorial Division of the RA Ministry of Defense Conscription and Mobilization Service) the relevant act of the examination of his health state, which is of crucial importance when clarifying the matter of the conscript's fitness for military service. However, this fact does not at all mean that the military institution can present to the military commissariat the act of health state examination anytime, rather, it must take measures to present the relevant act to the military commissariat as soon as possible. This stems from the conditions that during the announced call-up, based on the conscript’s health problems and the data obtained as a result, there is objectively a need to present the conscript  for the expertise of the Central Medical Commission. In such a case, however, in practice it happens rarely when based on the expertise results, Central Medical Commission refers the conscript to health state examinations, while the duration of the call-up is limited by a concrete timeframe established by the decision of the RA Government. Thus, if the described problem arises during that time, the conscript’s right to proper examination of health state may be violated.  

Besides, according to Articles 69-72 of the RA Law on “Fundamentals of administrative action and administrative proceedings”, as well as Article 25 part 12 of the RA Law on “Military service and the status of servicemen”, the conscript has the right to appeal the decisions, actions or inaction made in regard to himself during the call-up.The implementation of the conscript’s inalienable right or otherwise the possibility to effectively implement the right to appeal may be under risk, if the relevant medical institution does not present, in tight deadlines, the act of conscript’s health state examination to the military commissariat. The reason is that, as already mentioned, the call-up duration is restricted by a concrete timeframe established by the RA Government’s decision,while if the act on health state examination is not presented to the military commissariat in tight deadlines and thus a relevant decision on its results is not made sooner, its appeal may lead to a situation, when the call-up is over, and the opportunity lawfully given to the conscript to appeal the decisions in regard to himself turns ineffective.

Therefore, summing up the above-mentioned, we record that the medical institution has to present the act on the conscript’s health state to the military commissariat in a  reasonable timeframe in order not to violate the right to proper examination of the health state and appeal the decisions regarding him. In our view, the above-mentioned timeframe cannot last longer than a week (if we consider that the act on the health state examination is presented to the military commissariat by post and not by hand).

Once again, we find it necessary to remind that within the five-day term envisaged by Article 9 of the RA Law on “Freedom of information”, the conscript or his representative can apply to the territorial military commissar and get information on receiving health state examination act/decision on fitness. 

Check this out to learn about the process of the medical examination and your rights and obligations in its frame.

✅You can apply to HCA Vanadzor at the following contacts with matters regarding the rights of conscripts and servicemen👇

Armine Sadikyan

☎️093339441 (also viber)

📩asadikyan@hcav.am