Almanac of law. Issue 15 (2024), pages 628–634.
DOI: 10.33663/2524-017X-2024-15-628-634
Terletsky R. V.
Issues in Implementing the Law of Ukraine On The Military Chaplaincy Service During War: Right to Faith, Violation of Secularization Principles, and Threat to National Security
The article explores the issues of implementing the Law «On The Military Chaplaincy Service» in conditions of war. It emphasizes that after the declaration of independence of Ukraine, laws on freedom of religion have held an important place as subjective legal rights and religious organizations as instruments and systems for satisfying religious needs. The main laws, subordinate acts, and decrees ensuring the right to freedom of religion in Ukraine for military personnel and other state security forces are analyzed. It is noted that in Ukraine, there are two international legal documents according to which the State of Ukraine guarantees its citizens the right to freedom of conscience and religion: the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of September 11, 1997, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of October 19, 1973. It is observed that based on the norms of these documents, the conscription of individuals into military service or their mobilization does not entail restrictions on religious rights, and therefore, the state retains the obligation to ensure them.
Historical analysis is conducted to determine the expediency of establishing a chaplaincy service in Ukraine, and it is noted that the European Commission on Human Rights recognizes various forms of interaction between the state and religious organizations that go beyond the principle of equality, among which is cooperation in implementing military chaplaincy. Law No. 1915-IX «On The Military Chaplaincy Service» is analyzed, which has launched the service of chaplains into the legal field and changed their status during wartime. It is noted that the quota system for positions of military chaplains from different denominations poses a threat to national security and the reasons are explained.
Conclusions are also drawn that the payment of salaries to chaplains from the state budget to some extent, contradicts the principle of secularization of the state and church, which is enshrined in Article 35 of the Constitution of Ukraine. Conclusions are made about the necessity of reform in the relations between the state and church, as well as the urgency of amending Article 35 of the Constitution of Ukraine, which declares the harmful Soviet atheistic ideology and contradicts the spirit of the law prevailing in the state.
Key words: military chaplain, secularization, national security, religion, freedom of religion, freedom of conscience, special period, martial law, principles of equality, religious organizations, international legal documents, Human Rights Pact, Convention for the Protection of Rights and Freedoms, effectiveness of the law.
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Roman Viktorovych Terletsky,
Postgraduate Student at the V. M. Koretsky Institute of State and Law, NAS of Ukraine
ORCID: 0009-0002-0062-9100