A bill titled “On Amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine and Other Laws of Ukraine Regarding the Optimization of Procedures for Locating Missing Persons, missing persons, and the identification of unidentified bodies (remains) during martial law.”

The relevance of the bill stems from the large number of persons missing and unidentified deceased resulting from the Russian Federation’s armed aggression against Ukraine. Under martial law, the state faces the need for a prompt, accurate, and legally regulated process for identifying bodies (remains) and searching for missing persons.

The problem is becoming widespread, and the state must respond with systematic legislative mechanisms.

Challenges

• Tens of thousands of people are considered missing, including civilians (in occupied and frontline territories);

• Every day, reports come in of new cases where bodies of the deceased have been found in combat zones, liberated territories, mass graves, and on the front lines (many of which are unidentified, and sometimes partially destroyed (due to explosions, fires, or landmines), which complicates identification using conventional methods (physical characteristics, documents, personal belongings);

• forensic examinations are delayed due to a lack of specialists, equipment, and procedures for accessing international assistance;

• legislation does not allow for the full involvement of foreign laboratories or international mechanisms;

• There is no standardized labeling of bodies (remains) (it is often impossible to track a body from the moment of discovery through burial or examination; there is no system for uniquely coding bodies, which complicates identification during re-exhumation or exchange);

• Relatives are unable to receive social benefits, compensation, or obtain legal status without official confirmation of death.

What Is Proposed

The draft law provides for:

• amending Article 71 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine by adding the words “regarding the identification of a person,” which will provide the legal basis for engaging a specialist from a foreign state or an international organization to identify a person;

At the same time, this amendment will correspond with the provision set forth in paragraph nine of part four of Article 71 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine, which states that an expert has the right to provide certificates and conclusions on matters, in particular, regarding the identification of a person; 

• the addition of a new paragraph to Part 3 of Article 11 of the Law of Ukraine “On State Registration of Human Genomic Information,” pursuant to which one of the required identifying details to be recorded in the registration card will be the unique code of the body (remains) of the deceased (deceased) person;

• amending Part Four of Article 21 of the Law of Ukraine “On State Registration of Human Genomic Information” with new provisions, which will provide a legal basis for involving specialists from foreign states and international organizations in the process of collecting biological material from close relatives of persons who are missing, are forced to reside abroad, and do not have access to national law enforcement agencies, for the purpose of conducting further molecular-genetic examinations (tests). 

In addition, a legal basis will be established for involving relevant international experts in the collection of biological material from unidentified corpses (remains) that are systematically transported to the territory of Ukraine as a result of relevant repatriation measures.

The purpose of this amendment is to enable an investigator, prosecutor, by means of a reasoned decision, to engage a specialist from a foreign state or an international organization as an expert in personal identification, among other things, for the purpose of collecting biological material from a body (remains).

• The new wording of the second paragraph of Part 7 of Article 7 of the Law of Ukraine “On the Unified State Demographic Register and Documents Confirming Ukrainian Citizenship, or Confirming a Person’s Identity or Special Status,” which will make it possible to use digitized fingerprint templates, in particular for the purpose of identifying the bodies (remains) of deceased persons.

Expected Results

Given the urgent needs related to the search for missing persons and the identification of unidentified bodies during martial law, the adoption of the proposed bill is justified and necessary. Implementing its provisions will ensure a systematic approach to addressing these issues, eliminate gaps in current legislation, and improve the effectiveness of relevant government procedures. 

The implementation of the law is expected to yield a number of positive results, including:

• improving the effectiveness of searches for missing persons;

• shorter processing times and a reduced burden on the forensic medical system;

• the introduction of a unified procedure for identifying unidentified bodies (remains);

• ensuring the rights and needs of relatives of missing persons are met.

Conclusions

Bill No. 14095 addresses the real challenges of war, the humanitarian needs of families, and Ukraine’s international obligations, and enables the creation of an effective search and identification system based on modern technologies and legal standards.

Its adoption is not merely a technical improvement, but a necessary step toward establishing truth and justice for every missing or deceased Ukrainian.