On April 25, at the initiative of the Ukrainian National Bar Association, a professional online discussion was held on key aspects of legal protection for military personnel in the context of combat immunity. The event was attended by attorneys, representatives of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, members of parliament, academics, military commanders, and human rights experts.
The discussion focused primarily on draft laws No. 13146 and No. 13149, which are intended to regulate the concept of combat immunity and define the limits of commanders’ liability in actual combat conditions.
The event’s moderator—Oleksiy Shevchuk, Chair of the UNAA Committee on Information Policy and Media Relations and a partner at Barristers Law Firm—made several key points in his remarks:
“We are living in a state of war, not peace”—it is from this perspective that the actions of the military command must be evaluated. According to Oleksiy Shevchuk, a dangerous habit is taking hold in society of evaluating the actions of the military in combat conditions from a peacetime perspective, which is a legally and morally flawed approach.
He emphasized that the combat immunity initiative is not about impunity, but about a fair limit on liability that takes into account the stress, risks, time pressure, and life-or-death decisions made on the front lines.
According to the moderator, the concept of combat immunity is key to striking a balance between legality and military necessity, and the legal community must develop a clear position to defend military personnel operating under extraordinary circumstances.
Andriy Yosypov, an attorney and partner at Barristers Law Firm, noted that the concept of combat immunity has deep international roots and is not merely a creation of the Ukrainian legislature. He emphasized that this concept emerged within the framework of international humanitarian law and is intended to protect not only commanders but also all military personnel who make decisions under the extremely difficult conditions of war.
The attorney stressed that a number of legislative provisions regarding combat immunity already exist in Ukraine today; however, the lack of consistency among them creates legal uncertainty. Specifically, this concerns provisions in the Criminal Code, the Law “On the Defense of Ukraine,” and the Law “On the Legal Regime of Martial Law”—and all of them interpret the limits of military personnel’s liability differently.
According to Mr. Yosypov, it is important to understand that combat immunity is not about “exemption from punishment,” but rather about a fair assessment of the circumstances in which a person acted—specifically, under conditions of combat stress, time pressure, and risk. And it is precisely this legal framework that should form the basis of new judicial practice.
At the conclusion of the roundtable, a vote was taken on a list of recommended amendments, which will be submitted by the National Bar Association of Ukraine to parliament. The goal is to improve legislative provisions so that military personnel can carry out their duties without fear of being punished for decisions dictated by the realities of war.
