Entered into force on May 2 Law No. 4351-IX on amendments to the Law "On the Status of War Veterans, Guarantees of Their Social Protection" regarding the assignment of a one-time cash benefit. It concerns the payment of a one-time cash benefit to family members of deceased Defenders of Ukraine in the amount of UAH 15 million in connection with the death of a family member in the period from February 24, 2022 to March 25, 2022 or in connection with the death of a family member in the period from March 26, 2022 until the day of termination or cancellation of martial law.
This bill 12234 was introduced by the Cabinet of Ministers, and was finalized by the "social" committee. However, these changes may cause confusion when applying the law. This was emphasized by the Main Legal Department of the Parliament, write SUG edition.
Who is classified as a family and who is entitled to payments?
Therefore, in Article 10-1, which regulates who belongs to the families of deceased Defenders, paragraph 6, part 1, has been changed.
Before the changes he predicted that such families include the families of those who died (missing), died as a result of trauma (injury, contusion, mutilation) or disease acquired during direct participation in eventsnecessary to ensure the defense of Ukraine, protect the security of the population and the interests of the state in connection with the military aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine.
After the changes it will provide that such families include families of persons who died, died as a result of trauma (injury, contusion, mutilation) or disease contracted during direct participation in combat when carrying out measures necessary to ensure the defense of Ukraine, protect the security of the population and the interests of the state in connection with the military aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine.
That is, the norm regarding the families of missing persons is being removed.
In addition, the changes clarify that the person had to participate directly in hostilities.
At the same time, the basis for granting family members of persons specified in clause 6, part 1, article 10-1 the status of a family member of a deceased (deceased) Defender of Ukraine will be certificate of direct participation such a person in the activitiesnecessary to ensure the defense of Ukraine, protect the security of the population and the interests of the state in connection with the military aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, issued by the commander (chief) military unit (body, unit) of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, National Police, National Guard, State Border Service, Security Service of Ukraine and other military formations or law enforcement agencies established in accordance with the law, in interaction with whom such a person took a direct part in the implementation of these measures.
Article 15 after part 9 is supplemented with a new part of the following content.
Family members of persons specified in clause 6 of part 1 of Article 10-1 of this Law shall be assigned and paid a one-time cash benefit in the amount of UAH 15 million from the state budget in connection with the death (death) of a family member in the period from February 24, 2022 to March 25, 2022 or in connection with the death (death) of a family member in the period from March 26, 2022 until the day of termination or cancellation of martial law during direct participation in combat in the territories where such combat operations were conducted, according to the list determined by the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
If family members of persons specified in clause 6 of part 1 of Article 10-1 of this Law are simultaneously entitled to receive a lump-sum cash benefit provided for in this part, a lump-sum cash benefit provided for in part seven of this article, or a lump-sum cash benefit in accordance with other laws of Ukraine, the payment of the amounts of money shall be made on one of the grounds of their choice. The procedure for the assignment and payment of a lump-sum cash benefit provided for in this part shall be determined by the Cabinet of Ministers.
It has been established that family members of persons specified in Clause 6, Part 1, Article 10-1 of the Law “On the Status of War Veterans, Guarantees of Their Social Protection”, who, before the entry into force of this Law, were assigned and paid a lump-sum cash benefit provided for in Part 7, Article 15 of the Law “On the Status of War Veterans, Guarantees of Their Social Protection”, have the right to be assigned a lump-sum cash benefit provided for in Part 10, Article 15 of the Law “On the Status of War Veterans, Guarantees of Their Social Protection”, taking into account the previously paid amount.
What confusion could this law cause?
The main legal department of the parliament has made a number of observations indicating that the implementation of the law in practice may lead to confusion regarding payments.
In particular, this concerns the legislator's use of the terms "participation in events" and "participation in hostilities during the conduct of events."
As noted above, paragraph 6 will stipulate that the families of the deceased Defenders of Ukraine include the families of persons who “died, died as a result of trauma (injury, contusion, mutilation) or disease received during direct participation in combat operations during the implementation of measuresnecessary to ensure…”.
At the same time, the laws "On pension provision for persons discharged from military service and certain other persons", "On the status of war veterans, guarantees of their social protection", "On mandatory state pension insurance" define the relevant social guarantees for persons who defended the Motherland after February 24, 2022, using the legal term "participation in activities necessary to ensure…”.
Confirmation of a person's participation in the events is, in particular, combat reports, combat logs (procedure approved by the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 20 of August 2014, 413).
"Instead, the law will apply a different legal term "participation in hostilities "when carrying out the necessary measures...", which does not exclude the unlimitedness of its interpretation in law enforcement practice," the State Law Commission noted.
In addition, it is planned to determine the list of documents that are the basis for granting the status of a family member of a deceased Defender to family members of the persons specified in paragraph 6.
Such a document should be a certificate about directly an application deceased (deceased) person in events, necessary to ensure the defense of Ukraine, protect the security of the population and the interests of the state in connection with the military aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, issued by the commander (chief) of a military unit (body, subdivision)..., in interaction with which such person took direct part in the implementation of the specified measures.
However, such a legislative proposal is not consistent with the aforementioned paragraph 6, which refers to direct participation in combat when holding events.
In addition, it is envisaged to supplement Article 15 of the Law on the Status of War Veterans with a new Part 10 and to single out from Clause 6, Part 1, Article 10-1 of this Law certain categories of persons who are entitled to receive a one-time cash benefit in the amount of 15 million hryvnias, namely:
a) family members of persons who died (died) between February 24, 2022 and March 25, 2022;
b) family members of persons who died (died) in the period from March 26, 2022 until the day of termination or cancellation of martial law during direct participation in hostilities in the territories where such hostilities were conducted.
"However, it is not clear from the provisions of the said part under what conditions the right to receive a one-time cash benefit in the amount of 15 million hryvnias is granted to family members of persons who died (died) in the period from February 24, 2022 to March 25, 2022."
In particular, does the requirement of paragraph 6, part 1, article 10-1 apply to their death (death) as a result of trauma (injury, contusion, mutilation) or disease received during direct participation in hostilities while carrying out measures necessary to ensure the defense of Ukraine, protect the security of the population and the interests of the state in connection with the military aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine?
Therefore:
- if such a requirement does not apply, then this is inconsistent with the legal construction of this part "Family members of persons specified in paragraph 6 of part one of Article 10-1 of this Law";
- If such a requirement applies, then the separation of the periods "from February 24, 2022 to March 25, 2022" and "from March 26, 2022 until the day of termination or cancellation of martial law" is unfounded, the State Law Office noted.
Both the Main Legal Department and the Ministry of Finance drew attention to the fact that the draft law did not include any proposals for reducing budget expenditures or sources of additional budget revenues.
"Therefore, the implementation of such a payment after the adoption of the Law and its entry into force from the day following the date of publication may not be financially secured. In order to ensure the payment of a one-time cash benefit to a new contingent of recipients, an analysis of the number of recipients of such a payment should be carried out, detailed calculations should be made regarding the need, with the determination of sources of coverage of the relevant costs and the possible date of entry into force of the proposed changes, as provided for in Article 27 of the Budget Code." — noted in the Ministry of Finance.
This law also makes changes regarding the provision of food for military personnel undergoing treatment.
Namely, in paragraph 1 of Article 11 of the Law "On Social and Legal Protection of Military Personnel and Members of Their Families", the norm stating that military personnel during treatment in healthcare institutions of all forms of ownership and subordination are provided with improved nutrition in accordance with the standards applied in military medical institutions, in accordance with the procedure determined by the Cabinet of Ministers, has been excluded.
Instead, it has been established that servicemen during treatment and rehabilitation in healthcare institutions of all forms of ownership and subordination are provided with improved nutrition at the expense of the state budget. Payment for the costs of improved nutrition of servicemen is carried out by the Ministry of Defense upon the fact of providing the service based on the monthly report of the healthcare institution in which the servicemen undergo treatment and rehabilitation.
Currently, prior to the changes, it is determined that military personnel during treatment and rehabilitation in healthcare institutions of all forms of ownership and subordination are provided with daily meals from the state budget according to norm No. 5, which is applied in military medical institutions. Payment is made by the Ministry of Defense upon the fact of providing the service based on the monthly report of the medical institution.
"The phrase "improved nutrition" does not provide the necessary legal certainty and allows for arbitrary interpretation of the specified provision. Therefore, in the opinion of the Main Legal Department, it would be advisable to at least authorize the Cabinet of Ministers to determine the appropriate procedure for ensuring improved nutrition for military personnel, in particular during treatment and rehabilitation," - noted in the State University.
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