Ukraine’s Chief Military Prosecutor Anatoliy Matios has called for the creation of a State Bureau for Military Justice.
Matios explained the need to create such a body in his article for Ukraine’s Mirror Weekly newspaper (ZN.UA).
“I persistently urge society and lawmakers to create (in analogy with the NABU) the State Bureau for Military Justice. In the warring Ukraine, the military prosecutor’s office must be authorized to fully monitor the observance and application of laws in all military formations. This right should be secured at least temporarily, for the period of the Joint Forces Operation and the law on the peculiarities of the state policy on securing Ukraine’s state sovereignty over temporarily occupied territories in Donetsk and Luhansk regions,” he wrote.
According to him, the experience of many countries shows that the military peacekeeping contingent cannot always find a common language with the local population.
“Such conflicts have been recorded, are recorded and will be recorded, since we cannot exclude the human factor of rejection of foreigners, who reinstate (return) law to a territory without law, in particular, to the territory of the so-called ORDLO,” Matios wrote.
He expressed confidence that in order to avoid misunderstandings between military and civilians in the conflict zone, there is a need for a buffer, which will facilitate the investigation of crimes committed by servicemen, members of the population and members of paramilitary groups.
Matios noted that the bill on the State Bureau for Military Justice would be presented to the public and experts in Kharkiv on May 29-30 during an international conference “Reforming Military Justice System in Ukraine: The Current State and Prospects.” An expert assessment of the document will be given by experts of military justice from more than ten countries who will take part in the event.
