VEC in Ukraine: ways to appeal

Military personnel have the right to appeal the conclusions of military medical commissions if they do not reflect their actual state of health.

There are two options for an appeal: in a pre-trial procedure and through a court, the Ministry of Health of Ukraine reports.

Usually, a positive result can be obtained at the pretrial review stage.

Pretrial order requires:

1) Write a statement/complaint about disagreement with the conclusions of the VEC and a request to review the specified decision of the higher VEC;

2) Bring to the application/complaint all relevant medical documents, a copy of the previous decision of the VEC and a copy of the military ID (officer’s certificate).

“The application, medical documents and a copy of the decision of the VEC must either be brought to the higher VEC on your own, or sent by registered mail with a registered letter with a description of the attachment to the addresses of the relevant VEC,” the message says.

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The second option is to apply through the court.

Based on the results of the examination, the military medical commission reviews the appealed decision or may send for a repeated (control) medical examination. Then the plaintiff is given a new conclusion about his health condition, which will now be taken into account.

In disputed and difficult cases, the right to issue a final decision rests with the Central Military Medical Commission (CMVK). If the appeal in the pre-trial procedure did not bring a positive result, the plaintiff can appeal to the court.

“The court cannot overturn the decision of the VEC based on medical evidence, because this is not within its competence. But the court can establish a violation of the procedure for conducting a military medical commission and, on this basis, overturn such a decision of the VEC,” the Ministry of Health added.