Abolition for those fighting in Ukraine. A parliamentary project transferred to the procedure
The combined parliamentary committees of National Defense and Justice have set up a special subcommittee that will deal with a parliamentary bill, which is to ensure abolition for Polish citizens who, after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, joined Ukraine – contrary to Polish law – to the Ukrainian armed forces.
The issue of abolishing criminal liability for Polish volunteers, who after the Russian invasion of Ukraine enlisted to the armed forces of defenders, appears in a public debate since the beginning of the war, but has not been regulated by law. In the light of Polish law, the service of Polish citizens in other than Polish Armed Forces is prohibited, unless the Ministry of National Defense agrees to such an action.
At the end of last year, the Sejm was influenced by a deputy's project prepared by MPs, providing for abolition for Polish volunteers, who, after a full -scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, joined the Ukrainian armed forces to support them in battle. Project – after Receiving the government's position on the project – at the Tuesday meeting was dealt with by the combined Sejm National Defense and Justice committees.
As MP Paweł Suski (KO), presenting the project presenting the project at Tuesday meeting, emphasized, an act providing for abolition for volunteers is needed, because – engaging in defense of Ukraine – at the same time they are de facto involved in the fight for the security of the entire region of Central and Eastern Europe, including Poland. Thus, Suski argued – they directly pursue the fundamental interest of the Polish state. The abolition of volunteers would be – he added – with an expression of the maturity of the Polish state and understanding that “law must serve people.”
At the committee meeting, Anna Bajurska from the Legal Department of the Ministry of National Defense presented the position of the Council of Ministers on a project, which shows that the government supports the solution proposed by MPs, with several reservations. For example, she drew attention to the issue of the period in which the committed acts – i.e. enlisting to the Ukrainian army – would be subject to abolition. The government agreed with the proposed initial date – February 24, 2022, i.e. the beginning of the Russian invasion – it expressed doubts as to the final date proposed at the end of 2026.
The representative of the Ministry of National Defense indicated that in this case the act, which will most likely be adopted before this date, would cause the possibility of abolition for acts that have not yet been committed. Therefore, she proposed that the provision of the end of 2026 be replaced with the date of entry into force of the Act.
In addition, as she emphasized, the issue of abolition must have – in the proposed project it is – incidental, so as not to negatively affect the “mobilization needs” of the Polish Armed Forces, which – as she noted – in each case they have priority over others. She also agreed with the proposed provision indicating that only people who joined the armed forces of Ukraine – including part of the International Legion of Defense of Ukraine, will be subject to the abolition, where foreigners – and not other paramilitary organizations are most often found by them.
A separate issue, which Bajurska pointed out, is the issue of informing the Polish authorities about the service in the Ukrainian army by volunteers returning to the country. As proposed in the project, such a person will have to inform – under a fine – the Ministry of National Defense about the service of the Ukrainian armed forces. According to the parliamentary project, the head of the Ministry of National Defense will immediately provide this information to the boss of the relevant regionally military recruitment center and the prosecutor's office.
The government's position indicated that it is unclear why in this situation – in the face of abolition – it is necessary to inform the prosecutor's office; Attention was also paid to the issue of involvement in the entire procedure of special services – the Internal Security Agency, the Intelligence Agency, the Military Counterintelligence Service and the Military Intelligence Services. Pursuant to the government's proposals, a provision should be added to inform the heads of these services about the service of a given volunteer in the Ukrainian army, its course and the nature of his duties.
In addition, the services would also receive the possibility of calling a given volunteer to provide detailed information about the service performed in Ukraine; This has, among others Allow you to obtain information useful for preventing foreign influence.
During the meeting, the MPs of the combined committees agreed as to the need to introduce abolition, but they paid attention to issues requiring clarification and resolution. PiS MP Paweł Szrot, for example, pointed out that it should be considered whether abolition should also be subject to people involved in defense of Ukraine before February 2022, who, for example, participated in fights in eastern Ukraine since 2014.
In turn, MP Witold Zembaczyński from KO drew attention to the issue of another staff supporting Ukrainian soldiers – in particular Polish medics who work for the Ukrainian army, e.g. saving wounded soldiers, but not taking a direct participation in the fighting.
On the other hand, PiS politician Paweł Jabłoński stated that abolition should also be covered by people such as the detained Volodymyr Ż., Suspected of blowing up the Nord Stream gas pipeline. – There should be an amendment to extend abolition on art. 254a, regarding the destruction of energy infrastructure devices, of course, provided that this happens in the fight against the aggressor – he said.
After hearing a number of comments, the MPs of the combined committees decided to appoint a special subcommittee that would deal with further work on the project. The committee will include 9 people, including 3 PiS representatives, 2 KO and one representative of PSL, Poland 2050, the left and the confederation. (PAP)
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