On 12 March 2026, a seminar-presentation of the selected decisions of the European Committee of Social Rights on the social and labour rights of military personnel and veterans was held in Kyiv.

The publication is designed to familiarise Ukrainian lawyers with the approaches of the European Committee of Social Rights to the interpretation of the provisions of the European Social Charter on issues of social protection, labour rights and guarantees for military personnel and veterans. In particular, the compilation presents the Committee’s decisions on the right to refuse military service, the collective rights of military personnel, non-discrimination, terms of service, and other related issues.

The selection was prepared and presented by Ms Viktoriia Polishchuk, Head of the Labour Law Committee of the Ukrainian National Bar Association. In her speech, she emphasised the importance of using European social standards, in particular the European Social Charter, to strengthen the protection of the social and labour rights of military personnel, veterans and their families, especially in the context of the full-scale war and the social challenges connected to it.

A separate part of the event was devoted to a panel discussion on Ukraine's application of the provisions of the European Social Charter and the practice of the European Committee of Social Rights. Participants discussed the importance of the Committee's practice as a guideline for reforming Ukraine’s labour and social legislation.

The presented selection of the practice of the European Committee of Social Rights is expected to contribute to a more active use of Council of Europe standards in the professional activities of lawyers.

• The selection is available via the link (in Ukrainian only): https://rm.coe.int/selected-ecsr-decision-re-military-personnel/48802affa3

The event was organised by the Ukrainian National Bar Association with the support of the Council of Europe project “Strengthening the social dimension in Ukraine”, implemented within the framework of the Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine “Resilience, Recovery, Reconstruction” for 2023–2026.