The duty to defend the motherland: a comparative legal analysis

Abstract

The article is devoted to revealing the peculiarities of the constitutional and legal consolidation of the obligation to defend the Motherland in the Constitution of Ukraine and the constitutions of the Baltic States. The norms of the Constitution of the Republic of Latvia, the Republic of Lithuania, the Republic of Estonia and Ukraine on the subject of research are analyzed. The following features of the constitutional and legal enshrinement of the duty to defend the Motherland in the constitutions of the Baltic States have been identified: 1) The Constitution of Latvia: the subject of this obligation is the state - Latvia; 2) The Constitution of Lithuania: the obligation of the state, people or citizens of Lithuania to defend the Fatherland is not enshrined; as a structural element of the subjective legal right to work is fixed service in the army or alternative service, the work of citizens during the war; the duty to work during the war rests with such subjects as the citizens of Lithuania; 3) The Constitution of Estonia: the foundation of the constitutional and legal regulation of state defense in peacetime and in wartime has been laid; as a separate duty, the duty to protect the Fatherland is not fixed; the circle of subjects who are obliged to protect the independence of the state is defined - they are citizens of the state. It has been established that the Constitutions of Lithuania and Estonia enshrine norms governing relations between the state and citizens, public authorities in connection with aggression (the Constitution of Estonia) and armed aggression (the Constitution of Lithuania). The Constitutions of Ukraine and Latvia do not contain such norms. Taking into account the occupation of Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine, the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, it is proposed to supplement the Constitution of Ukraine with provisions that would be the basis for regulating relations between the state and citizens, public authorities in connection with aggression against Ukraine