Azerbaijan to allow brothers of fallen soldiers from 44-day war to be exempt from military service

The National Assembly of the Republic of Artsakh has introduced a bill on amendments to the law on "Military Service and the Status of a Soldier", which proposes to grant exemption from mandatory military service to brothers of soldiers who fell during the 44-day war.

According to the bill’s justifications, the existing law stipulates that in addition to having a parent, brother, or sister killed during service, being the only male child in the family is also a mandatory condition for exemption from military service. However, there are younger brothers of soldiers who died in the 44-day war and subsequent military operations in Artsakh, who are subject to mandatory military service because they are not the only male child in the family.

The draft law addresses the current situation and issues, mentioning that the parents of soldiers who died in the 44-day war are in a severe psychological and social state and do not wish to send their younger son to military service. This has led to a wave of discontent among the public during the 2022 conscription period, due to differing approaches arising from Article 21 of the laws on "Military Service and the Status of a Soldier" in the Republic of Artsakh and the Republic of Armenia, necessitating the opportunity for exemption from military service for members of these families.

The aim of the policy implemented in the settlement is to meet the demands raised by society and to properly ensure the preparation, organization, and implementation of military service in accordance with the requirements of the Constitution of the Republic of Artsakh, as well as to strengthen the legal and social guarantees for soldiers and their families. It is expected that by amending the regulatory relationships in the 5th part of Article 21 of the Law on "Military Service and the Status of a Soldier" of the Republic of Armenia, relations associated with the proper organization and implementation of conscription will be ensured.

As informed by the National Assembly of the Republic of Artsakh, the discussion of the bill to amend the law on "Military Service and the Status of a Soldier", reported by Deputy Minister of Defense S. Arstamyan, is included in the agenda of the National Assembly's standing committee on defense, security, and law enforcement issues on December 7. The co-reporter is the chairman of the standing committee on defense, security, and law enforcement issues, Seyran Hayrapetyan.