The right, duty and motivation of citizens to protect the Motherland
Authors: KORZH I. , PSHENYCHNYI V. 
Published: September 2023

This article examines the functioning of such international legal criteria in Ukraine as the right and duty of a citizen to participate in the defense of the Motherland against armed aggression from the outside. The genesis of the legal grounds for self-defense against armed aggression is considered, both in relation to the state and in relation to the unit of society - the family. It is emphasized that the right to self-defense is a natural and inalienable human right, it is derived from the law of the state and subordinate to it, which is confirmed by the relevant provisions of the article in the legislation of many states. It is noted that the main international legal document in the field of human rights protection, one of the key rights of which is the human right to life, liberty and personal integrity, is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. A person's realization of the right to protect their basic rights is carried out through the functioning of such a legal institution as military service on the basis of the relevant law. As in any activity, an important place in the functioning of the said institute is the work of the authorities and the proper support of the motivation of citizens to protect their Motherland. The study, based on the analysis of the best foreign analogues, primarily the American one, reveals the spiritual and material motivational criteria that should take place and encourage citizens to be ready and sacrifice for the protection of their Motherland. It is noted that such best world examples of the state's care for its defenders are at the same time an example for Ukraine, which for more than 30 years, as practice shows, has not been able to develop proper motivational criteria to encourage citizens to undergo military service, which has been repeatedly referred to in decisions of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine. The current legislation, the norms of which regulate the issue of involving citizens in military service, is disclosed. Corresponding shortcomings of the regulatory and legal regulation of the functioning of the institution of military service are noted, despite the fact that changes are constantly made to this legislation, which correct the legal regulation of military service. The main drawback of this legislation is that it does not fully take into account the needs of wartime in terms of the functioning of the existing age limit for volunteers, as well as the lack of legislative regulation of the circulation of civilian weapons in Ukraine, which is the only country in Europe that does not have a law regulating this question. It is noted that motivation, as the main criterion for the involvement of citizens in self-defense and protection of the Motherland from armed aggression from the outside, was deprived of public power in Ukraine, despite the adoption of a number of relevant regulatory and legal acts in recent years. In the same way, the public power itself did not contribute to the above, since with each change of political power in the state, the struggle between different political forces intensified and the external threat to Ukraine receded into the background. As a counter-argument, the experience of Israel in the application of motivational criteria primarily for young people is presented, the main of which, which can serve as an example for Ukraine, is the priority of entering the civil state service of citizens who have completed military service, which is possible only with the manifestation of political will on the part of the public authorities regarding the proper care about the military.