Military service law in different countries — Law Insider
By: Law Insider
Tags: South Korea, Army, Israel, Military

We all know the importance of the military and army in the defence of a country and each country has its laws when it comes to deciding who can and cannot serve in the military and such service can either be voluntary or by draft.

Many countries around the globe make it mandatory for their citizens to serve in the military in their lifetime and put strict punishments on the citizens who do not follow it while some countries leave it to the choice of their citizens.

Since all the citizens are expected to serve it includes even the famous personalities of the country and in rare cases, any exemption or modification is made.

One such modification was recently seen in South Korean Military Services Law where the famous music band BTS got an exception in the service. Out of 7 members of the boy band, 2 of them were to reach the age of service but the South Korean government allowed them an extra period of 2 years to complete their service.

What is military service?

Military service is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, whether as a chosen job ( volunteer) or as a result of an involuntary draft ( conscription).

The military service system is the basic system of armed forces, an important part of a country’s military system and a key content in national defense. The legal system of military service refers to the general term of the legal norms governing various social relations arising from military service in the country.

At present, China has formed an increasingly complete legal system on military service, which is guided by the Constitution, based on the National Defense Law, backboned by the basic law of military service, supported by the special law of military service, and supplemented by local laws and regulations.

Military service can be further divided into volunteer and involuntary drafts also called conscription.

A Volunteer military or All volunteer military ( AVM) is one that derives its manpower from volunteers or as a voluntary occupation, rather than conscription or mandatory service. A country may offer attractive pay and benefits through military recruitment to attract potential recruits.

Conscription, sometimes called the draft, is the mandatory enlistment of people in a national service, most often a military service.

Service through the draft was criticized because it was against the right of a person to refuse to join the military on the grounds of freedom, thought, conscience, and religion.

In the 21 stcentury, almost all the countries no longer draft citizens and have chosen to adopt the voluntary system where they rely on military professionals.

There are less than 1/3 rdof countries that still follow service by draft and some of them are countries with one of the best armies in the world.

Countries with Mandatory Military Service

North Korea

North Korea makes it mandatory for both men and women to serve in the military but different terms apply for both groups. Men have to complete 10 years in service, on the other hand, women have to join it after they graduate high school and till they attain 23 years of age.

Norway

Norway has an interesting history of military service. All men must be enrolled for military service from the age of 19–44. For women, this was not the practice. In Parliament, the threshold of women representation is 40% and the same is the case with board members of public companies.

So, in 2016, Norway’s parliament passed a bill that would include women in military service training in a bid to promote gender equality. This bill was effective from summer 2016 and all women aged 19–44 were required to enroll.

Brazil

Males in Brazil are required to serve 12 months of military service upon their 18th birthday. While by law all males are required to serve, numerous exceptions are there when it comes to actual service. The government does not usually require those planning to attend college or holding a permanent job to serve. There are also several other exceptions, including health reasons, for which one may not have to serve.

Egypt

Egypt has mandatory military services for all the men between 18–30 years. They believe that by the age of 30, people become unfit, and a fine is imposed on people who don’t serve.

Men who have no brother or are supporting their parents are exempted from the service. Those holding dual nationality are also exempted. Duration of service varies from 14 to 36 months depending on their education.

Iran

Iran requires only men for military service for 24 months and anyone with physical or mental health can be exempted from serving. Students are exempted as long as they attend school.

The higher the education of man, higher is the rank in the military. Iranian Parliament’s national service commission is planning to abolish this practice of enlistment of Iranian males.

South Korea

South Korea has mandatory military service for all able men for 21 months in the army, 23 months in the navy, and 24 months in the air force. Enlistment in service starts at 18 years and men have to join before they reach the age of 28 years.

The Military service act of South Korea has made strict implementations for all the men to serve in the military service.

Exemptions from military service in South Korea were given first time in 1973 for participants of the Olympics and at present winners of Asian and Olympics games are given exemption.

Until now K-pop stars were not given any exemption which led to fans asking for exemption as they have contributed to promoting south Korean culture across the globe.

But after the recent amendment in the Act, the South Korean government has increased the age of service to 30 for the BTS band who played a vital role in spreading Korean pop culture across the globe.

United Arab Emirates

The UAE started compulsory military services recently in 2014 for men between the age of 18- 30. Foreign males are exempted from service and it is optional for women to serve. If they join the military, they have to serve for 9 months.

Duration of service depends on the qualifications, men with high school degrees have to serve for 16 months and men with no high school degree have to serve for 3 years.

Where almost all countries have chosen voluntary military services, few countries have taken steps to reinstate or introduce conscription.

France announced that beginning in 2019, it will require all men and women at age 16 to commit a month to learn service skills, such as first aid, and applying these skills in real-world settings. After completing their month of service, they will be encouraged to volunteer for three to twelve months.

Morocco announced that it will reinstate compulsory military service. All men and women between the age of 19 and 25 years old will be required to serve in the Moroccan military for twelve months.

In 2017, the Georgian Ministry of defence reinstated military service only eight months after getting rid of it. The new system includes combat training for three months and then served as duty officers in support of the professional army for the remaining nine months.

Lithuania reinstated conscription in 2016 after it was scrapped in 2008. It applies to men between the ages of 18 and 26, who must perform military duties for one year “except for university students and single fathers”.

Military service laws in countries around the world depend on the need of army personnel of that country.

There are countries that are under constant threat by their neighbours or war or terrorism and follow service for draft so that they have a large number of military personnel if there is impending danger.

70% countries follow voluntary military where citizens join the military as occupation and are given benefits such as pay, pensions, accommodation which attracts people to join the service.