| Conscription |
|---|
 |
| Related concepts |
| By historical country |
| By modern country |
|
| By geographical area |
Conscription in Georgia applies to male citizens aged 18 to 27, who need to serve the Georgia Defence Forces for a period of 12 months. [1]
| Conscription |
|---|
| |
| Related concepts |
| By historical country |
| By modern country |
|
| By geographical area |
Conscription in Georgia applies to male citizens aged 18 to 27, who need to serve the Georgia Defence Forces for a period of 12 months. [1]
As defined by the Constitution of Georgia, military service is a universal "duty of all capable citizens of the country." In 1997, the Law on Conscription and Military Service was established, forming the basis of male citizens' universal obligation to military service. This service includes four stages: registration, preparation, urgent military service, and service in a reserve unit. [2] In 2003, the reforms introduced a "military tax," which allowed enlistees to delay service by paying a corresponding tax. [2] In 2015, Chapters 29 and 30 of the military law granted exemptions to certain citizens, including those already serving another country, the only son in a family where at least one member has been killed in the struggle for Georgia's territorial integrity or during military service, members of the Parliament of Georgia. Students, priests, and teachers and doctors in villages can defer entrance to service. [3] On June 27, 2016, the Georgian Minister of Defense signed an order abolishing compulsory military service, transitioning to an armed forces system solely based on voluntary recruitment and contract-based service. [4] Conscription was reinstated later that year after consultations with international experts, and the military tax was increased from $3 to $21 per month. [5]
Currently, conscription constitutes more than 20% of Georgia's defense force. [6] The changes of law in 2024 abolished the exemptions for students, who are required to participate in a one-month basic training course during the summer holidays. Only a one-time deferral of one year is possible, with the fee for deferring call-up being around 3,500 euros, while the average household income in Georgia is around 500 euros. [7] Moreover, priest's exemption from military service is also abolished in 2024.
According to the 2023 EBCO report, the libertarian political party, Girchi Party, that opposes conscription, had founded a religious association and issued certificates to young men as priests to help them avoid compulsory military service. [6] This practice was stopped by the new code in 2024. The 2024 law has also made the process for conscientious objection more complicated. [8] Under the new law, civilians who refuse military service due to conscience, thought, or religion can perform alternative civilian service in peacetime. The state commission, in coordination with civil organizations, determines the nature and place of such service, which includes roles in emergency services, the environmental sector, construction, agriculture, and social services. [6]
Despite the abolishment of exemption for priest, the 2002 Constitutional Agreement between the Georgian state and the Orthodox Church still grants exemption privileges exclusively to Orthodox priests. [9]
Despite the introduction of alternative civilian service, its implementation has been lacking. There is no clear record of deployment locations or statistics on community service participants. To date, there have been no known cases of criminal proceedings against objectors applying for community service. [6] The new conscription system will also put the priests belonging to the Georgian Orthodox Church in a privileged position by omission. [9]
On March 11, 2023, the Girchi Party organized a large-scale public protest against the government's attempts to expand conscription. [10]
Conscription is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day under various names. The modern system of near-universal national conscription for young men dates to the French Revolution in the 1790s, where it became the basis of a very large and powerful military. Most European nations later copied the system in peacetime, so that men at a certain age would serve 1 to 8 years on active duty and then transfer to the reserve force.
A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of conscience or religion. The term has also been extended to objecting to working for the military–industrial complex due to a crisis of conscience. In some countries, conscientious objectors are assigned to an alternative civilian service as a substitute for conscription or military service.
Military service is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, air forces, and naval forces, whether as a chosen job (volunteer) or as a result of an involuntary draft (conscription).
In the United States, military conscription, commonly known as the draft, has been employed by the U.S. federal government in six conflicts: the American Revolutionary War, the American Civil War, World War I, World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. The fourth incarnation of the draft came into being in 1940, through the Selective Training and Service Act; this was the country's first peacetime draft.
The Federal Republic of Germany had conscription for male citizens between 1956 and 2011. On 22 November 2010, the German Minister of Defence proposed to the government to put conscription into abeyance on 1 July 2011. The constitution, however, retains provisions that would legalize the potential reintroduction of conscription.
Military service is mandatory both in the Republic of Cyprus and Northern Cyprus. In the Greek-speaking South, it is mandatory for all male citizens and controversially also some non-citizens to serve in the Cypriot National Guard for 14 months. An alternative civilian service for conscientious objectors is possible, lasting 19 months. In the Turkish-speaking North, military service lasts between 12 and 15 months, while no alternative civilian service is recognized and conscientious objectors face imprisonment.
Compulsory military training (CMT), a form of conscription, was practised for males in New Zealand between 1909 and 1972. Military training in New Zealand has been voluntary before then and ever since.
In Turkey, compulsory military service applies to all male citizens from 21 to 41 years of age. It is 6 months for all males regardless of education degree. Different rules apply to Turks abroad. For Turks with multiple citizenship, the conscription lapses if they have already served in the army of another country.
The Religious Freedom Peace Tax Fund Act is legislation proposed in the United States Congress that would legalize a form of conscientious objection to military taxation.
Since the Israeli Declaration of Independence in 1948, fixed-term military service has been compulsory in Israel. The draft laws of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) only apply to Jews, Druze, and Circassians. Because the Druze and Circassian communities are less populous, their women are exempted from mandatory military service altogether. Women from the Jewish community are not exempted, but serve for slightly shorter terms than their male counterparts. The IDF does not conscript non-Druze Arab citizens of Israel, though their men and women may enlist voluntarily.
Conscription in Russia is a 12-month draft, which is mandatory for all male citizens who are between 18 and 30 years old, with a number of exceptions. Avoiding the draft is a felony under Russian criminal code and is punishable by up to 18 months of imprisonment. Conscripts are generally prohibited from being deployed abroad.
Sherut Leumi is an alternative voluntary form of national service in Israel, as opposed to the mandatory military conscription prevalent in the country. It is designed for individuals who do not meet the eligibility criteria for service in the Israel Defense Forces, or who hold conscientious objections to military enlistment. The program primarily was created for religious Jewish girls aged 17 to 24, although it is open to all applicants who cite diverse grounds for their decision.
Civil conscription is the obligation of civilians to perform mandatory labour for the government. This kind of work has to correspond with the exceptions in international agreements, otherwise it could fall under the category of unfree labour. There are two basic kinds of civil conscriptions. On the one hand, a compulsory service can be ordered on a temporary basis during wartimes and other times of emergency, like severe economic crisis or extraordinary natural events to provide basic services to the population. These include, but are not limited to, medical care, food supplies, defense industry supplies or cleanup efforts, following a severe weather or environmental disaster for the duration of the emergency. Therefore, it generally makes striking illegal for the duration of the civil mobilization. On the other hand, a revolving mandatory service may be required for a longer period of time, for example, to ensure community fire protection or to carry out infrastructure work at a local or community level.
Conscription in South Korea has existed since 1957 and requires male citizens between the ages of 18 and 35 to perform compulsory military service. Women are not required to perform military service, but they may voluntarily join the military.
Exemption from military service in Israel is covered by the Israeli Security Service Law, which regulates the process of Israeli military conscription. Per the law, an Israeli citizen who is drafted into the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) may be exempted if an evaluation finds them to meet specific criteria. The IDF's conscription laws only apply to three communities: the Jews, the Druze, and the Circassians. Both men and women are drafted from the Jewish community, whereas only men are drafted from the Druze and Circassian communities.
The Insubordinate movement was a mass antimilitarist movement of civil disobedience to compulsory military service in Spain, the movement lasting from the early 1970s until the abolition of conscription on 31 December 2001.
Girchi is a libertarian political party in Georgia. It was founded and registered in spring of 2016 by four dissenting members of United National Movement. It included Zurab Japaridze, the chairman of the party from 2016 to 2018 as well as the de facto leader up until his departure in 2020, who went on to establish a new party with a similar name Girchi - More Freedom. Iago Khvichia has served as the party's chairman since 2018.
Conscientious objection in the United States is based on the Military Selective Service Act, which delegates its implementation to the Selective Service System. Conscientious objection is also recognized by the Department of Defense.
Girchi — More Freedom is a libertarian political party in Georgia. It was founded by Zurab Japaridze, former chairman of the New Political Center — Girchi. The party supports Atlanticism.
Conscription in Mozambique refers to the military service in the Mozambique Defense Armed Forces. It includes a mandatory registration for all male and female citizens at the age of 18 years old. The army then selectively chooses the amount of citizens it drafts for a 5-year mandatory military service.