The current law on military ranks has not been entered into the Unified State Register of Regulatory Legal Acts of Ukraine

The request to the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine was submitted in order to clarify the legal status of the law regulating military ranks in Ukraine. The basis for the request was Part Six of Article 92 of the Constitution of Ukraine, which explicitly states that military ranks, diplomatic ranks, and other special titles must be established exclusively by laws of Ukraine.

This means that the procedure for establishing such ranks cannot be regulated by decrees, resolutions, or internal orders of ministries — only by a law officially adopted by the Verkhovna Rada and duly promulgated.

In the official response from the Ministry of Justice dated August 7, 2025 (incoming ref. № ПІ-М-3264), it is stated that the so-called law “on military ranks” was not submitted for inclusion in the Unified State Register of Regulatory Legal Acts. According to the Instruction of the Ministry of Justice on the procedure for inclusion of regulatory legal acts (NPA) into the Register, approved by Order № 57/5 of June 26, 2002, such a procedure is mandatory for all laws that are subject to application. Therefore, the Ministry of Justice indicates the absence of the final registration procedure, without which any act is not considered officially valid in legal practice.

At first glance, it may seem that such a law does not exist at all. However, that is not entirely the case.

In fact, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted Law № 680-IX on June 4, 2020, titled “On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine Regarding Military Ranks of Servicemen”, which came into force on October 1, 2020. This law contains a clear hierarchy of ranks and a list of amendments to other legislative acts — including the statutes of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the law on military service, and others.

It is published on the official website of the Verkhovna Rada and publicly holds the status of a valid legislative act.

Nevertheless, the Ministry of Justice confirms that this law was not submitted for registration in the Unified State Register of Regulatory Legal Acts, which may formally call into question its legal applicability in certain legal procedures. This contradiction between the factual existence of the law and its absence in the register creates a legal paradox: the norm appears to exist, but due to procedural non-compliance, its legal status may be disputed in court.

Thus, the Ministry of Justice’s response highlights a gap in law enforcement: despite the adoption of Law № 680-IX, the state failed to fulfill all the procedural requirements necessary for its full legal effect.

This may affect both the legitimacy of individual appointments and the overall legal certainty of the military rank system in the country.