Military Justice in Ukraine as a Guarantee of the Right to a Fair Trial for Military Personnel: Legal Foundations and Institutional Model

The relevance of the research is driven by the objective transformation of the legal framework under the conditions of prolonged martial law and the need for prompt and competent protection of the rights of subjects of military legal relations. The purpose of the article is to highlight and substantiate the need to establish military courts in Ukraine as a specialized body of the judicial branch, integrated into a unified justice system and necessary for the effective protection of military personnel's rights and ensuring the integrity of military justice as a whole. The methodological basis of the work comprises a comprehensive set of analysis methods, including: the comparative-legal method, applied to examine the three-type classification of foreign military judicial systems and adapt Poland's experience; the formal-legal method, used to assess the constitutional limitations of Article 125 of the Basic Law; statistical and criminological analysis, employed to process the reports of the Office of the Prosecutor General regarding the dynamics of military offenses; and the legal modeling method, by means of which the authors' three-tier court architecture was designed. The obtained results consist in the development of a three-tier model of military courts adapted to the existing specifics of military service. The legal principles of organization, powers, and jurisdictional structure of such courts are outlined as a key element of the system for ensuring rights and freedoms in the military sphere. The study substantiates the expediency of implementing circuit court sessions to ensure the territorial accessibility of justice directly in areas of combat missions. The application of hybrid selection criteria for candidates is proposed, which will ensure high competence and neutralize the risks of military subordination. Prospects for further research lie in developing specific legislative amendments to the Law of Ukraine on the Judiciary and the Status of Judges and the relevant procedural codes, as well as facilitating the development of a full-fledged military justice triangle and establishing interaction among its structural elements.