The Legal Regime of Compulsory Military Service
Conscription into the national military service of conscripts is regulated by the Defense Code and constitutes a clearly defined procedure: the age of persons subject to conscription, the basis of the call-up, the rules of summons, the role of the conscription commission and the procedure for appealing the decision are all embedded in the Code's special norms. Such detailed regulation means that every stage — from the summons to entering the service — is legally defined, and each point of dispute is protected by law.
Compulsory conscription into the national military service applies to a person from 18 to 27 years of age who is on the military register of conscripts and has no ground for exemption from or deferral of conscription. A person who has turned 27, was on the military register but has not served, is granted the rank of private by an individual administrative-legal act of the Minister and is enrolled in the reserve of the defense forces; the same follows for a person not on the register once that fact is discovered.
The Basis of Conscription and the Rules of Summons
The basis of conscription is a resolution of the Government of Georgia. Its draft is initiated by the Ministry, and the resolution determines the specific dates of conscription, the number of persons to be conscripted, the organizational matters connected with the call-up, and the priorities, rules and conditions of conscription. Summons are issued by technical or other means of communication, on the principle of annual random selection, in the established order — a process that runs through an electronic system.
Upon being summoned, the conscript must appear, within a reasonable period, at a session of the conscription commission. If the conscript fails to appear before the conscription commission or at the standing medical expert commission for a medical examination, or evades the examination, the entity authorised to conduct conscription transfers the materials to the court. After the decision is taken, that entity ensures the conscript's transfer to the appropriate subdivision of the ministry's system, providing food where necessary.
The Conscription Commission and Central Coordination
For the general guidance, coordination and control of the conscription process, a central conscription commission is created by government resolution. A collection and distribution center for conscripts operates alongside it, where a working group formed from the commission's membership functions. The commission's composition, authority and rules of operation are determined by government resolution upon the Ministry's proposal.