Ukraine proposes to introduce a system of Veterans Treatment Courts following the US example

Create a system of specialized veteran treatment courts in Ukraine, modeled after the U.S. Veterans Treatment Court (VTC), proposes the commander of the 423rd Separate Battalion of Unmanned Systems (ОБ БПС) Vitaliy Hersak, reports UNN.

According to the battalion commander, after the war, a justice system sensitive to the needs of veterans will be especially in demand in Ukraine, with its several million combatants (UBD) and a whole host of unresolved socio-economic contradictions.

An example for Ukraine to follow could be the U.S. Veterans Treatment Court system — specialized "veteran treatment courts" that combine justice, treatment, and rehabilitation. Their goal is not to punish or isolate veteran offenders from society, but, on the contrary, to understand the causes of unlawful behavior, help overcome them, and return the person to a full life.

Currently, over 600 courts for veterans operate in the U.S., handling cases involving drug and weapon possession, drunk driving, domestic conflicts and hooliganism, petty theft, and public order violations. The essence of their work is to determine, at the investigation stage, the reasons that led the veteran to commit an offense, give the offender the opportunity to recognize their problem and work on it, develop an individual treatment and return-to-normal-life program, and significantly reduce the punishment if the offender agrees to follow an individual rehabilitation plan. The list of measures traditionally includes regular court appearances, addiction treatment, psychotherapy, PTSD treatment, periodic alcohol and drug tests, assistance with housing and employment, work with social workers, interaction with support groups, and constant contact with their veteran mentor. If the program participant diligently adheres to it, the charges and sentencing conditions can be significantly mitigated, penalties reduced or even dropped. If the offender "relapses" — the court returns to standard sanctions, V. Hersak notes.

According to V. Hersak, to create veteran courts, or at least launch relevant pilot projects in Ukraine, there is no need to establish special courts, pass new separate laws, or invent and fund new state institutions. Veteran courts can be created "from below," as pilot projects of individual courts and judges, and then gain scaling, formalization, and state support. The closest analogue and example of how this could be initiated in Ukraine is our own experience with introducing specialized panels of judges for family and children's cases, which involve psychologists and social workers and provide special case review procedures. More than a dozen courts and over fifty judges are already participating in the pilot project. The path is already familiar and well-trodden; someone just needs to take the first step. The American experience in veterans policy gives us a unique opportunity to look a little ahead and protect the long-suffering Ukrainian "forehead" from at least some of the future "bumps" that life will still give us — the author believes.