In March, 2013, at the initiative of the Center for International and Comparative Law the project "Free legal consultancy on military service" was launched.
The purpose of the project was to ensure the awareness of contract servicemen, conscripts and their families regarding their rights, privileges, and obligations, as well as to provide the servicemen with the opportunity to address their concerns to the leading experts in the legal field of Armenia.
It was implemented with the financing of the Yerevan office of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and within the framework of cooperation with the RA Ministry of Defense.
More than 500 servicemen benefited from free legal consultancy within the two phases of the program.
A significant part of the citizens were interested in the questions related to the medical examination of the inductees, the possibility of serving in the military unit close to the place of conscripts’ residence, the procedure defined by the relevant law, as well as the question of how far the military unit located from the place of residence is considered a military unit close to the place of residence.
At the urging of the citizens, the questions regarding deferment from mandatory military service were also discussed, in particular, the possibility of getting a deferment to continue studying abroad, the possibility of getting a deferment due to health issues, family situation or other reasons.
Many of the citizens turned to experts to find out the possibility of entry of RA citizens who have not completed mandatory military service into RA territory and the subsequent consequences arising from it.
At the end of the project, a survey was conducted by the "Center for International and Comparative Law" to find out how the months of work were evaluated by the citizens.
According to the results of the survey, such an initiative is more than necessary in the context of meeting the need of the society to be informed about its own rights and privileges by leading specialists, from which it can be assumed that the extensive work of the Center's experts has received great satisfaction.
The same project was implemented in 2014. It started in March and continued until November.
It also aimed to raise awareness of the legal aspects of every phase of military service, providing future and current servicemen and their parents with comprehensive legal advice on conscription, military service and post-conscription issues.
If in 2013 the citizens were mostly interested in the issue of dual citizenship, then in 2014 they mostly asked about mileage-related privileges and going to the service without drawing lots.
Apart from Yerevan, they also applied for advice from regions.
Emphasizing the place and role of the army in the life of society, and in the context of the development and security of the state, the specialists and experts of the "Center for International and Comparative Law" invested all their potential and knowledge so that the desire and drive to be aware of one's rights and privileges is "contagious" by carrying continuous nature, and the specialists are always ready to fulfill the most important mission adopted by them with honor.