Russian notaries start refusing to certify powers of attorney for draft-age men, human rights groups say

Russian notaries in Moscow and the Samara region have refused to certify powers of attorney for men of draft age, or have imposed additional conditions for doing so, according to two human rights organisations. These groups, the Conscript School and the Conscientious Objectors Movement, called the demands unlawful and offered free help with appeals.

A power of attorney lets a close relative act on a person’s behalf in dealings with the military, whether that means conscription, being recruited to sign a military contract, or a routine visit to an enlistment office. The Conscientious Objectors Movement, which Russian authorities have designated a “foreign agent”, described the document as a “basic necessity” for every man in wartime Russia.

In Moscow, a notary refused to certify a young man’s power of attorney in favour of his mother, citing his draft-eligible age and the fact that he had not served in the military, according to a friend of the applicant. The friend said the notary demanded he log in to the electronic draft registry to show that no summons had been issued to him, and claimed notaries are obliged to notify enlistment offices about services provided to men of draft age.

In Samara, the mother of an 18-year-old told the groups that she approached several notaries and that all of them demanded a printout from the electronic draft registry. She said the notaries told her this was the rule across the city but cited no law. According to the groups, providing the printout did not solve the problem: the notaries still refused to include powers to remove him from military registration or to represent his interests regarding a medical examination. The mother said the hotline of the Federal Notary Chamber told her it had issued no such instructions and advised her to contact the regional chamber.

Another conscript from the Samara region contacted the Conscientious Objectors Movement after trying to obtain a power of attorney for removal from military registration. Three of the four notaries he visited asked for a printout from the military registration database. The fourth agreed to certify a document only for submitting applications to the enlistment office, leaving out the power to deregister him.

Notaries have no legal authority to demand records from the military registration database or the draft registry as a condition of certifying a power of attorney, the right groups emphasised.