NGO CrimeaSOS: Ukrainian courts not recognize death certificates issued in Donbas

Ukrainian courts unlawfully deny recognizing the death certificates issued the occupied territories, the lawyers of NGO CrimeaSOS claim.

As NGO CrimeaSOS said to Human Rights Information Centre, the lawyers appealed against such a ruling of the first instance.

NGO CrimeaSOS reminds that the amendments to the Code of Civil Procedure of Ukraine came into force on February 19, 2016. The amendments were passed to Article 257.1 which regulates the accelerated procedure for confirming the facts of birth and death.

However, an applicant addressed NGO CrimeaSOS, whom the court refused to confirm the fact of death in Donetsk region in May 2016. According to the judge, the provided evidence had been illegally obtained by the applicant. The applicant submitted the copies of the documents issued by the so-called “Donetsk People’s Republic.”

NGO CrimeaSOS notes that the mentioned situation is not a unique case and insists on accessibility of administrative procedures for registration of such facts, not excluding the judicial procedure for their establishment under controversial circumstances.