In Kherson, a couple received a Russian birth certificate for their child and is demanding an official Ukrainian one. Here's the court's decision on the matter.

The couple registered their marriage on February 2, 2022. Later, they had a child in the occupied territory, with a birth certificate issued by the Russian Federation. The parents are demanding the issuance of a birth certificate for their child in accordance with Ukrainian legislation. This is stated in the decision of the Pyriatyn District Court of the Poltava Region, published on August 22, 2024.

On February 2, 2022, the applicant registered her marriage to her husband at the Oleshky Department of the State Registration of Civil Status Acts in the Kherson District of the Kherson Region, Southern Interregional Administration of the Ministry of Justice (Odesa). They had a son, with the place of birth being Oleshky in the Kherson District of the Kherson Region, which is confirmed by a copy of the medical birth certificate and an extract dated June 28, 2022, as well as a birth certificate issued by the Russian Federation. The original medical birth certificate is missing. The applicant is unable to obtain a birth certificate for her child through non-judicial means from the registry office of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine. Considering the above, she requests to establish the fact of the child's birth in Oleshky, Kherson District, Kherson Region, from her parents.

The court established that the specified place of the applicant's child's birth is a temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine, as defined by the Order of the Ministry for Reintegration of Temporarily Occupied Territories No. 309 dated December 22, 2022, "On Approval of the List of Territories Where Hostilities Are Conducted (Were Conducted) or Temporarily Occupied by the Russian Federation," along with the relevant amendments. Establishing this fact is necessary for obtaining a birth certificate for the child in accordance with Ukrainian legislation. The documents confirming the fact of the child's birth were issued by institutions in the temporarily occupied territory, and their originals are also missing.

What was the court's decision?

The woman's claim was granted. The court allowed the establishment of the fact that the boy was born in the city of Oleshky, Kherson District, Kherson Region, Ukraine, to parents: the mother, a citizen of Ukraine, and the father, a citizen of Ukraine.

"The child was born in a territory temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation in the city of Oleshky, Kherson District, Kherson Region. His mother is a citizen of Ukraine, which is confirmed by a passport issued on November 10, 2023, by the issuing authority 6511, and an extract from the Unified State Demographic Register, and the father is a citizen of Ukraine, as confirmed by the marriage certificate. Establishing this fact, which has legal significance, is necessary for the applicant to obtain a birth certificate for her child in accordance with Ukrainian legislation. Considering the above, and given that the law does not provide for any other procedure for establishing this fact, which would allow the applicant to obtain a birth certificate for her child issued by a government body of Ukraine, and that there is sufficient information in the case materials indicating the fact of the birth of a child to a couple who are citizens of Ukraine, the court concludes the legitimacy and reasonableness of the application, and therefore, this application is to be granted," the court emphasized.