ESTABLISHMENT OF THE FACT OF A PERSON’S DEATH AT A CERTAIN TIME AND UNDER CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES IN CASE OF REFUSAL BY CIVIL REGISTRY AUTHORITIES TO REGISTER THE DEATH

The establishment of the fact of a person’s death at a certain time and under specific circumstances in case of refusal by civil registry authorities to register the death (subparagraph 8 of part 2 of Article 305 of the Civil Procedure Code) must be distinguished from the establishment of the fact of death registration (subparagraph 3 of part 2 of Article 305 of the Civil Procedure Code) and from declaring a person deceased (Chapter 34 of the Civil Procedure Code).

In the first case, the applicant applies to the court due to the refusal of the authorized bodies to register the event of death. In the second case, the death of a citizen has been registered, but the documents confirming this are not available either to the applicant or to the civil registry authorities and their archives.

In the third case, interested persons apply for a declaration of a person as deceased if there has been no information about their place of residence for three years, or if the person went missing under circumstances threatening death or giving grounds to assume death from an accident, for six months.

When considering cases on establishing the fact of death, courts must proceed from the fact that an application to establish such a fact is accepted for proceedings only if the applicant provides a document confirming the refusal of the authorized body to register the death event.

S. applied to the court to establish the fact of the death of her father B., requesting that 8 August 1967 be recognized as the date of death. The application was based on the fact that her father’s employment record book contained an entry stating that he tragically died while performing his official duties on 8 August 1967. When she applied to the district department of employment and social programs for a death certificate for her father for the period 1965–1969 and 1967–1977, she received a refusal.

The court granted the application, taking into account the entry in the employment record book dated 8 August 1967.

A district court also granted the application of J. to establish the fact of the death of her son A., born on 13 July 2004.

The application was based on the fact that the child was born weak and was diagnosed by doctors with: “complicated course of BCG vaccination, left axillary lymphadenitis in the infiltration phase.” On 16 December 2004, the son died in her arms. The grandmother and grandfather decided not to perform an autopsy to determine the cause of death. The child was buried the next day after the funeral rites and procedures. A death certificate was not issued in a timely manner.

On 31 May 2015, her husband died. For inheritance registration, the notary required documents for all heirs.

When applying to the civil registry authorities, she was refused a death certificate for her son. As evidence, the applicant submitted a photograph of the grave at the cemetery.

The circumstances were confirmed by relevant evidence; therefore, the court had grounds to satisfy the application.

By court decision, the application of E. to establish the legal fact of death was granted.

The application was based on the fact that he was the son of N., who died on 3 August 2011. At the time of his father’s death, he lived separately and did not deal with the documentation of the death. The organization of the funeral and, as he believed, all necessary documentation was handled by his father’s cousin M. As it later turned out, there is no record of his father’s death in the registering authority.

His father died on 3 August 2011 in the Central Hospital of the city of Saran, in the presence of medical staff.

The basis for state registration of death is a standard-form medical document confirming death, issued by a medical institution.

However, it is not possible to obtain such a document.

According to the response of the Central Hospital of Saran, the institution cannot issue a medical death certificate because the father died in the admission department and was not admitted for inpatient treatment. The body was handed over to police officers. A medical certificate of death was not issued.

According to the Department of Internal Affairs of Saran, the father indeed died in the Central Hospital, which is confirmed by interviews with the mother of N., medical staff, and a photograph of the body. On 5 August 2011, a decision was issued refusing to initiate a criminal case regarding the death of N.

According to the response of the civil registry authorities of the Akimat Office of the city of Saran, state registration of the death was refused due to the absence of the required documents.

The establishment of this fact was necessary for obtaining a death certificate and further submission to the relevant authorities for processing relocation to permanent residence in Russia.

It appears that the totality of the presented evidence is sufficient to establish the relevant fact.

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