The displaced woman will be able to restore her passport destroyed by the war and obtain the status of an IDP

Publication date: July 26, 2023

Lawyers from the NGO “Youth Initiative Center” met Tamila*, a resettled person from the Kramatorsk district, during an on-site consultation. The war took away from her a peaceful life in the Donetsk oblast and her native home, in which all documents were burned…

The woman applied for the establishment of a legal fact, namely that she had been permanently residing in the territory of Ukraine as of November 13, 1991. Without this, she could not renew her passport and obtain the status of an internally displaced person (IDP).

Tamila was born in the mid-1970s in one of the villages of the Artemivsk district of the Donetsk oblast. Since 1987, she was registered, lived, and worked in one of the kolkhozes (soviet collective farms) of the Bakhmut district. In the early 2000s, she and her family moved to the Kramatorsk district of the Donetsk oblast, where she was caught up in a full-scale war. Tamila’s house was completely destroyed as a result of the projectile hitting, and all the documents were burned with it. The woman took an evacuation train to Lviv, and from there to Belz community, Lviv oblast, where she lives now.

After reviewing the situation, the lawyers of the NGO “Youth Initiative Center” suggested that the woman contact the organization’s partners: the Chervonohrad local center for providing free secondary legal aid, where she received secondary legal aid since the issue could only be resolved through court.

It should be noted that in accordance with Part 1 of Art. 315 of the Civil Procedure Code of Ukraine, the facts on which the emergence, change, or termination of personal non-property rights of natural persons depends on can be established in court unless another procedure for establishing them is determined by law.

As a result, on July 7, 2023, the Sokal District Court of the Lviv oblast issued a decision on the appointment of the case for consideration on the establishment of the fact of residence on the territory of Ukraine. And on July 11, the court issued a decision on the establishment of a fact that has legal significance, namely that Tamila, who was born in the village of N, Artemivsk district, Donetsk oblast, permanently resided on the territory of Ukraine as of November 13, 1991.

The example of this successful story confirms that the client referral mechanism, developed by the NGO “Youth Initiative Center” and the Chervonohrad city center for providing free secondary legal assistance, is not the first time that proves the effectiveness of cooperation between the civil sector and state institutions, the organization’s lawyers summarize.

*Name has been changed for ethical reasons.

The material was created with the support of the international charity platform GlobalGiving and the Legal Empowerment Fund (Fund for Global Human Rights program) and the Legal Development Network. The content of the publication is solely the responsibility of the Legal Development Network and does not necessarily reflect the views of the previously mentioned organizations.

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