An IDP received a duplicate of a marriage certificate lost in the occupied territory

Publication date: November 12, 2023

The marriage certificate of a man who had found refuge from the war in Khmilnyk, Vinnytsia oblast, remained in the temporarily occupied territory. The lawyers of the NGO “Pravo” helped not only to restore the document but also to avoid unnecessary expenses due to the unlawful demand of officials.

Hennadii*, an IDP from eastern Ukraine, turned to the NGO Pravo with a request to provide him with legal assistance in restoring his marriage certificate, which was left at home in the temporarily occupied territory.

The organization’s lawyer, Lada Karaban, advised the man and helped him write an application for a second certificate. With this document, Hennadii went to the local civil registry office.

However, he soon turned to the lawyer of the Pravo again. He said he had paid the required state fee of UAH 0.51 when applying. In addition, representatives of the civil registry office suggested that he also pay an additional UAH 131 – allegedly for drawing up the application. Hennadii questioned the appropriateness of such a payment, so he decided to check with a specialist.

– An additional fee may indeed be charged, but only if a representative of the civil registry office provides the client with a paid service, namely assistance in drawing up an application, comments Lada Karaban.

In Hennadii’s case, there was no need to pay 131 UAH for this service, as he submitted a ready-made application to the civil registry office, drafted with the help of a lawyer.

As a result, having clarified all the issues at the civil registry office, Hennadii received his marriage certificate again three days after applying.

The legal framework that guided the lawyer:

The Law of Ukraine “On State Registration of Civil Status Acts”.

Decree of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine “On State Duty”.

* Name has been changed for ethical reasons.

The material was created with the support of the international charity platform GlobalGiving and the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation. The publication’s content is solely the responsibility of the Legal Development Network.

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