Ministry of Justice: No change to rules on birth registration

The Ministry of Justice has issued a statement refuting suggestions that changes have been made to the procedure for registering a child.  It had been reported that only children born in a maternity home would receive registration.

The Ministry informs that the procedure for determining a child’s origin is regulated by Chapter 12 of Section III of the Family Code.  Where a child is born to a married couple, this is confirmed by the marriage certificate and a document from the medical establishment about the birth of the child (Article 125 of the Family Code).

Where a child is born outside a healthcare establishment, the birth is confirmed by two witnesses and a medical certificate confirming that the child is under the supervision of a healthcare establishment.

If there are no documents, then State registration of the birth of a children is carried out on the basis of a court ruling establishing the fact of the birth.

The Ministry goes into considerable detail about this procedure and then adds that the legislative norms on birth registration are aimed at preventing fraud and avoiding possible trafficking in or abduction of children.

It says that over the last three years registering bodies have each year registered on average over 600 thousand births, with around 900 (0.18%) taking place outside healthcare establishments and registered