How to Establish the Fact of Death in Occupied Territory of Ukraine

It is extremely important to keep personal documents in proper order, as many legal rights and procedures may depend on them. It is not enough simply to possess a particular document: it must also comply with legal requirements and be recognised by the Ukrainian authorities.

This article may be useful for people who have a death certificate issued in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine by the so-called “DNR/LNR” authorities. Documents issued by such authorities are generally not recognised as official Ukrainian civil status documents. As a result, a death certificate issued in the occupied territory cannot normally be used in Ukraine in the same way as a Ukrainian death certificate. This may create significant legal difficulties, including problems with inheritance proceedings. Therefore, it may be necessary to obtain a Ukrainian death certificate. This usually requires a special procedure for establishing the fact of death in court.

Under Ukrainian civil procedure, the fact of death may be established by a court in cases where it is impossible to register the death through the ordinary procedure. In particular, relatives of the deceased, their representatives and other persons entitled by law may apply to the court. Where the death occurred in a temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine, special rules of territorial jurisdiction apply, allowing an application to be filed with an appropriate local court in the government-controlled territory of Ukraine. In other cases, the general jurisdiction rules applicable to proceedings for establishing legally significant facts should be taken into account.

Depending on the circumstances, the application should specify:

• the purpose for which the fact of death must be established;
• the circumstances preventing the applicant from obtaining an official Ukrainian document confirming the death through the ordinary procedure;
• evidence confirming the death and the relevant circumstances, including medical documents, witness statements and other available evidence;
• other documents confirming the impossibility of registering the death through the standard procedure, where required.

Depending on the circumstances and availability, the following documents and evidence may also be submitted to the court:

• copies of the applicant’s passport and taxpayer identification number;
• a copy of the death certificate or other document issued in the temporarily occupied territory;
• a copy of an extract from the deceased person’s medical records or other medical evidence;
• a copy of a funeral services agreement or other documents relating to the burial;
• photographs of the burial site;
• other evidence confirming the fact, date and place of death.

Cases concerning the establishment of the fact of death in a temporarily occupied territory are subject to a simplified and expedited procedure and are generally considered by the court without delay.

After receiving the court decision, it is important to carefully check all personal information contained in it, particularly the deceased person’s name, date and place of birth, as well as the date and place of death. Errors in these details may subsequently create difficulties with the state registration of death, inheritance proceedings or other legal procedures.

Once the court decision has been obtained, the next step is the state registration of death with the Ukrainian civil registration authorities. Following registration, an official Ukrainian death certificate can be issued.

Establishing the fact of death may be particularly important for opening an inheritance case, obtaining inherited property, applying for certain social payments and resolving other legal matters connected with the death of a person in the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine.