Birth Registration and Confirming Documents
Birth is a fact of legal significance subject to mandatory registration by the organ of registration of civil acts. For the purposes of birth registration, the documents confirming a birth are: a medical certificate of birth; a decision of an authorized organ on the establishment of a fact of birth of legal significance at a certain time and in certain circumstances; and a birth-confirming document issued by an authorized organ of another state on the basis of the legislation of that same state.
The head of a medical facility, or a person authorized by them, is obliged to submit the medical certificate of birth to the Agency exclusively in electronic form. In the cases provided for by the joint order of the Ministers of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Affairs and of Justice of Georgia, the medical certificate of birth may be submitted in material form. Thus, in the ordinary course of events parents do not have to take care of the certificate — it is transmitted electronically from the facility itself.
Name, Surname, Place of Birth and the Entry of Parents
The procedure for determining the name, surname and place of birth of the child at birth registration is established by an order of the Minister of Justice of Georgia. If, at the registration, the authorized person does not declare the granting of a name to the child, the organ of registration, taking into account the sex of the child, grants it a name by means of a special electronic program, from the names characteristic of the respective sex recorded in the Agency database, on the principle of random selection.
The origin of a child from married parents is established by the joint application of the spouses or by the application of one of the spouses and the documents confirming the birth of the child and the marriage of the parents. In the case of the father's death, the child is deemed to have originated from the married parents if it was born no later than 10 months from the father's death. The origin of a child from parents who are not married is established by the joint application of the parents and the document confirming the birth of the child.
If a child is born to an unmarried mother and there is no joint application of the parents or a court decision on paternity establishment, the data on the child's father are not indicated in the birth entry. Where the parents are not married, data on the mother are indicated on the basis of the birth-confirming document and the mother's application, and data on the father — on the basis of the parents' joint application. If at the moment of registration the mother is deceased, has been declared missing by a court or has been deprived of parental rights, data on the mother are indicated on the basis of the confirming document, and data on the father — on the basis of the father's application.
Personal Number and Special Cases
The personal number is a unique identification datum of a person; its change is inadmissible, except in cases directly provided for by the legislation of Georgia. A personal number is assigned to a person at birth registration and in the cases determined by the law on the registration of citizens of Georgia and aliens living in Georgia, identity cards and Georgian citizenship passports; the assignment procedure is determined by an order of the Minister of Justice.
The basis for the birth registration of a found child is an application of the guardianship and care organ concerning birth registration, which must indicate the child's name, surname, presumed date and place of birth; the application must be accompanied by a medical conclusion on the determination of the child's age. The birth registration of a stillborn child is carried out under the procedure established for birth registration, but the death registration of a stillborn child is not carried out, and the stillborn child's name and surname are not indicated in the birth entry. The birth registration of a child born as a result of in vitro fertilization is carried out in accordance with the procedure established by this law, the law of Georgia on health care and an order of the Minister of Justice of Georgia.
Paternity Establishment and Its Registration
Paternity establishment is a fact of legal significance — the recognition of a person as the father of a child — whose registration is carried out by the organ of registration on the basis of an application of an authorized person or a court decision. The right to apply to the organ for the registration of paternity establishment belongs to: the parents who are not married at the moment of the child's birth, jointly; the child (after reaching majority), one of its parents, a guardian or curator, if paternity has been established by a court decision; and the child's father, if the child is a minor and the mother is deceased, has been declared missing by a court or has been deprived of parental rights.
A joint application of the parents concerning a child not yet born may be submitted during the mother's pregnancy; in that case no new application of the parents is required for the registration of paternity establishment, provided the earlier application has not been withdrawn by one or both parents. The registration is carried out if the child with respect to whom it is to be performed is a citizen of Georgia, a person holding a residence permit in Georgia, was born in Georgia, or its birth was registered by an authorized organ of Georgia; it is likewise carried out in other cases provided for by law, including where the decision on paternity establishment was adopted by a court of Georgia, or by a court of another state and is recognized under the procedure established by the legislation of Georgia.
Where, at the registration of birth, a person is recognized as the father of the child, a separate registration of paternity establishment is not carried out. On the basis of an application, the registration of paternity establishment is carried out within 1 working day from the submission of the application. The court sends its decision on paternity establishment to the organ of registration within 5 working days from its entry into legal force, and the organ, on the basis of that decision, carries out the registration of paternity establishment and enters the corresponding amendment into the birth entry.
A special rule applies where a person who is not the biological father of the child is indicated as the father in the birth entry: in that case the registration of paternity establishment may be carried out upon the joint request of the persons indicated as parents in the birth entry and the biological father, or on the basis of a court decision. If the data on the father in the birth entry were entered on the basis of a court decision on paternity establishment or of a paternity establishment entry, renewed paternity establishment is possible only by a court decision, except where paternity establishment was carried out at the birth registration of the child. The registration of paternity establishment with respect to an adult person, as well as the change of that person's surname, is admissible only with the consent of that person, and if the person has been recognized by a court as a recipient of support — on the basis of a court decision; this consent is not required if the registration is carried out on the basis of a court decision. If the child's father is known to be a recipient of support, the registration of paternity establishment is admissible only on the basis of a court decision. A paternity establishment entry is deemed annulled if the court establishes that the person indicated in the entry as the child's father is not the father.
Adoption Registration and the Protection of Secrecy
Adoption is a fact of legal significance whose registration is carried out by the organ of registration exclusively on the basis of a court decision. The right to apply for adoption registration belongs to the adopter, to the adult and capable adoptee, and to the guardianship and care organ. The court sends its decision on adoption, and on the annulment or cancellation of adoption, to the organ of registration within 5 working days from its entry into legal force. The registration of adoption on the basis of a decision of a court of another state is carried out after the recognition of that decision by the Supreme Court of Georgia, unless an international treaty or agreement of Georgia provides otherwise. From the day of entry into legal force of the decision on annulment or cancellation of adoption, the corresponding adoption entry is deemed annulled as well.
In order to ensure the protection of the secrecy of adoption, the replacement of the adoptee's name, surname, place of birth, date of birth, personal number and data about the parent or parents with data about the adopter or adopters is carried out, at the registration of adoption, on the basis of a court decision. If, before the registration, it is revealed that the adoptee's birth entry is not stored in the database and that the establishment of a birth fact of legal significance or the re-registration provided for by law is impossible with respect to the child, the adoption registration is carried out after the birth registration of the adoptee.
The release of adoption registration data without the consent of the biological parent, the adopter and the adult adoptee is inadmissible, except in cases directly provided for by law. The adopter is entitled to receive information about the adoption registration without restrictions. The adoptee is likewise entitled to receive such information without restrictions if, as a result of the adoption, the data about the adoptee's parents were not changed. The registration data may be released at the request of the guardianship and care organ, on the basis of a decree of an investigative organ or a decision of a court.