Conditions of Death Registration and the Duty to Apply
The registration of the death of a citizen of Georgia, of a stateless person holding status in Georgia and of any person who died in Georgia is mandatory, under the procedure established by the law. The registration of the death of a person holding a permanent residence permit in Georgia who died in another state is carried out only where an interested person so wishes.
The law imposes the duty to apply to the organ of registration of civil acts concerning the registration of a death on specific persons, with strict time limits:
- the head of a medical facility, of an establishment carrying out pathoanatomical activity (clinical pathology) or of an establishment carrying out forensic medical examination, or a person authorized by them — within 5 working days from the person's death, where the person died in that establishment or the fact of death was established or confirmed by it;
- a person authorized to issue a medical certificate of death but not in an employment relationship with any such establishment — within 5 working days from the person's death;
- a person authorized by the mayor of the municipality — within 5 working days from learning of the death;
- the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia — in connection with a serviceman killed as a result of hostilities, within 30 calendar days from learning of the death;
- the Emergency Management Service — in connection with a serviceman killed as a result of a natural disaster, within 30 calendar days from learning of the death;
- the Ministry of Defence of Georgia — in connection with a serviceman killed during a state of war, during participation in international peace and security operations or other peace operations, within 30 calendar days from learning of the death;
- the State Security Service of Georgia — in connection with a serviceman killed as a result of hostilities or a natural disaster, within 30 calendar days from learning of the death;
- a parent (adopter), spouse or child (adoptee) — where that person can assume that the fact of death is unknown to the persons listed above.
Documents Confirming Death
For the purposes of death registration, the documents confirming a death are: a medical certificate of death; a decision of an authorized organ on the establishment of a fact of the person's death of legal significance; a court decision declaring a person dead; a protocol on the death compiled by a person authorized by the mayor of the municipality; a certificate issued by an authorized organ concerning the death of a repressed person, in connection with decisions of a court or administrative organ of the Soviet period; a notification of the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the State Security Service or the Emergency Management Service concerning the death of a serviceman in a peace operation, in hostilities or as a result of a natural disaster; and a death-confirming document issued by an authorized organ of another state.
The head of a medical facility or an authorized person, as well as a person authorized to issue a medical certificate of death but not employed by any of the above establishments, is obliged to submit the medical certificate of death to the Agency in electronic form; in the case provided for in connection with displaced persons, it may be submitted in material form as well. The requisites of the certificate and the rules for its compilation and dispatch are determined by the corresponding joint order, and the sending establishment or person is responsible for the accuracy and completeness of the certificate — except where its complete filling-in is impossible due to the impossibility of obtaining the relevant information.
The Unknown Person and the Declaration of Death
Where a medical facility, an establishment carrying out pathoanatomical activity or forensic medical examination, or another authorized organ fails to identify the deceased person, the registration of that person's death is carried out as the registration of the death of an unknown person.
The court sends its decision declaring a person dead 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 death registration. Upon the registration of the death of a person declared dead, the date of death is deemed to be the day of the entry of the court decision into legal force, unless the decision establishes otherwise. The organ is entitled not to carry out the registration if the decision declaring the person dead does not establish the personal number of that person (where such exists), the name, surname, date or place of birth.
Establishment of Facts of Legal Significance
The law obliges the organ of registration of civil acts to establish facts of legal significance — including the fact of a person's death at a certain time and in certain circumstances; such a decision then itself becomes a document confirming the death registration. The right to apply to the organ with an application on the establishment of a fact of legal significance belongs to any interested person.
During the administrative proceedings the organ is obliged to hold an oral hearing to which the applicant, other interested persons and witnesses must be invited; they must be notified of the hearing at least 5 calendar days before it is held. Unless otherwise provided by law, the rules established by the General Administrative Code of Georgia apply to the proceedings, taking into account the provisions of this law. Where the organ consists of only one employee, the powers of the secretary of the session at the oral hearing may be exercised by the chairperson of the session.
A decision on the establishment of a fact or on the refusal to establish it must be adopted no later than 1 month from the submission of the corresponding application; where more time is necessary to establish circumstances of material significance, the organ may adopt a decision on the extension of the period, but the total period for adopting the decision must not exceed 2 months. The decision, in addition to the requisites provided for by the General Administrative Code, must contain the information necessary for compiling the corresponding civil act entry. If, after the commencement of the proceedings, it is revealed that the documents confirming the fact can be obtained in another manner or that a lost document can be restored, the organ terminates the proceedings at any stage with a reasoned decision. The procedure for the registration of a civil act on the basis of a decision establishing a fact of legal significance is determined by an order of the Minister of Justice.
Indication of Sex in a Civil Act Entry
At the registration of a civil act, the indication in the entry of a sex different from the person's biological sex is inadmissible; such an indication is likewise inadmissible when made through an amendment or addition to the entry. These prohibitions do not extend to the compilation and registration of an entry after the entry into force of this law with respect to a person in whose entry, before the entry into force, a sex different from the biological sex was indicated through an amendment, or in whose identity document issued before the entry into force such an indication was made.