The Service: Representation in Death Registration
In the days after losing a loved one, administrative procedures are the last thing a family has strength for. Yet death registration is mandatory: without it, settling the estate, receiving benefits or taking other legal steps is impossible. Within this service the Legal.ge team carries the death registration from start to finish: we assess your case, prepare the documentation, control the deadlines and represent you before the civil acts registration body, so that the certificate reaches the family in time and without friction.
Representation is especially necessary in non-standard cases: death abroad, the death of an unidentified person, declaring a person dead by court decision, or death as a result of a natural disaster. These cases follow separate rules, and carrying them through without knowing them means losing time.
Whose Death Is Registered and Who Applies (Articles 70–71)
By law, the registration of the death of a citizen of Georgia, of a stateless person holding status in Georgia and of any person deceased in Georgia is mandatory. The registration of a permanent-residence-permit holder deceased in another state is carried out only at the wish of an interested person — that is a matter of choice, and we explain its consequences in advance.
The duty to apply is distributed by Article 71: the head of a medical facility, of a pathology-anatomical service or of a forensic-medical examination facility — or an authorised person — applies within 5 working days of the death, if the person died there or that facility established or confirmed the fact of death. A person authorised to issue the medical death certificate, though not employed by any such facility, applies within the same period. Moreover, any adult capable person or administrative body may apply to the registration body by declaration; for a person deceased in another state, the authorised body of the host state may also address the consular institution.
Confirming Documents and the Medical Certificate Rule (Articles 72–73)
Article 72 names the documents confirming death: the medical death certificate; the decision of an authorised body on establishing the fact of death; a court decision declaring a person dead; a protocol compiled by the mayor's authorised person; a certificate concerning the death of a repressed person; notifications of the defence, interior or state security services on a servicemember's death; and a document issued by an authorised body of another state. The registration of a person killed in a natural disaster or catastrophe may also proceed on the basis of a respective legal act of the Minister of Justice.
Article 73 provides that the medical death certificate is submitted to the agency in electronic form; material form is admissible only in cases foreseen by a joint order. In practice this is the point where the procedure most often breaks — between the medical side and the agency; we control that communication and untangle it before it becomes a problem.