DETERMINING THE ORIGIN OF A CHILD FROM A MOTHER

Abstract

In order to establish the peculiarities of determining the origin of a child from a mother under the family law of Ukraine and elaborating propositions for improving the legal regulation of relations in this area, the author has researched the problematic issues of determining the origin of a child from a mother.

Using the historic and legal method of research, it has been concluded that the child’s mother is always known, even if she conceived the child outside the marriage. The problem of determining the origin of the child from the mother within law-enforcement activities occurred relatively rarely, when there were cases of child abduction or his replacement in the hospital. However, recently, in the light of the development of reproductive medicine problematic issues of determining the origin of the child from the mother become widespread.

It has been concluded that the origin of the child from the mother, regardless of whether she gave the birth to the child in marriage or out of it, can be confirmed by a medical document of the health care establishment about the birth of a child by a woman or by the decision of the medical advisory commission on confirmation of the fact of the birth of a child by a mother outside the health care establishment, or by a court decision establishing the fact of the birth of a child outside the health care establishment, or by a court decision on the establishment of the fact of motherhood, or by a court decision on the recognition of maternity.

It has been offered to amend the Art. 139 of the Family Code of Ukraine with the provisions on the possibility of applying to a court with a suit on the recognition of maternity not only of a woman who considers herself the mother of the child, but also other persons who have the right, for example, to file a suit on the recognition of paternity under the Art. 128 of the Family Code of Ukraine. They were entitled to apply to the court for the recognition of maternity, if the record about the mother of the child was done in accordance with p. 2 of the Art. 135 of the Family Code of Ukraine. Such a right should also be granted to the father of the child and the guardianship agency, which is obliged to protect the personal and property rights of children.