Ukraine’s Ministry of Justice introduces a compact procedure for contracting a marriage in one day. First centers within the pilot projects are to appear in the near-front cities in eastern Ukraine to service IDPs and ATO servicemen, in Kherson in proximity to the annexed Crimea as well as in Kyiv, Lviv and Odesa. The novelty is expected to reduce red tape, increase transparency and comfort.
Kyiv, July 15, 2016. Ukrainians now do not have to wait 30 days to get married. It is now possible to contract a marriage in one day. Ukraine’s Ministry of Justice launched a pilot project that allows registering a marriage over 24 hours without red tape, queues and corruption, said Pavlo Petrenko, Ukraine’s Minister of Justice at a press-briefing at Ukraine Crisis Media Center. “Registration will take place on the date and at the time decided by the couple. There is no need to address the registration offices (RAGS) several times. Local-level authorities are engaged into this process. We want to make it this way so that they are motivated, as the money that will be coming from the registration of marriages, will be coming to local budgets. Starting from next year we plan to transfer the registration procedure for acts of civil state to local authorities. That’s why we want to see their capacity in providing Ukrainian citizens with quality services,” the Minister explained.
He said the project was launched in Mariupol and Severodonetsk – two frontline cities where service centers will be opened, they will be issuing official Ukrainian documents for internally displaced persons over one day, as well as will be providing an opportunity to get married for ATO servicemen based on the location of their military bases. The centers will also be opened in Kherson – the city where residents of the temporarily occupied Crimea are mostly turning to. Odesa, Kyiv and Lviv will also have such centers operational. In some cities the services in question are planned as round the clock ones.
Pavlo Moroz, Deputy Minister of Justice emphasized that the simplified procedure for marriage registration is optional and does not cancel the standard 30-day term, if this option is a more preferred one by an individual. Deputy Minister quoted statistical data according to which depending on the region 11 to 40 percent get married using the compact procedure. “Legislation needs to reflect the actual community relations in the country. It is currently a pilot project, there is a working group based on the Ministry of Justice that is dealing with these issues. After it approves the work plan and defines what needs to be changed it will deal with working out of regulations. It will develop the draft law introducing changes to the Family Code and other regulations,” explained Moroz. Minister Petrenko added that it will eliminate corruption as the percentage of the simplified registration cases clearly points to it.
Moroz said that prior to the marriage registration itself may lodge the package of required documents online and book the place in the line. The applicant provides the information that regards his/her region of residency, name of the authority agency he/she is applying to, application theme, preferred date and time, personal data as well as attaches the documents. The call center is operating to provide the support with all eventual questions.
MP Ihor Alekseyev noted that the service was in extremely high demand with territorial communities. “This reform is extremely needed. It removes the archaic model and will be built based on the transparent European model with no queues and corruption,” he is convinced.
At the same time Minister Petrenko noted that the simplified procedure will not be applicable for the divorce. “The approach suggesting that when there is no consent of both people, the divorce has to go through the procedure when the couple is granted the time to think, is a correct approach. We are for the fact that Ukrainian citizens need to be given a chance to save their families. Family is the basis of the society and if there is at least a little chance, the state does not have to make ill-judged simplifications,” the Minister thinks. He noted that for the cases when both sides have the consent to divorce the Ministry of Justice plans to remove the bureaucratic procedures.
