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From the Collection of enactment and decrees of the government for 1921, Administration of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR

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On changing the order of publication in cases of divorce, change of surname, guardianship, social security, unknown absence and change of the names of the bodies conducting the above acts. (Izv. No. 234, S.

U. 67‐512 ).

Article No. 512.

Decree of the All‐Russian Central Executive Committee and the Council of Peopleʹs Commissars.

In order to speed up and simplify proceedings in cases of divorce, change of surname, guardianship and social security, unknown absence and change of the names of the bodies conducting the above acts, the All‐Russian Central Executive Committee and the Council of Peopleʹs Commissars decide:

I. Note to Art. 90 of the Code of Laws on Acts of Civil Status (1918, No. 76‐77, Art. 818 ) to cancel.

Introduce the following new articles into the aforementioned Code:

ʺ90¹. If the request for divorce is filed at the place of residence of the plaintiff, and the place of residence of the defendant is known to the plaintiff, the subpoena for summoning the defendant spouse is sent in the usual way, but with the obligatory delivery of it personally to the defendant. If it is impossible to deliver the summons to the defendant personally, the notification procedure specified in Art. 90²

ʺ.

ʺ90². When the plaintiff declares that he does not know the place of residence of the defendant, and also if it is impossible to serve the summons to the defendant at the address indicated by the plaintiff (Article 90¹), the judge, by interrogating witnesses, at his discretion and at the direction of the plaintiff or other interested persons, establishes the actual place of residence of the defendant, or the fact of his unknown absence.

In the latter case, the judge takes the following measures to summon the defendant: hangs up in the courtroom a notice of summoning the defendant to the court; at the same time sends one copy of the same notice for displaying in the Civil Registry Offices at the location of the Court, at the place where the marriage record is kept and at the place of the last residence of the defendant, and, after 2 months from the date of placing the notice in court, the judge appoints the case to the hearing ”.

ʺ90³. A copy of the divorce ruling, held in the specified order, is immediately posted in the same places where the announcement of the summons to the Court was posted, and, in accordance with Art. 97 of this Code, is sent for marking to the Civil Registry Office of the place where the marriage record is kept or to the institution where it is kept ”.

II.                  Clause 3 with notes and clause 4 of the Decree on the right of citizens to change their surnames and nicknames (1918 No. 37, article 488 ) shall be stated as follows:

ʺ3. The Head of the Department draws up a protocol about the statement made and posts an advertisement in the office of the Department, and urgently sends a copy of this advertisement for its submission to the Civil Registry Department at the place of birth and previous registration of the applicant, as well as at the place of his last residence.

Note . The Head of the Division will urgently contact the central authorities maintaining criminal records and the relevant authorities at the applicantʹs place of residence regarding the applicantʹs request. The aforementioned central institutions are also responsible for maintaining the lists of names to be changed ”.

ʺ4. After a 2‐month period has elapsed from the time the notice was posted in the Division that accepted the application, the Head of the Division shall grant the applicantʹs request, if there is no reasonable objection to the change of the last name in the Division. The new surname of the applicant is entered into all acts of civil status ”.

III.                Note to Art. 199 of the Code of Laws on Acts of Civil Status ( No. 76‐77 ) ‐ to cancel; Articles 199, 200, 211 and 212 of the aforementioned code shall be stated as follows:

ʺ199. Notices of the appointment of guardianship are posted: in the institution that appointed guardianship, and, depending on the type of guardianship, in the Department of Public Education, in the Department of Management or in the Department of Health at the place of birth and registration of the ward, and in relation to minors and minors, in addition to the same departments at the place of birth and registration of their father. ʺ

ʺ200. Interested persons are given the right, within one month from the date of the announcement in the institution that appointed guardianship, to appeal against the decision on the appointment of guardianship to the local court, upon finding the institution that appointed guardianship ”.

ʺ211. A written notice of his appointment is immediately sent to the person chosen as a guardian. At the same time, an announcement is posted about this in the institutions specified in Art. 199 ʺ.

ʺ212. An appeal against the decision to appoint a guardian of this person is made in the same period and in the same manner as specified in Art. 200 of this Code ”.

IV.                To amend paragraph 15 of the Instruction of the Peopleʹs Commissariat of Justice on the procedure for enacting the decree on the abolition of inheritance (No. 46, art. 549 ) in the sense of replacing the publication on summoning persons entitled to receive maintenance from the property left after the deceased, by placing appropriate announcements in the Social Security Departments, both at the location of the calling institution and at the place of birth and registration of the deceased, in compliance with the rules established by this decree for cases of official announcements.

V.                  Note to Art. 7 and Art. 8 of the decree on the right to receive maintenance from the property of persons declared absent, and on the judicial recognition of them as dead ( 1918 No. 56, Art. 624 ) ‐ to cancel; Articles of the same decree: 6 with a note, 9, 10, 19 with a note, 20, 21 and 22 with a note shall be stated as follows:

ʺ6. Recognizing the applicantʹs statement as credible. The court requests close persons who may have information about the whereabouts of the absent, and officials at his place of residence, and then hangs in its premises an announcement to summon him; also an announcement for the same purpose is sent by the Court to the Civil Registry Offices and the Social Security Offices at the seat of the Court, at the last place of residence of the absent person and at his place of birth, and b. postscripts.

Note . Interested parties are given the right to place the said announcement in the periodicals publishing the announcements, entering into an appropriate agreement with them. ʺ

ʺnine. If, within a month from the date of the announcement in the Court, no reliable information is received from the whereabouts or about the death of the person whose declaration has been made absent, the Court shall appoint a public hearing for consideration, summoning the applicant, witnesses referred to in the application, and those persons, whom the Court finds it necessary to interrogate, and makes a ruling on recognizing the person as absent ”.

ʺten. Upon the issuance of a ruling on recognizing a person as missing, the Court announces that in the manner specified in Art. 6th of this decree ”.

ʺnineteen. If, after the expiration of a 2‐year period from the date of the announcement of the recognition of the missing person in the Court, the disappeared person does not return and does not send news of his whereabouts, interested persons and institutions have the right to bring the issue of declaring the missing person dead before the court.

Note . If the Courtʹs ruling on the recognition as absent followed in the form of an assumption of the death of persons in circumstances that inspire confidence in death from a certain accident, the period specified in this article shall be reduced to six months from the date of the announcement of the recognition of the person as missing in court. ʺ

ʺ20. To make a ruling on recognizing a person as deceased, the Court again requests all places and persons who can provide information about the whereabouts of the disappeared, and again exposes and sends for placing an announcement in accordance with Art. 6th and in the form specified in Art. 7th of this decree ”.

ʺ21. If, within a month from the date of the announcement, the court does not receive positive information about the whereabouts or death of the person whose announcement is deceased in the petition, the court shall appoint a public hearing to consider the case, calling the applicant, witnesses referred to in the application, and also persons, whom the court finds it necessary to interrogate, and makes a ruling on recognizing the person as deceased ”.

ʺ22. Upon the ruling of the ruling on recognizing the person as deceased, the Court again announces by the same procedure and at the same time summons the persons entitled to receive maintenance and creditors.

Note . Creditors who have not declared their claims within a year from the date of the announcement of the declaration of the deceased person in the court are deprived of the right to receive satisfaction from the property of the person recognized as deceased. ʺ

Vi. All the above‐mentioned institutions, which are entrusted with posting              announcements,                are obliged,                under    the          personal responsibility of the heads of institutions: a) to display the mentioned announcements in a conspicuous place no later than 3 days after receiving such, b) to ensure the possibility of observing them within the time limits established above, c) immediately after placing an advertisement, notify the institution from which the advertisement was received.

Vii. In clause 1 of Chapter I of the Code, the words: “Civil Status Records Departments” ‐ shall be replaced by the words: “By the bodies specified in clause 2”.

VIII. Art. 2 of chapter I of the Code ‐ replace with the following:

ʺArt. 2. Bodies of registration of acts of civil status are established: a) the Central Department of Recording Acts of Civil Status under the Administrative‐Organizational Directorate of the Peopleʹs

Commissariat of Internal Affairs, b) Provincial and County Subdivisions of Recording Acts of Civil Status under the Departments of Administration of Provincial and County Executive Committees, c) Volost tables (clerical work) Records of Acts of Civil Status at the

Administration Departments of the Volost Executive Committees.

Note 1 . In rural areas, in case of remoteness of the Volost Executive Committees, the County Executive Committees are given the right to entrust the registration of acts of civil status to the chairmen of the Village Councils.

Note 2 . The Village Councils, in the order of note 1, keep draft records, which are transferred, signed by the Chairman of the Village Council, to the Volost Table of Records of Civil Status Acts for registration in the order established by the Peopleʹs Commissariat of Internal Affairs.

ʺ

IX.    In Art. 3 of Chapter I of the Code, the words: ʺto local departmentsʺ ‐ to replace the words: ʺto volost tablesʺ.

X.       Art. 4 of Chapter I of the Code, the words: ʺto the district departmentsʺ ‐ to replace the words: ʺto the provincial and district subdivisionsʺ

XI.    To paragraph 23 of Chapter III of the Code, add a note:

“ Note . When registering Village Councils (Note I to clause 2), this paragraph is not required. ʺ

XII. To clause 36 of Chapter 3 of the Code, add a note:

“ Note . When registering Village Councils (Note I to clause 2), this paragraph is not required. ʺ

XIII.           In Art. 37 Chapter 3 of the Code, the words: ʺa fine of at least 50 rubles.ʺ ‐ replace with the words: “administrative or judicial penalty”.

Signed by:

Chairman of the All‐Russian Central Executive

Committee M. Kalinin .

Chairman of the Council of Peopleʹs Commissars V. Ulyanov (Lenin) .

Secretary of the All‐Russian Central Executive

Committee A. Yenukidze .

September 27, 1921.

Published in No. 234 Izvestia of the All‐Russian Central Executive

Committee of Soviets dated October 19, 1921.