I

According to article 146 of the Civil Law, fatherhood is the origin of the child from his biological father. This article fixes the basic principles of the question of paternity, namely, the law provides in which cases and in what order a man is considered the biological father of a child and his data is recorded in the child’s birth certificate.

In accordance with these basic principles, if the child is born in a marriage or on 306^th day after the marriage is dissolved or invalidated, the biological father of the child is the husband of the child’s mother. The law calls this a presumption of paternity.

Accordingly, if a woman, while married, gives birth to a child from another man, and not from her spouse, according to the presumption, husband of the child’s mother will be registered as father of the child.

If a child is born no later than on 306^th  day after the dissolution of the marriage, and the mother of the child has entered into a new marriage, the child will be considered to be born in a new marriage. If, however, the child is born after 306^th day after the divorce or invalidation, and the former spouse of the child’s mother does not recognise him as his own, the father’s birth certificate will not be recorded.

The law provides for two legal acts with paternity:

• Determining (as well as recognition);
• Contestation.

II

Determination (recognition) of paternity occurs if both parents of the child jointly submit an application to the civil registry office. Determination (recognition) of paternity also occurs if the child’s mother, the child’s mother’s husband and the child’s biological father jointly submit an application to the civil registry office for registration of the father’s record in the child’s birth certificate.

This situation may occur if a woman is pregnant, and she no longer lives with her spouse, or if divorce proceedings have been initiated and the woman has entered into a new relationship and a child has been conceived in this relationship.

According to the established presumption of paternity, if all three parties do not submit a joint application to the civil registry office, in such case, the husband of the mother of the child would be written in the birth certificate. Therefore, if the parties do not have disagreements on the above issue, the law proposes a solution to the situation with a jointly agreement.

The law also provides that if a child has reached the age of 12, then the recognition of paternity requires his consent, in order to protect the child’s rights to his identity and created family environment.

Definition (recognition) has no time limit.

In other words, you can determine paternity without specific time limits. A person who asks to determine paternity can ask for it at any time.

The determination (recognition) of paternity through the court may be requested by:

• Mother of the child;
• Legal guardian;
• The child himself, upon reaching age of majority;
• A person who considers himself the biological father of the child.

In the process of determining paternity, evidence that indicates paternity, or vice versa, excludes it, plays an important role. The court, considering a lawsuit to determine paternity, considers any evidence that the parties can provide. Clearly, the most reliable evidence is DNA testing. According to article 249.1 of the Civil procedure Law, a participant in a trial may request the court to appoint an expert examination, and the court has no grounds to refuse to grant such a request.

Paternity established by a court decision is not subject to appeal, so it is especially important for the court to have full confidence in the facts and circumstances that indicate or exclude paternity.

In court practice, it is also stated that: “The basis for determining paternity in court is proof of the biological origin of the child. In the event of a dispute over the determination of a child’s origin, scientific evidence is required, such as a forensic biological examination report, which must be evaluated in conjunction with other evidence. The most accurate and, therefore, the most frequently used for this purpose is forensic medical examination. . […]”.

If a person files a lawsuit in court to determine paternity and at the same time to recover child support, then according to paragraph 3 of the first part of Article 43 of the Civil procedure Law, he is exempted from state duty. If, however, it is necessary to determine paternity when the person from whom the child was born died, the trial takes place in a special manner and the amount of state duty is 45.00 EUR.

III

Paternity can be contested in the court by following persons:

• The husband of the mother of the child (within 2 years from the day when he found out that it is not his child);
• Mother of the child;
• The child himself (within 2 years from the date he reaches the age of majority);
• A person who considers himself the biological father of the child (within 2 years from the birth of the child, if the mother of the child died during childbirth, or the mother and father of the child live apart no less than 306 days before the birth of the child).

A person who considers himself the biological father of a child may challenge the presumption of paternity only if the child was not conceived as a result of a crime against morality and sexual integrity.

Contestation of the presumption of paternity is a personal petition, i.e., petition itself does not pass to the heirs. But the heirs can continue the lawsuit.

A person who voluntarily recognised paternity, has the right to contest it within two years from the day when the person found out that he was not the biological father of the child. The key factor is that the person has been deceived about the fact of paternity and misled.

The child himself, after reaching the age of majority, has the right to file a lawsuit in court to challenge paternity, within two years from the day when he found out that his father is not his biological father. It is important that in any case, the court takes into account the rights of the child to a stable family environment.

When contesting paternity, the court, as well as in cases determining paternity, takes into account any possible evidence. DNA examination is one of the most basic evidence. If the plaintiff asks for DNA examination, costs are recovered from the second side (from the defendant).

In paternity determining cases, the law does not set a time frame, then is contesting paternity cases the law sets a specific time limit -two years, from the day when the person became aware of the circumstances that preclude paternity. If the deadline is missed, it is no longer possible to challenge paternity through the court. If the child’s biological father, the child’s mother, and the person who is listed on the child’s birth certificate as the father, together agree to change the record and submit a joint application, the data will be changed.

A person who is registered as a father on a child’s birth certificate is considered the child’s biological father, and the parent is obliged to fulfill their obligations, for example, to pay alimony if the parents live separately and support his child.

Considering the issue of paternity, both the parties and the court should carefully consider all the circumstances and evidence that is filed or requested through the court, since the decision in such cases is not subject to appeal. That is why all participants in the case need to be fully confident about the circumstances that indicate paternity or exclude it. The parties can resolve these issues through an agreement, which obviously speeds up the process, save time and money.