• Other situations
Identified promising practices
In Azerbaijan, in the absence of a document from a medical institution confirming the time and place of birth, the fact of the child’s birth will have to be
established by the court.
In Georgia, a decision on the establishment of the legal fact of birth may be
taken even in the absence of certain data except name, surname and year of
birth required for the registration of a civil act, if such data cannot be established
due to insufficient evidence or other compelling reasons.
4. The information of both parents recorded in the birth
certificate in all cases
37. Information on persons who have been legally established as parents according to the relevant rules is recorded on the birth certificate. This includes, in several
states,29 the possibility of being registered for a same-sex spouse or partner of
the mother who gave birth to the child, if this parentage is established under the
national or foreign law applicable in accordance with private international law.
The non-birth parent is registered as such on the basis of a legal presumption of
parentage, in the case of recognition of the child or adoption, or if parentage is
established by a court. It is important to note that birth registration should not
be prevented due to the lack of information about one or both parents.
38. In a number of states,30 the child’s nationality is automatically registered
on the birth certificate and in the civil status register. In some other states,31
nationality is mentioned on the birth certificate only if this is the nationality of
the state in question; any foreign nationality is not mentioned. Several other
states32 never mention the nationality in birth certificates.
Identified promising practice
In Norway, the birth certificate is issued with the relevant information that is
registered in the National Registry. The determining factor is that parenthood
has been established or determined in accordance with the rules of the Children
Act, or through adoption. Both unmarried and LGBTQIA+ parents can therefore
be included on the certificate once parenthood is established. Furthermore, a
birth certificate without the parents’ names can also be issued upon request.
29. For example, Austria, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Netherlands, Switzerland and United
Kingdom.
30. Croatia, Denmark, Sweden.
31. Georgia, Germany, Lithuania and Serbia.
32. Czechia, Estonia, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia and United Kingdom.
Page 20 ►Access to nationality for stateless children
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