PARENTS RIGHTS AND DUTIES IN RUSSIA. VISITATION RIGHTS, ISSUES, ARRANGEMENTS

Important Disclaimer

The below Family Law text on parents rights and duties in Russia should be used for information purposes only and appropriate legal advice should be sought as and when appropriate.

For legal advice on The Parents' Rights and Duties in the Upbringing and Education of Children as well as in Protecting their Rights and Interests in Russia contact Mr Maxim POLYAKOV, your Russian qualified lawyer, member of the Moscow City Bar Association, tel. +7-495-518-72-62, email maxim@arbitratus.ru (English or Russian).

The Family Code of the Russian Federation

Chapter 12. The Parents' Rights and Duties

Article 61. Equality of the Parents' Rights and Duties

1. The parents shall enjoy equal rights and shall discharge equal duties with respect to their children (the parental rights).

2. The parental rights stipulated by the present Chapter shall cease when the children reach the age of 18 years, and also when underaged children enter into a marriage and in other law-established cases when the children acquire full capability before they reach 18.

Article 62. The Rights of Underaged Parents

1. Underaged parents shall have the right to live with the child and to take part in his/her upbringing.

2. The underaged unmarried parents shall have the right, in the case of a child being born to them and their motherhood and (or) fatherhood being established, to exercise their parental rights on their own upon their reaching the age of 16 years. Until the underaged parents reach the age of 16 years, a guardian may be appointed to the child, who shall bring him up jointly with the child's underaged parents. Differences which may arise between the child's guardian and his underaged parents, shall be resolved by the guardianship and trusteeship body.

3. The underaged parents shall have the right to recognize and to dispute their motherhood and fatherhood on general grounds, and shall also have the right, upon their reaching the age of 14 years, to claim that their fatherhood with respect to their children be established in court.

Article 63. The Parents' Rights and Duties in the Upbringing and Education of Children

1. The parents shall have the right and shall be obliged to bring their children up. The parents shall be answerable for the education and development of their children. They shall be obliged to take care of the health and of their children's physical, mental, spiritual and moral development. The parents shall have a priority right in bringing up their children before all other people.

Federal Law No. 194-FZ of July 21, 2007 reworded Item 2 of Article 63 of this Code. The new wording shall enter into force from September 1, 2007. See the Item in the previous wording

2. The parents must ensure the receiving of the basic general education by their children and create conditions for them to receive the secondary (full) general education.

The opinion of children being taken account of, the parents can choose an educational institution and the form of receiving the education by their children.

Article 64. The Parents' Rights and Duties in Protecting the Rights and the Interests of Children

1. Protection of the rights and of the interests of children shall be imposed upon their parents.

The parents shall be the legal representatives of their children and shall come out in protection of their rights and interests in their relations with any natural and legal persons, including in the courts, without having to obtain special powers.

2. The parents shall not have the right to represent their children's interests, if the guardianship and trusteeship body has established that there are contradictions between the interests of the parents and of the children. In the case of the differences between the parents and the children, the guardianship and trusteeship bodies shall be obliged to appoint a representative to protect the children's rights and interests.

Article 65. Exercising the Parental Rights

1. The exercising of the parental rights shall not be in contradiction with the children's interests. Providing for the children's interests shall be an object of their parents' principal care. In exercising the parental rights, the parents shall not have the right to inflict a damage on the children's physical and mental health, or on their moral development. The methods of the children's upbringing shall exclude contempt, cruelty and rudeness in their treatment, humiliation of their human dignity, the abuse or the exploitation of the children. The parents exercising parental rights to the detriment of the rights and the interests of the children shall be made answerable in the law-established procedure.

2. All the issues, involved in the children's upbringing and education shall be resolved by the parents by mutual consent, proceeding from the children's interests and taking into account the children's opinion. The parents (or one of them) shall have the right, if there exist differences between them, to turn for resolving these differences to the guardianship and trusteeship body, or to a court.

3. The place of the children's residence in case the parents live apart, shall be established by an agreement between the parents.

In the absence of an agreement, a dispute between the parents shall be resolved in court, proceeding from the children's interests and taking into account the children's opinion. In doing this, the court shall take into account the child's affection for each of his parents and for his brothers and sisters, the child's age, the moral and other personal features of the parents, the relations existing between each of the parents and the child, and the possibility to create optimal conditions for the child's upbringing and development (the parents' kind of activity and work regime, their material situation and family status, etc.).

Article 66. Exercising Parental Rights by the Parent Residing Apart from the Child

1. The parent, residing apart from the child, shall have the right to communicate with the child and to take part in his upbringing and in resolving the issue of the child's receiving an education. The parent, with whom the child lives shall not prevent the child's communication with the other parent, unless such communication damages the child's physical and mental health or his moral development.

2. The parents shall have the right to conclude a written agreement on the way the parent, residing apart from the child may exercise his parental duties.

If the parents cannot reach an agreement, the dispute shall be resolved in court with the participation of the guardianship and trusteeship body, upon the claim of the parents (of one of them).

3. In the case of non-abidance by the court decision, the measures, stipulated by the civil procedural legislation, shall be applied to the guilty parent. In the case of persistent non-fulfilment of the court decision, the court shall have the right, upon the claim of the parent residing apart from the child, to take a decision on passing the child over to him, proceeding from the child's interests and taking into account the child's opinion.

Federal Law No. 49-FZ of April 24, 2008 amended Item 4 of Article 66 of this Code. The amendments shall enter into force from September 1, 2008

4. The parent residing apart from the child shall have the right to get information on his/her child from educational establishments and medical centres, from institutions for social protection of the population and also from other similar institutions. The information may be refused only if the parent presents a threat to the child's life and health. The refusal to provide information may be disputed in court.

Article 67. The Right to Communicate with the Child by His Grandfather, Grandmother, Brothers and Sisters, and of Other Relatives

1. The grandfather, grandmother, brothers, sisters and other relatives shall have the right to communicate with the child.

2. In the case of the refusal of the parents (of one of them) to provide an opportunity for the child's relatives to communicate with him, the guardianship and trusteeship body may oblige the parents (one of them) not to interfere with this communication.

3. If the parents (one of them) do not submit to the decision of the guardianship and trusteeship body, the child's close relations or the guardianship and trusteeship body shall have the right to file with the court a claim for eliminating the obstacles to the communication with the child. The court shall resolve this dispute proceeding from the child's interests and taking into account the child's opinion.

In case the court decision is not executed, to the guilty parent shall be applied the measures, stipulated by the civil procedural legislation.

Article 68. Protection of the Parental Rights

1. The parents shall have the right to claim that the child be returned to them from the custody of any person who keeps him on a different ground than that of the law or of a court decision. In case a dispute arises, the parents shall have the right to turn to a court for the defence of their rights.

When considering these claims, the court shall have the right, taking into account the child's opinion, to reject the parents' claim, if it comes to the conclusion that the child's return to his parents is contrary to his/her interests.

2. If the court establishes that neither the parents, nor the person, in whose custody the child is, are capable of ensuring his proper upbringing and development, it shall put the child into the charge of the guardianship and trusteeship body.

Federal Law No. 49-FZ of April 24, 2008 amended Article 69 of this Code. The amendments shall enter into force from September 1, 2008

Article 69. Deprivation of Parenthood

The parents (one of them) may be deprived of parenthood, if they:

- shirk the discharge of the parental duties, including by persistently avoiding the payment of the alimony;

- refuse without a valid reason to take the child from the maternity hospital (department), or from another medical centre, an educational establishment or an institution for the social protection of the population, or from other similar institutions;

- abuse their parental rights;

- treat the children cruelly, including by physical or mental suppression, or infringe upon his sexual inviolability;

- suffer from chronic alcoholism or drug addiction;

- have committed a premeditated crime against the life or the health of their children, or against the life or the health of their spouse.

Article 70. Procedure for Deprivation of the Parenthood

Federal Law No. 49-FZ of April 24, 2008 amended Item 1 of Article 70 of this Code. The amendments shall enter into force from September 1, 2008

1. The deprivation of the parenthood shall be effected in court.

The cases on the deprivation of the parenthood shall be considered upon an application of one of the parents (of the persons substituting for them) and of the Prosecutor, and also upon applications of the organisations or institutions, to which the duties of protecting the rights of the underaged children are entrusted (the guardianship and trusteeship bodies, commissions for the affairs of the underaged, institutions for orphaned children and for children, left without parental care, etc.).

2. The cases on the deprivation of parenthood shall be considered with the participation of the Prosecutor and of the guardianship and trusteeship body.

3. When considering the case on the deprivation of the parenthood, the court shall resolve the issue of exacting an alimony for the child from the parents (from one of them), who are deprived of the parenthood.

4. If the court, when considering a case on the deprivation of the parenthood, exposes in the actions of the parents (of one of them) signs of a criminally punishable deed, it shall be obliged to inform the Prosecutor about this.

5. The court shall be obliged, within three days from the date of a court decision on the deprivation of parenthood coming into legal force, to forward an excerpt from this decision to the local registry office at the place of the state registration of the child's birth.

Article 71. Consequences of the Deprivation of the Parenthood

1. The parents deprived of parenthood shall lose all rights based on the fact of their kinship with the child with respect to whom they have been deprived of the parenthood, including the right to receive maintenance for him/her (Article 87 of the present Code), and also the right to privileges and state allowances estalished for citizens with children.

2. The deprivation of parenthood does not relieve the parents of the duty to maintain their child.

3. The question of the child's further residing with the parents (one of them) deprived of parenthood, shall be resolved by a court in conformity with the procedure laid down by the housing legislation.

4. The child, with respect to whom the parents (one of them) are deprived of the parenthood, shall retain the right of ownership to living premises or the right to use living premises, and also the property rights based on the fact of kinship with his parents and with his other relatives, including the right to receive inheritance.

5. If it is impossible to give the child to other parent, or in the case of deprivation of the parenthood of both parents, the child shall be placed in the charge of the guardianship and trusteeship body.

6. The child's adoption in the case of the parents (one of them) being deprived of the parenthood, shall be admissible no earlier than after the expiry of six months from the date, when the court passed the decision on the deprivation of the parents (of one of them) of the parenthood.

Article 72. Restoration of Parenthood

1. The parents (one of them) may be restored of their parenthood, if they have changed their behaviour, way of life, and (or) their attitude towards the child's upbringing.

2. The restoration of parenthood shall be effected in court upon the application of the parent deprived of the parenthood. Cases about restoration of parenthood shall be considered with the participation of the guardianship and trusteeship body, and of the Prosecutor.

3. Simultaneously with an application from the parents (from one of them) for the restoration of parenthood, the claim for the child's return to the parents (to one of them) may be considered.

4. The court shall have the right, taking into account the child's opinion, to reject the claim of the parents (of one of them) for the restoration of parenthood, if this contradicts the child's interests.

The restoration of parenthood with respect to the child who has reached the age of 10 years shall be possible only with his consent.

The restoration of parenthood shall not be admitted if the child is adopted and the adoption is not cancelled (Article 140 of the present Code).

Article 73. Restriction of Parental Rights

1. The court, taking into account the child's interests, may pass a decision on taking the child away from the parents (from one of them), while not depriving them of parenthood (the restriction of parental rights).

2. The restriction of parental rights shall be admitted if leaving the child with his parents (with one of them) is dangerous for the child because of circumstances which do not depend on the parents (on the parent) (such as a mental derangement or another chronic disease, the incidence of grave circumstances, etc.).

The restriction of his/her parental rights shall also be admitted if leaving the child with his parents (with one of them) is dangerous for the child because of their behaviour, but there are no sufficient grounds for depriving the parents (one of them) of parenthood. If the parents (one of them) do not amend their behaviour, the guardianship and trusteeship body shall be obliged, after the expiry of six months after passing the decision on the restriction of parental rights, to present a claim for the deprivation of the parenthood. In the interests of the child, the guardianship and trusteeship body shall have the right to file a claim for depriving the parents (one of them) of the parenthood before the expiry of this term.

Federal Law No. 49-FZ of April 24, 2008 amended Item 3 of Article 73 of this Code. The amendments shall enter into force from September 1, 2008

3. The claim for restricting the parental rights may be filed by the child's close relations, by the bodies and the institutions, upon which the law has imposed the obligations involved in protecting the rights of the underaged children (Item 1, Article 70 of the present Code), by pre-school educational establishments, by general educational establishments and by other institutions, as well as by the Prosecutor.

4. The cases on the restriction of parental rights shall be considered with the participation of the Prosecutor and of the guardianship and trusteeship body.

5. When considering the case on the restriction of the parental rights, the court shall resolve the issue of exacting from the parents (from one of them) alimony for the child.

Federal Law No. 140-FZ of November 15, 1997 supplemented Article 73 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation with Item 6

6. The court shall obliged within three days from the day of the entry into legal force of a decision of the court on restricting the parental rights to send an extract from such court decision to the civil registration body at the location of the state registration of the birth of the child.

Article 74. Consequences of the Restriction of Parental Rights

1. The parents whose parental rights are restricted by court, shall lose the right to bring the child up in person, and also the right to the privileges and to the state allowances established for the citizens with children. 2. The restriction of the parental rights shall not relieve the parents from the duty to maintain the child.

3. The child with respect to whom the parents (one of them) are restricted in parental rights, shall retain the right of ownership on living premises or the right to use the living premises, and shall also retain the property rights, based on the fact of the kinship with his parents and with his other relatives, including the right to receive an inheritance.

4. If the parental rights of both parents are restricted, the child shall be put into the charge of the guardianship and trusteeship body.

Federal Law No. 49-FZ of April 24, 2008 amended Article 75 of this Code. The amendments shall enter into force from September 1, 2008

Article 75. The Child's Contact with Parents Whose Parental Rights Are Restricted by the Court

Parents whose parental rights are restricted by the court may be allowed to maintain contact with the child, unless this exerts a negative impact on the latter. The parents' contact with the child shall be admitted with the consent of the guardianship and trusteeship body, or with the consent of the child's guardian (trustee), of his foster parents or of the administration of the institution, where he stays.

Article 76. Cancelling the Restriction of Parental Rights

1. If the grounds, by force of which the parents (one of them) were (was) restricted in their parental rights, do not exist any more, the court may, upon the claim of the parents (of one of them) pass a decision on returning the child to the parents (to one of them) and on cancelling the restrictions, stipulated by Article 74 of the present Code.

2. The court shall have the right, taking into account the child's interests, to refuse to satisfy the claim, if the child's return to the parents (to one of them) is contrary to his/her interests.

Federal Law No. 258-FZ of December 29, 2006 amended Article 77 of this Code. The amendments shall enter into force from January 1, 2008. See the Article in the previous wording

Article 77. Taking the Child Away if There Is a Direct Threat to His/Her Life or Health

1. If a direct threat exists to the child's life or health, the guardianship and trusteeship body shall have the right to immediately take the child away from his parents (from one of them) or from other persons, in whose charge he/she is. The immediate taking away of the child shall be effected by the guardianship and trusteeship body on the ground of the corresponding act of the executive power body of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation.

2. When taking the child away, the guardianship and trusteeship body shall be obliged to inform without delay the Prosecutor, to provide for the child's temporary accommodation and, within 7 days after the executive power body of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation passes a decision on taking the child away, to file a claim with the court for depriving the parents of the parenthood or for restricting their parental rights.

Article 78. Participation of the Guardianship and Trusteeship Body in the Court's Considering Disputes Involved in the Upbringing of Children

1. When a court considers disputes, involved in the upbringing of children, the guardianship and trusteeship body shall take part in the proceedings, regardless of who has filed the claim for the child's protection.

2. The guardianship and trusteeship body shall be obliged to inspect the life conditions of the child and of the person (the persons), claiming his upbringing, and to present an act on the inspection and the conclusion based on it to the court.

Article 79. Execution of the Court Decision on the Cases, Involved in the Upbringing of Children

1. The court decisions on cases involved in the upbringing of children, shall be executed by an officer of justice in conformity with the procedure, laid down by the civil procedural legislation.

If the parent (or other person, in whose charge the child is) interferes with the execution of the court decision, to him shall be applied measures, stipulated by the civil procedural legislation.

Federal Law No. 49-FZ of April 24, 2008 amended Item 2 of Article 79 of this Code. The amendments shall enter into force from September 1, 2008

2. A forcible execution of the decisions involved in taking away the child and in placing him into the charge of another person (of other persons), shall be effected with the obligatory participation of the guardianship and trusteeship body, and of the person (persons), into whose charge the child is placed, and, if necessary, with the participation of representative of the internal affairs bodies.

If the court decision on the transfer of the child cannot be executed without infringing upon his interests, the child may be placed for a time, in conformity with a court ruling, into an educational establishment, a medical centre or an institution for the social protection of the population, or into another similar institution.

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Important Disclaimer

The below Family Law text on parents rights and duties in Russia should be used for information purposes only and appropriate legal advice should be sought as and when appropriate.

For legal advice on The Parents' Rights and Duties in the Upbringing and Education of Children as well as in Protecting their Rights and Interests in Russia contact Mr Maxim POLYAKOV, your Russian qualified lawyer, member of the Moscow City Bar Association, tel. +7-495-518-72-62, email maxim@arbitratus.ru (English or Russian).