The point of personal non-property rights and responsibilities of parents and children is substantively uncovered in Chapter 13 of the Family Code of Ukraine, in the editing, acting in the territory of the Donetsk People’s Republic.
According to the Family Code, parental responsibilities are:
- to take the child away from the Maternity Home or any other Health Institution (the parents may abandon the child in the maternity home or any other health institution if there are essential circumstances);
- to register the child’s birth in the public civil status act registration authority without delay but not later than one month after the child has been born (disregard of this responsibility constitutes the ground for them to be brought to responsibility prescribed by law);
- to establish the child’s family name.
And furthermore, Article 150 of Family Code includes other parental responsibilities:
- to educate the child in the spirit of respect for the rights and freedoms of the others, love to his/her family and relatives, people and Motherland;
- to have the duty to care of the child’s health, his/her physical, spiritual and moral development;
- to ensure that the child obtains full general secondary education and shall prepare him/her to making his/her own life;
- to pay respect for the child;
Any exploitation, physical punishment of the child by the parents, as well as other inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment are prohibited.
However, parents have rights:
- to enjoy preferential right to personal education of the child, and may make other persons involved in the child’s education and give the child to physical and legal persons for education, choosing forms and methods of the child’s education unless they are contrary to law and morals of the society;
- enjoy the right to free communication with the children, except for cases, when it is prohibited by law;
- to protect themselves their child, daughter and son who have attained the full age;
- to enjoy the right to approach the court, public authorities, local authorities and public organizations in view of protecting rights and interests of their child, as well as the son and daughter who are unable to work, as their legal representatives that do not require having special powers thereto. The parents are entitled to apply for protecting rights and interests of their children in situations when, in accordance with law, they themselves have the right to seek such protection;
- of removal the child of any person, who detains him/her at his/her place illegally;
- to determine the child’s place of residence. The place of residence of the child under the age of 10 is determined upon parents’ consent. The place of residence of the child that has attained the age of 10 is determined upon parents’ consent and consent of the child himself/herself. Whenever the parents live separately, the place of residence of the child that has attained the age of 14 is determined by himself/herself.
Parents under the full age assume the same rights and responsibilities as adult parents do and may discharge them at their own. Parents under the full age who have attained the age of 14 have the right to apply to court for protecting their child’s rights and interests.
Exercising parental rights and discharging parental responsibilities shall be based on the respect for the child’s rights and his/her human dignity. Parental rights may not be exercised contrary to the interests of the child.
Avoiding discharging parental responsibilities constitutes the ground for bringing parents to responsibility prescribed by law:
- deprivation of parental rights (Article 164 of Family Code);
- removal of the child from parental custody without deprivation of parental rights (Article 170 of Family Code);
- civil or criminal prosecution.
