DECLARING A NATURAL PERSON MISSING OR DEAD IN CIVIL PROCEEDINGS: NEW CHALLENGES IN THE CONDITIONS OF ARMED AGGRESSION IN UKRAINE

Abstract

The armed aggression against Ukraine has been started in 2014 when Crimea and part of Ukrainian territory were occupied. It led to the disappearance of number of people and the new notion of missing persons amid military conflict appeared in the legislation of Ukraine. The new law defines the concept of persons who have disappeared due to special circumstances and in connection with a military conflict. The difference between this institution is that the recognition of a missing person is primarily aimed at protecting these persons. The status of a missing person within military conflict provides a person with a number of guarantees in order to protect his/her rights and assist in the search for that person. However, today the implementation of this institute is incomplete. This study aimed to discover the gaps that prevent the full protection of the rights of missing persons and to optimize the activities of the authorities to protect this category of persons, based on the national legislation and case law. It was also discussed the Institution of the Commissioner for Missing Persons in Special Circumstances was introduced in April 2022, aimed to coordinate the authorities, law enforcement agencies on the search for missing persons.