Legislation governing the communication of grandparents with a child
The order of communication between a grandfather (grandmother) and grandchildren is regulated, first of all, by the Code of the Republic of Belarus on Marriage and Family. Thus, Article 78 of the Code of Civil Procedure directly establishes the right of grandparents to participate in the upbringing of their grandchildren.
Grandparents are close relatives for the child. Such a norm is also established by the marriage and family legislation of Belarus.
In addition, the procedure for the participation of close relatives in the upbringing of a child is regulated by the Law of the Republic of Belarus “On the Rights of the Child”. Judicial practice in relation to this type of legal relationship is regulated by the Decree of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Belarus “On the procedure for considering disputes related to the upbringing of children.”
General norms for communication between grandparents and grandchildren
The Belarusian legal system establishes the foundations of a comprehensive upbringing of a child, including upbringing by both parents and grandfather, grandmother and other close relatives. This means that grandparents have an inalienable right to communicate with the child and participate in his upbringing, as well as parents (adoptive parents, guardians).
From the above rule follows the obligation of parents (adoptive parents, trustees) to provide grandparents with the opportunity to communicate with their grandchildren. Moreover, in the performance of this duty, it does not matter whether the parents of the child are married or not, live together or separately.
Thus, parents do not have the right to forbid grandparents, as well as other close relatives, to communicate with the child. If such behavior on the part of the parents (one of the parents) is present, then the dispute can be resolved in court.
The order of departure of the child abroad with grandparents
A child can travel outside the Republic of Belarus with his grandparents only with the consent of both parents. This means that both mother and father must appear at the notary’s office for certification of consent for the child to leave the country with his grandparents.
The notary draws up such consent in accordance with the law, indicating in the text of the document that the mother and father do not object to the export of the child abroad by the grandparents or other relatives. Such consent can be issued both for a certain time (for example, for a year, for two, three years or for any other period), and until the child reaches the age of majority.
For certification by a notary of such consent, it is necessary to pay a notary fee in the amount of 0.5 of the base value. To date, this amount is equal to 16 Belarusian rubles.
To obtain consent, parents must personally appear before the notary, providing:
– passports;
– birth certificate of the child.
If the parent’s passport is marked by the civil registry office on the birth of the child (stamp), then the child’s birth certificate may not be needed.
Documents provided to border guards when crossing the border
When leaving the Republic of Belarus with a child, a grandparent must provide the border guard with the following documents:
– their passports;
– child’s passport;
– notarized consent of both parents to the child’s departure abroad.
If for objective reasons there is no document on the consent of the father (mother), then the grandmother or grandfather is obliged to provide documents explaining the impossibility of obtaining such consent (for example, in the event of the death of the father (mother), this is the original or a notarized copy of the death certificate).
