A Polish woman whose former husband was listed as father on her deceased child’s certificate takes case to Constitutional Court, challenging legal presumption.
Legal Dispute Over Paternity
A woman filed a complaint with Poland’s Constitutional Court after her former husband was listed as the father on her deceased child’s death certificate, despite having no relationship with him at the time of conception. The woman was pregnant with another man’s child when she divorced her husband, and later lost the baby in a traffic accident.
The listing occurred due to Article 62, Paragraph 1 of the Family and Guardianship Code, which presumes that a child born during marriage or within 300 days of its dissolution is the husband’s child.
Court Rulings
Both lower courts dismissed the woman’s lawsuit to deny paternity as “obviously unfounded.” They cited Article 70[1], Paragraph 1 of the Family and Guardianship Code, which states that challenges to paternity are not permissible after a child’s death, unless the child died after the proceedings began.
The courts argued that a person’s civil status should be determined during their lifetime, as birth and death are the two legal events that define a person’s legal existence under civil law.
Constitutional Arguments
The complainant argues that Article 70[1] of the Family and Guardianship Code violates several constitutional rights, including Article 47, which guarantees everyone the right to protection of private and family life, reputation and good name, and the right to decide on personal life.
She also claims the provision may be inconsistent with Article 18 of the Constitution, which states that “marriage as a union of a woman and a man, family, motherhood and fatherhood shall be under the protection and care of the Republic of Poland.”
Child’s Right to Biological Truth
The woman’s petition to the Constitutional Court emphasizes that the Constitution guarantees a child’s right to establish their biological origin in accordance with reality, which is a fundamental human right tied to the principle of human dignity.
She points out that false information was entered into her deceased daughter’s civil status record, as her biological father is not listed. The petition cites Constitutional Court precedent stating that no state interest can justify maintaining false information in official documents.
European Court of Human Rights Precedent
The woman also invoked rulings from the European Court of Human Rights, indicating that “a situation where a legal presumption prevails over biological or legal reality, regardless of established facts and the wishes of the interested parties, is incompatible with the obligation to provide effective protection for private and family life.”
This reference comes from a 2005 ECHR ruling in the case of Znamenskaya v. Russia (case no. 77785/01).