Tajikistan: Whether a Tajik citizen located abroad can be granted a divorce from his or her spouse by the courts in Tajikistan; if so, whether this process can be initiated by power of attorney; whether divorce court proceedings are available (February 2006)
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Ottawa |
| Publication Date | 9 March 2006 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | TJK101065.E |
| Reference | 2 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Tajikistan: Whether a Tajik citizen located abroad can be granted a divorce from his or her spouse by the courts in Tajikistan; if so, whether this process can be initiated by power of attorney; whether divorce court proceedings are available (February 2006) , 9 March 2006, TJK101065.E , available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/45f147ad14.html [accessed 22 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
A staff attorney of the Central European and Eurasian Law Initiative (CEELI) in Tajikistan, a "public service project of the American Bar Association (ABA) [which] advances the rule of law by supporting the law reform process" (CEELI n.d.), wrote in correspondence to the Research Directorate that a Tajik citizen located abroad may be granted a divorce from his or her spouse by the courts in Tajikistan (CEELI 15 Feb. 2006). In this case, the Tajik citizen located abroad must have a power of attorney in the name of a relative or friend notarized, and following this, the person empowered to act in place of the absent Tajik citizen appears with a plaintiff's initiative for marriage annulment at the Tajikistan courts (ibid.).
A Tajikistan-based legal officer of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the leading international organization focusing on migration issues (IOM n.d.), corroborated this information in correspondence to the Research Directorate and explained that a Tajik citizen may divorce his or her spouse while located abroad by submitting his or her statement of interests to the Tajikistan court using a power of attorney, (in the name of a relative or friend) which has been legalized at an Embassy of Tajikistan abroad (ibid. 2 Feb. 2006). The IOM legal officer also stated that the plaintiff, defendant and legal representation may access records of court proceedings, which are stored in the court archives (ibid. 7 Feb. 2006).
If the court issues a decision to annul a marriage, the person empowered to act for the absent Tajik citizen submits the court decision to Zapis' Actov Grazhdanskogo Sostoyaniya (Record of Civil Status Acts) (CEELI 15 Feb. 2006), which then issues a certificate of marriage annulment (ibid.; IOM 7 Feb. 2006).
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
References
Central European and Eurasian Law Initiative (CEELI). 15 February 2006. Correspondence from staff attorney. International Organization for Migration (IOM). 7 February 2006. Correspondence from legal officer. Additional Sources Consulted
Oral Sources, including: Embassy of Tajikistan in the United States.
Internet sources, including: AsiaPlus [Dushanbe, Tajikistan], Avesta [Dushanbe, Tajikistan], Embassy of Tajikistan in Austria, Embassy of Tajikistan in the United States, EurasiaNet, European Country of Origin Network (ECOI), Factiva, Global Legal Information Network, Legislationline, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
_____. N.d. "CEELI Promoting the Rule of Law: Mission."
_____. 2 February 2006. Correspondence from legal officer.
_____. N.d. "Mission Statement."
