Vastus pöördumisele

Saatja: Maarja Aavik </O=RIIGIKOHUS/OU=EXCHANGE ADMINISTRATIVE GROUP (FYDIBOHF23SPDLT)/CN=RECIPIENTS/CN=MAARJA LILLSAAR63B> Saaja: [email protected] Teema: Denial of paternity Dear Mr Sulitka, I am writing to answer to your question concerning denial of paternity. Firstly, according to Estonian law, a man, whose paternity has been established on the basis of the marriage to the mother of a child or who has acknowledged paternity, and the mother of a child and a child have the right to contest paternity. Within one year after the birth of a child, paternity may be contested also by a man who applies for establishment of his paternity instead of the man whose paternity has been ascertained arising from marriage to the mother of the child or who has acknowledged paternity. If more than a year has passed from the birth of a child, a man applying for establishment of his paternity may contest paternity of another man with the consent of the man, who has been entered in the population register as the father, and the mother of the child. In the absence of the consents specified in the previous sentence, a court may, with good reason and considering the interests of the child, grant permission to a man applying for establishment of paternity to contest the paternity of another man. In addition to that taking account of the significant interests of a child, the minister responsible for the area may contest paternity arising from acknowledgement if there is reasonable doubt that the child does not descend from the man who acknowledged paternity. Paternity may be contested in court within one year as of the date when the person entitled to contest paternity becomes aware of the circumstances which are the basis for contestation. But this term does not begin to run before the birth of a child or before entry into force of acknowledgement of paternity. If the legal representative of a minor child fails to contest paternity in due time, the child may contest filiation from his or her father in person as an adult. In this case the term begins to run from the date the child who has become an adult becomes aware of the circumstances which are the basis for contestation of paternity, but not before the child becomes an adult. If a man whose paternity has been established on the basis of marriage to the mother of the child and who has acknowledged paternity dies before the expiry of the term for the contestation of paternity, his successor may contest the paternity of the deceased man within one year as of the death of the man. The contestation of paternity is provided more precisely in the Family Law Act articles 91-95 (available in English: https://www.riigiteataja.ee/akt/121122016012). There are no regulations concerning “public order” in the contestation of paternity. In civil law definition “public order” is mentioned in the General Part of the Civil Code Act article 86(1) which enacts that a transaction which is contrary to good morals or public order is void (available in English: https://www.riigiteataja.ee/en/eli/528082015004/consolide). But the meaning of “public order” has not been defined. Yours sincerely Maarja Aavik Civil Law Analyst The Legal information department Supreme Court of Estonia Tel.: +372 730 9079 Email: [email protected]