Mirveta ISUFI against Serbia

The European Court of Human Rights (hereinafter: the Court) is31. made on March 2026, and on May 7, 2026, announced the decision in the caseIsufi against Serbia, number 32903/22.

It's a decisionbroughtthree-member Board.

THE CIRCUMSTANCES CASES

The minor applicant, Mirveta Isufi, was born as Mirveta Ramadani in the maternity ward of the Health Center in Vranje on March 3, 2022, to Međida Ramadani, born in Pristina on September 4, 2003.

The applicant's mother, Medžida Ramadani, is not registered in the birth register of the Republic of Serbia, nor does she have any identification document issued by the competent authorities of the Republic of Serbia, because she was born in a health facility on the territory of the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija (AP KiM) that is not determined by the Plan of networks of health facilities, i.e. she was born in a health facility that functions outside the health system of the Republic of Serbia. The applicant's mother is registered in the birth register and is a citizen of the so-called Republic of Kosovo.

Since the applicant was not entered in the registry of births of the Republic of Serbia immediately after birth, her mother submitted a request to the City Administration of the City of Vranje on March 10, 2022, in which she requested that she be allowed to make a statement regarding the determination of the child's personal name as soon as possible, and that the child's name be entered in the registry of births as soon as possible.

The City Administration of the City of Vranje - Department for General Administration - Department for Civil Conditions, by letter number 03-11-200-99/2022 dated March 11, 2022, informed the applicant's mother of the following: that the Instruction for handling cases of the birth of a child whose parents do not have personal documents in order to enable registration in the birth register prescribes the entire procedure for both the mother and the child in the birth register; that it is first necessary for the competent organizational unit of the Ministry of the Interior to determine her identity, after which a request must be submitted for the subsequent registration of the birth fact of Mejida Ramadani in the registry book born in the native area of ​​Pristina; as well as that after entering the fact of birth of the mother, Medžida Ramadani, it is necessary to take out an identity card, after which a statement can be made about the personal name of the child. Until the moment of submitting the application, the applicant's mother did not submit any legal remedy in connection with the aforementioned letter from the City Administration of the City of Vranje.

However, the applicant's mother, a few months before she gave birth to the applicant, submitted a request for subsequent registration of the fact of her birth in the register of births to the City Administration of the City of Niš. Namely, the City Administration for City Bodies and Civil Affairs of the City of Niš, by decision No. 200-1349/2021-08 of October 8, 2021, rejected the request in question as unfounded and in its explanation instructed the applicant's mother that, in accordance with the provisions of the Law on Non-Litigation Procedure ("Official Gazette of the SRS", no. 25/82 and 45/88 and "Official Gazette of the RS", no. 46/95 - second law, 18/05 - second law, 85/12, 45/13 - second law, 55/14, 6/15, 106/15 - second law and 14/22), submit a proposal to the competent court to determine the time and place of his birth. Until the moment of submitting the application, the applicant's mother, Međida Ramadani, had not filed any legal remedy in connection with the aforementioned letter from the City Administration of the City of Niš.

Also, the applicant's mother submitted a proposal to the Basic Court in Bujanovac to determine the time and place of her birth. The basic court in Bujanovac decided R2. 36/21 of February 4, 2022, rejected her proposal as unfounded, because he took the position that the fact of her birth is not in dispute, given that she was registered in the so-called birth register. of the Republic of Kosovo, so the non-litigation court cannot establish a known fact. This legal understanding of the first-instance court is in agreement with the Conclusion of the Civil Division of the Supreme Court of July 3, 2020, in which it is explicitly stated that persons who are registered in the birth registers of the so-called The Republic of Kosovo cannot ask a non-litigation court to determine the fact of their time and place of birth. He supported the legal position of the first instance court The higher court in Vranje rejected the appeal of the applicant's mother against the first-instance decision with its decision Gž.642/22 of March 10, 2022.

Dissatisfied with the decision of the regular courts, the applicant's mother filed a constitutional appeal with the Constitutional Court against the decision of the High Court in Vranje, Mrs. 642/22 of March 10, 2022, complaining about the alleged violation of a number of principles established by the Constitution and guaranteed rights, including the principle of prohibition of discrimination from Article 21, the right to a fair trial from Article 32, paragraph 1, the right to legal personality from Article 37, the right to be entered in the birth register from Article 64, paragraph 2 of the Constitution, etc.

On September 21, 2022, in accordance with Article 344 paragraph 4 and Article 345 paragraph 3 of the Family Law, the Center for Social Work in Bujanovac determined the applicant's first and last name, given that the parents had not done so before. On December 21, 2023, the Constitutional Court rejected her constitutional appeal.

On February 1, 2023, based on the Law on Non-litigation Procedure, the court ordered that the birth of the applicant's mother be entered in the birth register, and on May 15, 2023, she was issued an identity card of the Republic of Serbia. The applicant's father acknowledged paternity on May 22, 2023, and this statement was confirmed by the applicant's mother.

On May 24, 2023, the applicant was informed of her unique citizen registration number (hereinafter: JMBG), and on January 22 of the following year, she was issued a birth certificate, with all relevant information, including the fact that she is a citizen of the Republic of Serbia. On February 20, 2024, the applicant's mother was retroactively paid the child allowance to which she was entitled in the amount of approximately 2,601 euros in dinar equivalents.

COMPLAINTS APPLICANTS AND THE PROCEDURE BEFORE THE COURT

The applicant submitted the petition to the Court through her mother on June 28, 2022.

He complained in the petitiona to the violation of the right to respect for private and family life from Article 8 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (hereinafter: the Convention) due to the fact that the state did not fulfill the positive obligation to enable her to be entered in the birth register immediately after birth, denying her the right to confirm her identity and personal status in an unquestionable way, and at the same time she was denied the possibility of establishing a legal relationship with her parents.

Also, the applicant complained about the violation of Article 14 in connection with Article 8 of the Convention, considering that she was placed in an unequal position in relation to other children whose mothers have personal documents and who were not denied registration in the birth register, taking into account that she and her family are Roma, who are almost exclusively affected by the problem of not having personal documents in the Republic of Serbia.

They submitted written comments in the proceedings before the CourtAIRE Centre and the European Statelessness Network, which were authorized by the President of the Department to intervene.

THE DECISION THE COURT

The court noted: that the hospital in Vranje submitted a request for registration of the applicant's birth to the competent authorities on March 4, 2022, that is, one day after her birth; that the Center for Social Work in Bujanovac determined the name and surname of the applicant on September 21, 2022, and that eight months later, on May 24, 2023.,the applicant was awarded JMBG; that the applicant's extract from the registers dated January 22, 2024 confirmed all relevant data, including that she is a citizen of the Republic of Serbia.

Also, the Court noted: that the applicant and her mother had the right to health insurance in the Republic of Serbia throughout that period; that on May 25, 2023, the hospital in Bujanovac opened the applicant's official "health record"; that the hospital in Vranje previously provided the applicant's mother with all the necessary care related to pregnancy and childbirth; that the applicant's mother was retroactively paid child allowance.

The court assessed that the circumstances of this case are different compared to the caseG.T.B.against Spain (number 3041/19, dated November 16, 2023) bearing in mind that in that case the applicant was entered in the birth register when he was 21 years old, and the registration process itself lasted nine years, that there were problems in the submission of documents by the applicant's mother, as well as that the applicant in that case had psychological problems and faced difficulties in education and employment because he was not entered in the birth register.

Considering the specific circumstances of the applicant's case, the Court took the view that the duration of the applicant's birth registration procedure of 15 months is not excessive.

Consequently, the Court decided to delete the application from its list of cases in accordance with Article 37, paragraph 1, point c) of the Convention, considering that it is not justified to continue its consideration.