The rights of minors living in the municipality of Comrat, who need a determination of guardianship and custody are violated, because of the improper application of the legislation in the field of guardianship and custody in relation to minors and other categories of protected persons.

According to the conclusions of the specialists from the Association "Comrat Legal Clinic", the problem is the substitution of the statutory local guardianship authority (mayor) with another one, which does not have the authority and competence in this field (the Municipal Council). As a result of the analysis of the situation, it was found that the mayor has not only withdrawn from performing his duties and responsibilities in the field of guardianship, but is also implementing the illegal practice of transferring his functions, as a local guardianship authority, to the Local Council.

Thus, minors and other categories of protected persons are misled regarding the decisions made regarding them, which entail significant legal consequences (for example, the conclusion of contracts of alienation of immovable property, registration of inheritance rights, conclusion of transactions of disposal). As a result, actions and acts taken on the basis of decisions of an incompetent authority, in addition to being a guardianship body, are potentially void from a legal point of view, which entails their invalidity or inapplicability.

Also, because of the substitution of competencies in the field of guardianship and trusteeship in the territory of Comrat municipality, situations occur where the Municipal Council clearly refuses to take guardianship measures in respect of protected persons. At the same time, according to the law, when the competent local guardianship authority, represented by the mayor, examines such issues, it is impossible in principle to refuse to establish guardianship measures.

An additional negative aspect of this situation is the length of time it takes to review and decide on custody matters. As a rule, such cases require prompt response and resolution, and meetings of the Municipal Council, which substitutes for the mayor in establishing guardianship measures, are held with a certain periodicity, not regularly (in practice, no more than once a month).

According to the lawyer of the organization - Baurculu N., "The beneficiaries who have applied to the Comrat Legal Clinic on such issues have noted that the examination of cases related to the appointment of guardianship is greatly delayed, which sometimes has an extremely negative impact on the immediate intervention in order to protect the rights of minors (for example: taking children outside the country, representing them in educational institutions, registering their rights as heirs, etc.)".

Such practices violate the rights of citizens, create conditions for social conflicts, create obstacles for citizens applying for guardianship and custody services, creating situations of so-called hidden problems, which potentially, with a very high degree of probability, will manifest themselves in the near or foreseeable future.

"Through strategic litigation, that is, by solving our beneficiary's case, we hope to change the practice of applying this legislation and eradicate this problem," emphasized a lawyer acting for the Comrat Legal Clinic public association on behalf of one of the beneficiaries.

This information was prepared within the project "Protection of rights of vulnerable and marginalized persons living on the territory of ATU Gagauzia". The project is implemented by the public association "Legal Clinic Comrat", as a beneficiary organization of the project "Increasing efficiency and access to justice in Moldova", implemented by UNDP in Moldova in partnership with the Institute for Criminal Reform with financial support from Sweden.