The problem of registration of persons without a place of residence

Analysis

According to the legislation, "the purpose of registration based on the place of residence and location is to create the necessary conditions for the registration of persons living in the Republic of Azerbaijan, the performance of their duties before other persons, the state, and society, and the realization of their rights and freedoms."

Such rights and freedoms can include social protection, pension provision, conscription, execution of court decisions, etc.

Registration of individuals in Azerbaijan is regulated by the Law on Registration by Place of Residence and Location. According to the law, all persons living in the country must be registered. The concepts of registration of a person by place of residence and by location are distinguished in the document, and these two procedures are different from each other.

Registration by place of residence is carried out for the first time when an identity card is issued, and then when a person changes his place of residence.

During this process, in addition to the documents specified for registration, a document that provides the basis for moving to the residential area is also required.

In other words, the presence of a suitable place of residence and a document giving the person the right to move to that place of residence is necessary for registration at the place of residence.

When a person subsequently changes his place of residence, a document that provides the basis for moving to the place of residence is considered one of the important requirements for registration at the new place of residence.

These documents include an extract from the state register of real estate on the state registration of ownership rights, a warrant, a lease or rental agreement, another document provided for in the legislation, or an application by a person who provides a residential area to a citizen.

By the way, according to the Civil Code of AR, a person can have several places of residence.

The order of registration by location is slightly different. A person is temporarily registered by location, and this registration is carried out without deregistration at his place of residence. The legislation stipulates temporary residence for more than 60 days outside the place of residence as a prerequisite for registration by location. When a citizen leaves this place, he/she is deregistered.

But how should the registration of citizens without a place of residence, which is considered a basis to be registered, be conducted? Moreover, can such people's unregistered status prevent them from exercising their human and civil rights and freedoms?

This issue is clarified in the Resolution of the Plenum of the Constitutional Court dated January 31, 2003, on the interpretation of the provisions of Article 5 of the Law on Registration by Place of Residence and Location and Identity Card Description approved by the Law on Approval of the Sample Identity Card of a Citizen of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

In that Resolution, it is stated that Article 5 of the Law on Registration by Place of Residence and Location provides for registration of citizens whose residence is known.

The presence of the "place of residence" section among the information about a citizen in the text of the Law on Registration by Place of Residence and Location, including the text of Article 5 thereof, as well as the Identity Card Description approved by the Law on Approval of the Sample Identity Card of a Citizen of the Republic of Azerbaijan, cannot be a reason for not issuing an identity card to a citizen without a place of residence.

Furthermore, in the Resolution, the Cabinet of Ministers is recommended to organize the registration of citizens without a place of residence in special places and the issuance of an ID card of a citizen of the Republic of Azerbaijan to them without delay.

After this Resolution of the Constitutional Court, citizens without a place of residence in Azerbaijan began to be temporarily registered in the administrative buildings of the police.

In Order No. 55s adopted by the Cabinet of Ministers on April 9, 2003, in order to ensure the implementation of Paragraph 3 of the Resolution of the Constitutional Court, the following provision was made: "The proposal of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan agreed with the Ministry of Justice to register citizens of the Republic of Azerbaijan who do not have a place of residence at the address of the relevant body of the Ministry of Internal Affairs that issues an ID card and to conventionally indicate that address in the "place of residence" section of the ID card when personalizing an ID card to them shall be accepted."

The Order entered into force on the day of its signing.

However, the process of registration of persons without a place of residence in the administrative buildings of the police has been stopped recently, and mass deregistration of persons registered there has also started.

The spokesman of the Ministry of Internal Affairs explained this by the fact that the mass registration of persons in police departments leads to abuses and sometimes complicates the process of searching and finding the necessary persons, if necessary.

"One of the reasons that make this legal procedure necessary is the difficulty of finding those persons when inquiries are received from other state institutions about the persons registered in administrative buildings regarding military mobilization, social benefits, compulsory insurance, marriage, divorce, and other issues."

First of all, the deregistration of persons without a place of residence from the police administrative building is contrary to the Order of the Cabinet of Ministers dated April 9, 2003, No. 55c. This document is currently in effect and has not been revoked.

According to the Decree of the President No. 493 dated June 14, 1996, on the implementation of the Law on Registration by Place of Residence and Location, registration of persons by place of residence is carried out by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan (passport-registration institutions).

According to the Regulation on the implementation of the Law on Registration by Place of Residence and Location, approved by the Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan dated December 8, 1999, citizens of the Republic of Azerbaijan, foreigners, and stateless persons are obliged to be registered by place of residence and location.

Thus, denying a person a citizenship card due to non-registration because of not having a place of residence is illegal and should be regarded as a limitation of the right to citizenship and other constitutional rights arising from it.

The Law on Identity  Card of a Citizen of the Republic of Azerbaijan does not specify any grounds for refusing to issue an ID card to a citizen.

The Cabinet of Ministers should develop and implement other effective examples of registration of citizens without a place of residence in special places in accordance with the Resolution of the Constitutional Court dated 2003 in the context of suspension of registration in police administrative buildings and deregistration of such persons.

In the Decree of June 14, 1996, on the implementation of the Law, the Cabinet of Ministers was instructed to resolve other issues arising from the requirements of the Law on Registration by Place of Residence and Location within its powers.

There are other examples of this as well. For example, according to the Regulation on the implementation of the Law on Registration by Place of Residence and Location, persons who have received refugee status without a place of residence are registered at the location of detention centers for illegal migrants until they get a place of residence.

In the said Resolution of the Constitutional Court, the experience of the former post-Soviet countries regarding the registration of persons without a place of residence was also cited as an example. In Ukraine and Belarus, which faced the same problem, regional Registration Centers for homeless persons were established to solve this issue.

Thus, the conclusion is that the legislation directs the registration of the place of residence not to the restriction of human rights and freedoms, but to their realization.

As stated in the above-mentioned Resolution of the Constitutional Court, "The requirement of the law to register all persons living in the Republic of Azerbaijan, to perform their duties before other persons, the state, and society must be fulfilled. The executive authorities of the Republic of Azerbaijan should organize the registration of citizens without a place of residence."

Let's remind here that Article 563 of the Code of Administrative Offenses not only provides for warnings and fines against citizens for violation of the legislation on registration by place of residence and location (Article 563.1) but also provides for fines against officials creating artificial obstacles to registration (Article 563.2).