Judgment in case regarding declaration of death

  A person who is missing and may be feared dead may be declared deceased following an application by a relative. How close in time to a disappearance the question of a declaration of death may be considered depends, among other things, on the circumstances surrounding the disappearance. If it is established that the missing person is dead, the question regarding a declaration of death may be considered immediately. If it is not established that the person is dead, but there is a high degree of probability that this is the case, an application may be considered not earlier than one year following the disappearance. In other cases, the question regarding a declaration of death may be considered not earlier than five years following the disappearance. The Supreme Administrative Court had to rule on the conditions for a death declaration following the five-year period. The case concerned a man who had applied for a declaration of death regarding his father, who, according to the application, had travelled to Iraq in 2006 and had not been heard from since. The Supreme Administrative Court concluded that that the issue of a declaration of death following the five-year period can be tried if, considering the circumstances, it cannot be reasonably assumed that the person to whom the application relates is still alive. In order to avoid that declarations of death occur inaccurately, the assessment must be based, however, on a robust investigation. The applicant must therefore provide information regarding the disappearance and the personal circumstances of the relative at the time of the disappearance. All reasonable attempts to determine what has happened to the person must have been pursued and been fruitless. In the case, there was only sparse information regarding the disappearance and the disappeared person's personal circumstances. The investigation was therefore not sufficient in order for the question regarding a declaration of death to be considered.