The Concept and Essence of Registration Procedures in Civil Registry Offices: A Theoretical and Legal Analysis

The article examines the concept and essence of registration procedures carried out by civil registry offices (“ZAGS”). The relevance of the topic stems from the absence of a legal definition of registration procedures in the relevant federal legislation and the fragmentary nature of their doctrinal interpretation. The study aimed to formulate the author’s definition of a registration procedure and at revealing its essence through a system of features, based on the analysis of three main theoretical approaches (procedural-activity, functional-technological, and institutional-regime approaches). The methodological basis includes formal-legal, comparative-legal, and systemic methods, as well as a case study analysis. The scientific novelty lies in the comprehensive synthesis of various doctrinal approaches to understanding registration procedures and in the development of the author’s definition, which takes into account both technological and human rights protection components. The article identifies four key characteristics of ZAGS registration procedures: their imperative nature, procedural form, law-making result, and their public-law nature. A classification of registration procedures by the object of registration and other criteria is proposed. It is concluded that the registration procedure of a civil registry office represents a complex administrative-legal institution that combines a normatively established authoritative sequence of actions, a technology for implementing state functions, and a mechanism for legitimizing an individual’s legal status.