Legal Mechanism for Protecting Parental Rights When Minor Children Leave the Republic of Tajikistan: Legislative Gaps and Ways to Address Them

The purpose of this work is to identify legal gaps in the legislation of the Republic of Tajikistan regarding the mechanism for protecting parental rights when minor children leave the country, and to develop proposals for improving the legislation. The study employs the method of comparative law, the formal legal method, the method of systematic analysis, and the method of document study. Based on a specific case from the advocate’s practice, the article examines a situation where a father who issued notarial consent for his children’s exit during the existence of marital relations and joint family residence is deprived of the legal ability to protect his parental rights after divorce and removal of the children by their mother to a third country without his knowledge. The requirements of Part 3 of Article 252 of the Civil Code of the Republic of Tajikistan on the need for parental consent for a minor’s exit are analyzed, and the absence of a legal mechanism for implementing this norm when circumstances change is identified. A comparative analysis of the legislation of CIS member states reveals a diversity of approaches: from an administrative mechanism for protecting parental rights through declarations of non-consent (Russian Federation) to predominantly judicial resolution of disputes (Republic of Kazakhstan, Republic of Belarus, Kyrgyz Republic). The significance of the work lies in the formulation of specific proposals for improving the legislation of the Republic of Tajikistan, including the introduction of an administrative mechanism for declaring non-consent and the utilization of existing information systems to record restrictions on departure.