Paternity and Lineage Establishment Lawsuit

Paternity and Lineage Establishment Lawsuit

Children’s entitlement to legal rights depends on the legitimacy of their lineage. Generally, legitimate children do not encounter difficulties in exercising legal rights, such as inheritance and financial support, and the presentation of a birth certificate typically confirms their legal parentage. However, complications may arise when the marital relationship of the parents has not been officially registered, when the relationship is unlawful, or when conception has occurred under mistaken circumstances. In such situations, proving lineage becomes legally challenging and requires filing a paternity and lineage establishment lawsuit. Therefore, understanding the legal requirements and the necessary evidence to establish parentage is essential.

Legal and Social Challenges of Lineage Establishment Claims

Meaning of Lineage Establishment

In a linguistic sense, lineage refers to ancestry and kinship. In legal terminology, lineage means the proof of a familial relationship between two individuals belonging to the same generation. Lineage may arise from a lawful marriage and be considered legitimate, or it may result from artificial insemination or uncertain circumstances requiring legal verification.

Competent Court for Hearing Lineage Establishment Claims

The competent authority for hearing lineage establishment claims is the Family Court. Judgments issued by the Family Court may be appealed before the Provincial Court of Appeal.

Establishing maternity is generally easier than establishing paternity because pregnancy and childbirth are biological facts that are difficult to dispute. Under Iranian law, a birth certificate must be obtained within fifteen days after the birth of a child. Additionally, the legal recognition of temporary marriages has created practical challenges in establishing paternity, although modern genetic testing can assist in proving lineage, despite the associated financial cost.

Article 1273 of the Iranian Civil Code provides that acknowledgment of lineage is valid if, first, the existence of such lineage is reasonably possible under customary and legal standards, and second, the person whose lineage is acknowledged confirms the acknowledgment, except in the case of a minor when no dispute exists.

In general, lineage establishment is examined under two primary circumstances:

• Establishment of Lineage During Marriage: Based on the legal presumption of legitimacy, a child born during marriage is presumed to belong to the husband, provided that at least six months and no more than ten months have elapsed between the date of marriage and the child’s birth. Under these conditions, the parentage of both the mother and father is legally recognized.
• Establishment of Lineage After Dissolution of Marriage: Under Iranian law, a child born after separation or divorce may still be attributed to the former husband if the mother has not remarried and if no more than ten months have passed between the dissolution of marriage and the child’s birth. If the mother remarries and the child is born after the second marriage, the child is attributed to the second husband if at least six months have passed since the second marriage and less than ten months have elapsed since the termination of the first marriage, unless evidence proves otherwise. If it is legally possible for the child to be attributed to both husbands, a forensic medical examination will determine parentage. According to Article 1160 of the Iranian Civil Code, if a marriage is dissolved after marital relations and the woman remarries, a child born thereafter will be attributed to the husband to whom attribution is legally possible. If attribution is legally possible to both husbands, the child will be attributed to the second husband unless conclusive evidence proves otherwise.

Methods of Proving Maternity

Maternity may be established through the following means:

• Birth certificate.
• Acknowledgment by the mother.
• Witness testimony.

Methods of Proving Paternity

Under the legal presumption of marital legitimacy, a child born during marriage is presumed to belong to the husband unless proven otherwise. In disputed cases, paternity may also be established through genetic testing and forensic medical evidence.

Frequently Asked Questions About Lineage Establishment Claims