In Kyiv, a man asked to declare his wife legally incompetent due to her mental state: what the court decided

The Desniansky District Court of Kyiv city rejected a man's petition to have his wife declared legally incompetent and to be appointed as her guardian. The court stressed that the mere presence of a mental disorder is insufficient to declare an individual legally incompetent. The determining factor is confirmation that, due to a chronic, persistent mental disorder, the person is unable to comprehend the meaning of their actions and/or control them. In this particular case, the forensic psychiatric examination did not establish such circumstances.

Circumstances of the Case

The man petitioned the court to declare his wife legally incompetent, claiming her mental state had significantly deteriorated after her brother's death.

To substantiate his claims, the petitioner submitted medical documents indicating that the woman was under psychiatric supervision, had received inpatient treatment, and had several neurological and psychiatric diagnoses. Specifically, the documents noted organic brain damage, circulatory encephalopathy, anxiety-depressive disorder, mild cognitive decline, epilepsy, as well as episodes of memory loss and twilight states. The medical advisory commission's conclusion also stated that, due to frequent twilight states, the woman required external care.

After proceedings were initiated, the court appointed a defender for the woman through the free secondary legal aid system and ordered a forensic psychiatric examination to ascertain her mental state.

During the court hearing, the petitioner maintained his demands. Conversely, the woman's lawyer and the representative of the guardianship authority requested that the petition be denied.

Findings of the Examination

The decisive element in evaluating the claims was the conclusion of the forensic psychiatric examination conducted by the State Institution "Institute of Forensic Psychiatry of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine."

According to the expert's conclusion, the woman did not exhibit any significant impairments in attention, memory, or thinking. Therefore, the examination found no signs indicating the woman's inability to comprehend the meaning of her actions and/or control them.

The Court's Stance

The court, in case 754/18477/23, noted that, according to Article 39 of the Civil Code of Ukraine, a natural person can only be declared legally incompetent if two mandatory criteria are met: a chronic, persistent mental disorder and the inability, due to this disorder, to comprehend the meaning of their actions and/or control them.

The decision emphasised that the mere fact of having a mental disorder is not sufficient grounds to declare a person legally incompetent. It is necessary to establish that, due to such a disorder, the person lost the ability to comprehend the meaning of their actions or control them. These circumstances must be established by the court based on proper and admissible evidence, primarily the conclusion of the forensic psychiatric examination.

The court also referred to the legal position of the Supreme Court, according to which the conclusion of incompetence must be based on a body of evidence confirming the presence of a chronic, persistent mental disorder and the person's inability to comprehend the meaning of their actions or control them, not solely on the fact of a mental illness.

Decision

After evaluating the medical documents, the forensic psychiatric examination conclusion, and other evidence as a whole, the court concluded that they do not confirm the grounds provided by Article 39 of the Civil Code of Ukraine to declare the woman legally incompetent.

In light of this, the Desniansky District Court of Kyiv city denied the petition to declare her legally incompetent. As the request to appoint the petitioner as guardian was contingent on the request to declare the person legally incompetent, it was also denied.

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