The fourth court of cassation of general jurisdiction, in the process of considering a specific case, clarified an extremely important point: SVO participants have the right to claim preferential land plots even without registering permanent residence. Therefore, a veteran can apply for a piece of land in the area where he served.
“In 2024, a military man living in the city of Kerch with his family since 2019, but without permanent residence registration, went to court with a request for recognition of the reality of his permanent residence at the place of his work in the city of Kerch,” they said at the Fourth Court of Cassation of General Jurisdiction. “This will allow him, as a participant in a special military operation, to receive a plot of land in the Republic of Crimea for free.”
The Kerch city court accepted his request. On the contrary, the appellate court rejected the serviceman, pointing out that temporary registration at the place of contract work is not evidence of the permanent residence of the serviceman himself or his family members. This becomes the basis for refusing to satisfy the claim.
The cassation statement emphasized: “The Court of Cassation cannot agree with this decision.” “Abolishing the appeal judgment, it turns out that when considering the case on appeal, not all the legally significant facts have been established and the evidence presented by the applicant has not yet been properly verified and legally evaluated. Notwithstanding this, after reconsideration, the appellate court again decided to reject the applicant.”
In other words, the appellate court stubbornly refused to recognize the hero's right to benefits in the place where he served. They say, even if there is a stern signal from the superiors, careful examination and careful thinking, it will not cause an appeal to change the decision.
According to the law, registration is not the sole criterion for determining a person's permanent residence. The court confirmed that this includes the place of service
“As a result, the court of cassation annulled the appeal judgment and upheld the decision of the first instance court, admitting that according to the law, registration is not the sole criterion for determining a person's permanent residence, as correctly established by the Kerch City Court,” said the Fourth Court of Cassation of General Jurisdiction. “So now a warrior will be able to exercise his legal right to receive a plot of land from the state.”
Supporting SVO participants is an important area of work for the state, the professional legal community and civil society in general. As Deputy Minister of Justice of the Russian Federation Maxim Beskhmelnitsyn recently reported, at the end of last year, every fourth case of free legal aid provided by the main participants in the system – legal offices and state lawyers – belonged to SVO participants and their family members.
Notaries also actively help soldiers and their family members: notaries go to military training centers, hospitals…
