Civil Status Ordinance (ZiV) - Civil Status Circle (ZIV)

1. The Canton of Appenzell I.Rh. constitutes a civil registry district with one civil registry office.

2. The official seat is located in Appenzell.

3. The civil registry office is responsible for all civil registry activities.

4. It operates at least one wedding venue in each of the two parts of the canton. The district of Oberegg provides it with an appropriate venue for this purpose at its own expense.

1. The Office of Civil Status Commission shall appoint at least one civil status officer and, if necessary, their deputies.

1. Official Language is German.

1. The civil registry office ensures the secure preservation of registers, records, and documents.

1. The supervisory authority over civil status matters is the Civil Registry Commission.

2. It ensures the execution of civil status matters and can issue implementing regulations in this regard.

1. The supervisory authority shall take the necessary measures for the inspection of the civil registry office.

2. The inspection report approved by the supervisory authority shall be disclosed to the civil registry office and forwarded to the federal authority.

1. The Civil Registry Office maintains the registers prescribed by the Federal Civil Status Ordinance.

1. For the notification of a birth, the designated official form must be used. This form is to be completed by the involved medical professional or the person assisting with the birth and promptly submitted to the civil registry office, or handed over to the person required to notify the civil registry office.

1. Any person who finds a child of unknown parentage must immediately notify the cantonal police. The police then inform the child and adult protection authority and other relevant authorities.

2. The child and adult protection authority shall take necessary measures for a found child of unknown parentage and assign it a family name and a first name. It shall notify the civil registry office in writing.

3. A child of unknown parentage shall receive the citizenship of the region in which it was found.

1. In cases of death, the attending or post-mortem summoned medical professional completes the official form for the death certificate and submits it to the civil registry office or hands it to the reporting person for delivery to the civil registry office.

2. For deaths occurring in the outer region of the country, the reporting person may submit the medical death certificate to the Oberegg district administration. The district administration forwards the certificate along with the death notification to the civil registry office.

1. The civil registry office issues the burial permit upon receipt of the medical certificate of death. This is subject to contrary orders from the investigative authorities.

2. The cantonal police are responsible for issuing an international corpse transport permit.

1. The civil registry office must submit the documents to the supervisory authority for review when it concerns the following matters or entries in the civil status registers

a) Name designation, provided foreign law is applicable to the name or could be applicable;

b) Child recognition, if the person acknowledging paternity or the child does not possess Swiss citizenship;

c) Marriage or registration of a partnership, if one of the engaged persons or one of the partners does not possess Swiss citizenship.

2. The supervisory authority may authorize civil registry office employees, who possess the necessary expertise, to carry out the examination of the documents in whole or in part themselves.

1. In addition to the notifications prescribed in specific provisions of the federal and cantonal law, the civil registry office is required to report

a) to the residents’ registration office all civil status events concerning individuals residing in the respective region of the country;

b) to the cantonal tax administration and the authority responsible for inheritance matters all deaths of individuals residing within the civil status district;

c) to the child and adult protection authority the death of a person under full guardianship.

1. The fees for services of the civil status office are determined in accordance with the Federal Ordinance on Fees in Civil Status Matters (CSFO).

1. The public prosecutor's office assesses violations of the reporting obligations stipulated in the Swiss Civil Status Ordinance, which are reported by the supervisory authority.

1. This regulation shall enter into force on 1 July 2024, subject to approval by the federal government.