Article 45. Declaring the Citizen as Dead

1. The citizen may be declared by the court as dead, if at the place of his residence there has been no information on the place of his stay in the course of five years, and in case he has disappeared under the life-hazardous circumstances, or under such circumstances as give the ground for supposing that he might have perished as a result of a definite accident - if he has been missing in the course of six months.

2. The serviceman or the other citizen, who has been missing in connection with military operations, shall not be declared by the court as dead until the expiry of two years from the date of the cessation of the military operations.

3. The date of the departure of the citizen, who has been declared as dead, shall be the date of the coming into force of the court decision on declaring him as dead. In the case of declaring as dead the citizen, who has disappeared under the life-hazardous circumstances or under such circumstances as give the ground to suppose that he might have perished as a result of a definite accident, the court may recognize the day of this citizen's supposed perish as the date of his death.