The civil registry records different facts and actions linked to citizens.
The state institution that provides evidence of various events and actions linked to the civil status of individuals is known as the civil registry . Marriages , births , deaths , emancipations and even the names and surnames of human beings are registered by these entities that, generally, are in charge of managing various personal documents.
The basis for the existence of civil registries is the State 's need to have reliable information about citizens, which makes it possible to carry out social protection and assistance tasks and develop policies based on the use of information. statistics that emanate from it.
The civil registry and rights
Therefore, when a person is born, it is mandatory to register his or her birth in the civil registry, which will issue an identity document to the newborn. There will be your first and last name, date of birth, nationality and other information. This registration in the civil registry implies the State's recognition of the person who has just been born: it can be said that an individual without documents does not exist for the State, which is why he or she is outside the system and cannot access public services such as education. and health.
By registering a marriage or a divorce in the civil registry, on the other hand, the rights of the members of the couple are protected. The registration of deaths, on the other hand, makes it possible to exercise the right of succession .
Births must be recorded in the civil registry.
Its importance for citizens
The civil registry, in short, is an institution of great importance for citizens since, through its actions and the documents it issues, it is possible to exercise an enormous number of rights. In other words, it is clear that the presence of the civil registry and its performance offer benefits to both the State and citizens, since greater and more reliable control can only be negative for those who wish to evade their obligations.
Other issues that are relevant to the civil registry are the protection of large families and the electoral census , two points for which modern states show great interest in the existence of a registry of their inhabitants. Let us not forget that participation in elections is mandatory in many countries, which is why it is essential to keep exhaustive control of the actions of each citizen , and that large families usually have special benefits, such as discounts and greater opportunities to get a home. .
Origins of civil registration
Regarding the origins of the civil registry , its most remote historical antecedents are found in the censuses that were carried out in some Eastern civilizations . On the other hand, in the Roman Empire , around the 6th century BC. C. , they began to collect census data in the reign of Servius Tullius . Already in the second century , the rules of filiation were born and the registration of newborns became mandatory.
Later, in the Middle Ages , Catholicism experienced its rise and expanded, which gave the Catholic Church the power to control marriage and baptism; In the latter case, there was also a consignment issued specifically for registration. The oldest evidence of inscriptions in parish books dates to the 14th century in central Italy (the regions of Lazio , Tuscany , Marche , Umbria , Molise and Abruzzo ) and France .
Also in France , but in 1787 , Louis XVI allowed free worship along with the creation of a civil registry in which the birth, marriage and death of its inhabitants had to be recorded before representatives of royal justice . A century later, many more countries adopted the civil registry, although in some cases its evolution was gradual and it began as an institution exclusive to medium and large cities.