Attorney says legislation will toughen child maintenance laws, safeguard protection:


Bahamas Information Services -





NASSAU, The Bahamas --- Attorney Kayla Greene said recently that the proposed (Family And) Child Protection Act, 2006, will provide the Department of Social Services with statutory powers to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and to mediate in circumstances where children’s rights are being infringed upon.

“This is a critical responsibility that is being placed on the Department of Social Services (but) it’s a duty that they have already assumed,” Ms. Greene said.

Examining sections of the proposed legislation that relate specifically to the Rights of the Child, Custody and Maintenance, Ms. Greene, an attorney in the Office of the Attorney General, said that Section 37 of the Act makes provisions for the Department of Social Services to institute proceedings for maintenance against any person who has responsibility for maintaining the child in the care of the Department.

“So if we have a child in the Children’s Home and they have a father or mother who has responsibility for their maintenance, the Department of Social Services can institute proceedings to enforce the maintenance order against that particular parents and this also relates to institutions such as Sandilands Rehabilitation Centre,” Ms. Greene said.
Section 22 of the Act gives the Court jurisdiction in all matters relating to custody to make an order for a parent not having custody of a child to make payment towards the child maintenance.

“So even if a mother doesn’t have custody or the father doesn’t have custody, the Court has jurisdiction to order either one of them to make payments towards the maintenance of the child.

Ms. Greene said that among other key matters addressed in the proposed legislation is the provision under Section 42 of the proposed Act which provides for a single woman to bring an application for maintenance within five years of the birth of her child, an increase of two years over the previous time-frame of three years.

She said that the five-year time-frame extends to six years in circumstances where the father is out of the jurisdiction.

Ms. Greene said another key component of the proposed legislation is Section 43 which provides Magistrates with the powers to prohibit a person from leaving the jurisdiction if adequate provisions have not been made for the maintenance of the child.

Section 43 of the proposed legislation is reinforced by Section 51 which requires that a person ordered to make maintenance payments by the Court, give notice of any change in address. Failure to do so will constitute an offence that is subjected to a fine not exceeding $2000.

“The Act also outlines some of the factors a Magistrate may consider in making an Order for Maintenance and these include the income, earning capacity, financial needs and the standard of living of the respondent, the age of the dependent and the respondent, the physical or mental disability of the dependent or respondent and of course the contribution by either party,” Ms. Greene said.

“And of course the Act, as is the case now, makes provisions for the committal of non-payment,” Ms. Greene added.

Ms. Greene said that “even in circumstances where a person has been committed for non-payment of maintenance, their committal will not discharge them from their obligations.

“So they will serve their time, but the order will still be in place in relation to maintenance,” Ms. Greene added.

Attorney Greene said that under Section 61 of the proposed Act, persons who receive maintenance payments, but misapplies those funds resulting in the neglect of a child, will be guilty of an offence that will be punishable by a fine of $5,000 and two years imprisonment upon conviction.

Ms. Greene said the laws of any society must be dynamic and “continuously evolving” to respond to the various issues and challenges facing that society, be it social or otherwise. She said it is precisely the social issues that this particular bill seeks to address in addition to meeting the country’s commitment to certain international principles having ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

“This Bill seeks to address issues of children’s rights, maintenance, custody and the various social issues while simultaneously helping The Bahamas to meet its international commitment under the Convention of the Rights of the Child,” Ms. Greene said.

“The public discussions are designed to hear the views of the citizens of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas and so to see, based on their response, whether there would be a need to revisit any of the provisions,” Ms. Greene added.

05/26/2006

bahamas