Laws Protecting Children’s Rights to Be Updated

By Angelos Anastasiou
Cyprus Mail
January 31, 2017

http://cyprus-mail.com/2017/01/31/laws-protecting-childrens-rights-updated/


Laws covering domestic violence, sexual abuse, and the exploitation of children are set to be modernised, Justice Minister Ionas Nicolaou said on Tuesday announcing the modernisation of family law.

He said the improvements seek to bring it up to speed with societal views and values, aiming to address issues testing social cohesion and the institution of family. The main goal, he said, is the protection of children’s rights in relation to incidents of sexual violence, improvement in relations between parents and their children, and the availability of expert advice.

The comprehensive set of proposals, which Nicolaou said were submitted by two teams of experts – academics and professionals – will be put to a public consultation.

“Our guiding principle will be safeguarding the interests of children,” he said.

“The child-centric character of family law must be preserved preciously, and the justice ministry is and will remain the custodian of this.”

One recommendation by the experts was a constitutional amendment to provisions granting control of marriage-related issues to the Greek-Orthodox church – or other churches.

Another proposal was the introduction of stricter criteria for judges appointed to family courts, including rewarding candidates with training in psychology, sociology and pedagogical issues.

The expansion of family courts’ jurisdiction to include property disputes between parents, without requiring that either reside in Cyprus, and to hear child-support or custody cases when either parent lives abroad, was also recommended.

With regard to the discretionary power of family court judges, Nicolaou presented proposals that would allow them to appoint a psychologist, or other specialised scientist, to assist the court determine a child’s best interest, and provide counsel or support to the child, even without the parents’ consent.

Further proposed actions designed to streamline procedures and ensure justice is served best included making the out-of-court mediation process mandatory before hearing any case, and instating a child’s right to be heard not only in custody hearings but in a broader range of cases.

Recommendations in favour of introducing divorce by mutual consent and reducing the minimum separation time between spouses that legitimises divorce from four years to two or three.

Nicolaou said that, per the experts’ recommendations, courts should evaluate children’s best interest prior to any ruling, children’s right to not be separated from their parents against their will should be reinforced, and the custody schedule should be drafted in detail and annexed to the court ruling, so that implementation becomes legally binding to both parents.