Modernizing Family Law in Cyprus: A Leap Forward for Children’s Welfare
The Cypriot Parliament’s Legal Committee has commenced discussions on a transformative package of four bills aimed at overhauling Family Law in the country. These bills, which have been in the pipeline since 2018, represent half of a larger legislative effort to modernize Family Law, an initiative that began under the stewardship of former Minister Ionas Nicolaou.
Justice Minister Marios Hartsiotis communicated to the Parliament that these bills have been refined with input from a variety of stakeholders, incorporating suggestions and observations that emerged from extensive consultations. This collaborative approach also includes the integration of recommendations from the relevant parliamentary committee.
The first of these bills introduces a requirement for parents to provide a sworn statement of their assets and income in court, ensuring a fair assessment for child support calculations. This bill also includes a provision that allows for the consideration of a parent’s inability to provide support due to child care responsibilities during the marriage.
The second bill places a strong emphasis on the protection and welfare of children, introducing several key measures:
- Modification of provisions regarding the child’s surname to ensure equal treatment of parents, resulting in a double surname for the child.
- An obligation for authorities to take into account the child’s opinion and any history of violence during proceedings.
- Allowing one parent to request expert monitoring of the child in cases of abuse without the other parent’s consent.
- Enabling Social Welfare Services to oversee parental custody decisions and investigate custody-related circumstances.
- Mandating educational or counselling programmes for parents when beneficial for parent-child relationships.
- Introducing supervised communication orders and potential assignment of child care to Social Welfare Services in extreme cases.
The third bill addresses succession in assisted reproduction scenarios, while the fourth deals with paternity evidence and recognition in cases of medically assisted reproduction.
Strong Reservations
Despite these progressive steps, the Cyprus Bar Association has voiced concerns over certain aspects of the bills and questioned the capacity of Social Services to adhere to proposed timelines due to staffing constraints. Valentinos Pierides, representing the Association of Divorced Fathers, highlighted the removal of shared parental custody from the initial draft and advocated for the suspension of child support during long-term unemployment or illness. He vowed continued efforts to address these issues.
In response to these concerns and as part of the legislative process, the committee has provided a three-week period for all interested parties to submit their written feedback on the proposed bills. This period is crucial for refining the legislation to ensure that it best serves the interests of children and families in Cyprus.
