New paternity law proposed
A judge at the Superior Electoral Court and a former National District prosecutor, Jose Manuel Hernandez Peguero, has delivered a proposal to Senate president Cristina Lizardo Mezquita to introduce a Responsible Paternity law that will benefit more than 100,000 children who are born to single parents every year.
Hernandez Peguero said that if the bill is approved, single mothers would be able to use a simple, fast and obligatory procedure to register the fathers of their children on their birth certificates and the fathers would thus have to comply with their obligation to pay child support and help and care for their children.
He highlighted that in order to have simple and effective access to the law, 158 judges would have to be trained to hear the paternity recognition cases, as opposed to the current situation where the 37 Courts for Children and Adolescents hear the cases.
He went on to say that he was aware of the problems experienced by Dominican women in ensuring their children's rights, and proposed that judges should now decide on paternity, the level of child support and visitation rights to save mothers having to go to different courts several times.
The proposal also allows for the National Council for Children and Adolescents (CONANI) to design and implement awareness campaigns to explain to the public about the procedures to be undertaken and the mothers' rights to know the identity of the father, their registration on birth certificates, and the promotion of proper fatherhood and responsibility with regards to raising children.
Senado recibe anteproyecto de Ley de Paternidad Responsable - listindiario.com
A judge at the Superior Electoral Court and a former National District prosecutor, Jose Manuel Hernandez Peguero, has delivered a proposal to Senate president Cristina Lizardo Mezquita to introduce a Responsible Paternity law that will benefit more than 100,000 children who are born to single parents every year.
Hernandez Peguero said that if the bill is approved, single mothers would be able to use a simple, fast and obligatory procedure to register the fathers of their children on their birth certificates and the fathers would thus have to comply with their obligation to pay child support and help and care for their children.
He highlighted that in order to have simple and effective access to the law, 158 judges would have to be trained to hear the paternity recognition cases, as opposed to the current situation where the 37 Courts for Children and Adolescents hear the cases.
He went on to say that he was aware of the problems experienced by Dominican women in ensuring their children's rights, and proposed that judges should now decide on paternity, the level of child support and visitation rights to save mothers having to go to different courts several times.
The proposal also allows for the National Council for Children and Adolescents (CONANI) to design and implement awareness campaigns to explain to the public about the procedures to be undertaken and the mothers' rights to know the identity of the father, their registration on birth certificates, and the promotion of proper fatherhood and responsibility with regards to raising children.
Senado recibe anteproyecto de Ley de Paternidad Responsable - listindiario.com