HAVANA, Cuba, Nov 5 (ACN) Ana María Álvarez-Tabío, an expert in family law, considers that the reforms in the family legal field go beyond the approval of a new Family Code, since it is about the presence in every regulation of issues that impact multiple areas of social life.
“The legal code has a ripple effect throughout the various disciplines and therefore neither one of them can be singled out. Interaction and communication among all legislative groups are paramount to achieve completeness and consistency in the ongoing changes,” she told ACN.
A senior professor of the Law School of the University of Havana, Dr. Alvarez-Tabío remarked that the logical process in these cases demands that first the most general substantive texts and then the procedural laws that protect people’s rights to comply with the Constitution of the Republic.
“For example,” she pointed out, “a new Family Code has a great impact on the Penal Code in its way of approaching issues such as domestic violence. With the recent approval of the new Criminal Procedure Law by the National Assembly of People’s Power (ANPP), the definition of the defense attorney as a procedural subject and its requirements are incorporated and the presence and protection of victims in the exercise of their rights is expanded.”
In 2022, Cuba will have a Procedural Code with new precautionary measures related to property, individuals and families that provide judges with effective tools to protect the former and take measures against the latter in order to safeguard the best interests of children and adolescents, as well as those of persons with disabilities. It will also have provisions regarding cases of gender or family violence involving minors or vulnerable persons.
Likewise, it will recognize the role of mediation as an out-of-court alternative and empower the court to give special treatment to family matters, given the importance of reaching agreements on these problems to avoid legal disputes and preserve harmony within the family.
Among other topics, Álvarez-Tabío also referred to the necessary changes in the Law of Notaries, in light of the notary public’s important future role in dealing with family issues, as well as in the Law of the Civil Status Registration, which needs a new section dedicated to domestic partnerships.
Dr. Álvarez-Tabío, who is member of the Scientific Society of Civil and Family Law of the Union of Cuban Jurists, also mentioned the influence of family provisions in any future economic legislation, as they must be consistent with the equality of rights that the economic provisions of marriage and the empowerment of women must protect.
Come December, the Preliminary Draft of the Family Code—already reviewed by 47 institutions and organizations—will be submitted to the ANPP for approval and then to popular consultation.