A Family Board as well as a Support Office within the Court Services Agency has been proposed by government as one of nine recommendations which emerged in the first phase document of the promised Family Court reform, Justice Minister Jonathan Attard and Social Policy Minister Michael Falzon said Monday.

The first phase document on the reform of the Family Court was presented following the public meeting which was held in April of this year, before government launches the public consultation document. Several stakeholders and citizens participated in the meeting.

The discussion on 20 April tackled access to children and child support, improving court proceedings, co-parenting and parental alienation, the role of professionals in the sector and ethics applied to them, as well as better, and quicker mediation procedures.

Lawyer Sharon Mizzi and Director at the Justice Ministry Joanne Battistino presented the reforms, including the terms of recommendations discussed, and the need for these reforms.

The nine proposals build on the electoral promises by the Labour Party, which include strengthening the law to recognize dangers of parental alienation, strengthening of legal safeguards in the best interests of the children, that the Court is fixed to a timeframe when deciding on separation, custody, access and child support, that mediation in Family Court is strengthened, and that a full revision of procedures for the Family Court is done so as not to allow anyone to needlessly lengthen court procedures.

Another electoral promise is that the Technical Committee for Parental Alienation will continue to work on legislative solutions to give more importance to this concept, as well as to continue developing the role of the children's lawyer.

The first proposal is to re-establish the Family Court with a Code that consolidates all family laws, with all professionals undergoing continuous training while working in the sector, to ensure the best quality service for this particular Court's needs.

Mizzi said the second proposal is to establish a Family Board with an important role at the beginning, and throughout the mediation process, to facilitate the judicial process.

The Board would be composed of experienced lawyers, persons graduated in Psychology and experienced social workers, who would only assist the Court's judges and magistrates.

All cases that could potentially end in contention will go before the Board, and to expedite the mediation process, the parties must submit a mediation letter before the Family Board, including, and without prejudice, their respective proposals regarding child support, care and custody, the residence of the parties, and the residence and access to the children.

They must also indicate if there is a need for social assistance, psychosocial assessment, an assessment on parental alienation, or the necessity to appoint a children's lawyer throughout the procedures.

With regards to child support, the parties, with their mediation letter, must submit a list of assets in the Community of Acquests, personal assets, common property, and personal credits, as well as any debts that the parties may have over the three years prior to the start of the case.

The Board will have the ability to appoint support professionals (social workers, child psychologists, or other therapists) to immediately begin an assessment based on established criteria, which will eventually be presented before the Court.

Mediation will not begin if these documents are not presented together with the letter, Mizzi said.

Mizzi continued that the role of the Family Board is not intended to remove the supremacy of the Court, but to assist it in guiding the case.

The Board makes recommendations pending litigation regarding access, care, custody, and child support, and will also recommend appointing support individuals as needed, including children's lawyers.

It is also being proposed that the Family Board serves another function to facilitate the process of appeals presented after the separation or divorce process has been concluded.

The third proposal is to amend Article 12 of the laws so that the mediation process can last for a maximum of 6 sessions or a maximum duration of eight months. If the mediator is unable to conclude the mediation, it will continue in the Family Court, led by the judge.

The fourth recommendation made is that aside from when there are valid reasons, parental authority, care and custody, and living conditions in the residence should be equal.

Mizzi said that the Court must take into consideration where there is a discrepancy between the economic situations of the two parties, in such a way that it creates an imbalance between the living conditions of the children depending on which party they reside with, to create a balance in the interests of the children.

Regarding child support, the fifth recommendation is that the established amount will be automatically deducted from the salary, pension, or income and transferred to the other party.

The law already provides a provision in this regard but leaves it to the Court's discretion to decide whether to invoke this article. The proposed amendment to Article 381 (2) of Chapter 12 makes it mandatory for child support to be deducted in this manner, Mizzi said.

The failure to pay child support or failure to comply with the access decree becomes a continuous offense, and therefore, the police, who receive these monthly reports, will be able to gather those reports concerning the same parties and present them before the Court as a single continuous case, Mizzi explained.

The sixth proposal is to establish a Support Office within the Court Services Agency, with the role of coordinating the engagement of support persons needed by both the Family Board and the Family Court.

Coordinators will be hired to facilitate the process by making the necessary contacts and ensuring that the support persons follow the provisions of the Family Board and the Family Court, Mizzi said.

A list of qualified support persons will also be drawn up so that the Board, mediators, and the Court can appoint them to facilitate the process and help families separate in the most serene manner and with the least suffering for both them and their children.

The seventh proposal recommends that to further strengthen the fight against domestic violence when it is evident that one of the parties is a victim of domestic violence, this evidence must be presented to the Court or the Family Board in the first session.

Mizzi explained that this is so to avoid having the victim attend mediation, and the parties can proceed to court immediately. In this regard, the proviso of this regulation already exists, but this article will become mandatory.

In order to strengthen the profession of mediators, the eight proposal recommends that the mediators in the Family Court be integrated with the Malta Mediation Centre, so that these mediators can benefit from specialised training and continuous support in their work.

Mizzi said that similarly, efforts have begun to ensure that Child Lawyers form part of a dedicated structure where they will receive specialised training to stay updated in their profession, thus offering a more professional service to the children they represent.

The ninth proposal suggests that the dissolution process of the Community of Acquests - where until the Court makes a decision regarding the dissolution, the parties cannot make certain acquisitions without the consent of the other party, is fast-tracked by making the necessary amendments to the Rules of Court.

Battistino presented the feedback which came out of the public meeting held in April, which took the opportunity to address issues in the Family Court.

Among the feedback government received was that access must be shared equally based on a system established beforehand, that gives both parties the opportunity to agree and choose which access system should apply to their circumstances.

Another suggestion was that from the beginning of the mediation process, a proposal for shared parenting should be presented, and the access and child support processes should be derived from the Court.

Suggestions were also made as to how child support should be managed, and about violations of Court orders and perjury, as well as the role of the children in proceedings.

Battistino said that another suggestion was for the introduction of the concept of Settlement Conferences or Family Boards, and that the declaration of assets be presented at the beginning of the mediation process.

Other recommendations discussed professionals' ethics, obligatory courses of Co-parenting, as well as changes in conditions after a judgement is issued.

Another main point which discussed is the Child's Advocate, which should be made up of a team looking out for the interests and rights of the child.

A suggestion was made to recognise Parental Alienation as a crime itself, while others recommended training for professionals on parental alienation, Battistino said.

More recommendations included the enforcement of Court orders from the same Family Court, the issuance of criminal and civil sanctions against those who repeatedly breach Court dispositions, as well as the establishment of an executive section within the police on family matters.

The role of the grandparents was also addressed, which included proposals addressing the need for services for the grandparents, and their right to see their grandchildren.

Another suggestion was to provide training for the public as to how the Family Court process works, Battistino said. She acknowledged that some suggestions could not be taken on due to the different realities as well as other legal considerations.

Minister Falzon said that the reform is coming, as it is needed, and while government will not be addressing all possible circumstances and dynamics, there is still room for improvement.

He said that the two main points to address is the lengthy timeframes, which he said must be more reasonable, as well as child access, where he said that the lives and interests of children must be taken into consideration.

"We must listen to the children's voices, and keep in mind that our scope is not to impose, but to give direction," Falzon said.

Minister Attard continued that the recommendations made for this reform mitigate today's realities, with the aim of addressing issues in the sensitive sector dealing with the family.

Attard said he hoped further discussions ahead of the launch of the public consultation document would not go towards extremes, but be based on experiences while safeguarding the family's emotions.

He said that government will continue speaking with stakeholders and citizens, to ensure an efficient and strong legal framework.