THE FAMILY LAW IN THE MIDDLE OF THE GLOBAL PANDEMIC

Family Law in Cyprus is a special form of Law as it affects aspects of the Family Institution. It is understandable that over the years the new conditions created by our society make it imperative to reform certain rules that are an integral part of Family Law, since by its nature it greatly affects people’s lives and their daily routine.

Those who are mostly affected by any changes that a Family Court decision may bring about are children (if a marriage exists), who often due to their age cannot accept many situations yet. and minor changes that may occur after a divorce of their parents and the legal consequences thereof. moreover, the spirit of the Law stipulates that every decision concerning children must be issued and work positively in the interest the child or children.

Based on the above and considering the advent of a pandemic such as that of the new SARS-CoV-2 virus (or coronavirus), it is understandable that family law can be affected to the fullest extent. With this new situation, a series of measures have been defined and imposed worldwide, which lead to self-limitation, with the result that families in which the parents are divorced affect both their daily lives and the interpersonal relationships of the relatives. The logical conclusion is that a Family Court must and is imperative to change and at the same time set new lines for dealing with the problems that arise, as the degree of mental stress of those affected is dangerously high.

Keeping the child or children in touch with their father and avoiding them to the extent of alienating them from their father should be one of the many issues that a Family Court should study in particular. Let it not be forgotten by the legal world that the well-understood interest of a minor child is a guaranteed right deriving from the Law itself not only nationally but also supranationally. It is therefore imperative that those directly involved should consider and reconsider their reasoning by putting aside their differences and set the primary goal of defending the rights of the minor child or children.

GLOBAL ECONOMIC RECESSION AND CHILDREN ALIMONY

The issue of child alimony is regulated by the Parent-Child Relations Act of 1990 (216/1990). Article 33.- (1) even stipulates that ‘Parents have the obligation to provide to their minor children together according to their abilities’. Of course, the scope and spirit of the Law cannot be analyzed and explained in a few lines, since the various conditions and differences of each case before the Family Court form different approaches depending on the case, always taking into account the well-meaning interests of the minor child or children.

The rapid spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus (or coronavirus) not only affects our daily lives but may also cause huge changes in the economic factor and an impending economic recession is a fact after the measures taken by governments around the world with the result that, unfortunately, for many of our fellow human beings the future is economically uncertain.

In these circumstances, the field of Family Law concerning child support could not but be affected. The question that arises is much more complicated than one might imagine since the issue of child support is inextricably linked many times to one’s mental health and the issues to be studied by a Family Court so as to issue an allimony order are many. It is not uncommon for a spouse who is obligated to support a minor to be financially affected to the point where he or she cannot even meet his or her basic needs.

But what about the impending global economic downturn today? Who protects the obligated spouse for alimony and how can it be mitigated? We therefore understand that answering this question both legally and pragmatically is very difficult to impossible. The Family Court is clearly the one that will ultimately regulate and resolve this issue if the Parents (parties) do not agree. However, we must consider that those who must first consider and support the spirit of the Law, but especially of their child, are the parties themselves, and the Lawyer has a catalytic role who must defend the Law and the Law in these peculiarities. cases.

As mentioned above, the Court is essentially in the best interests of the minor child. However, I believe that it is imperative that this issue be studied in depth and more than ever, since the new situation that has been created can very easily cause inequality and injustice towards the spouse’s obligation to support the minor child. An innovative reasoning must therefore be put in place, not only by the Judiciary, the Legislature and the Government, but also by those directly involved.

Euripides A. Charalambous

Lawyer