Adopted by parliament: parents who fail to pay child support risk arrest or community service in Moldova

Parents who evade or refuse to pay child support will be subject to administrative arrest or unpaid community service. The parliament has adopted a draft law to this effect in second reading.

The legislative initiative was developed by a group of MPs if the Action and Solidarity Party’s (PAS) faction and aims to align the national legal framework with international standards on the protection of children's rights, as well as on preventing violence against women and domestic violence.

The head of the parliament’s legal commission for appointments and immunities, Veronica Rosca, presented the report on the draft in plenum and noted that most of the submitted amendments had been examined and included in the draft.

"The legal commission for appointments and immunities examined this draft law and notes that, according to the explanatory memorandum, the draft was developed in the context of the need to align the legal framework with international standards on the protection of children's rights and the prevention of violence against women and domestic violence, as well as to improve the mechanisms for enforcing court decisions on establishing the child's residence, visitation schedule and payment of child support. After examination in first reading and the conduct of public consultations and hearings, it was found that the legislative initiative represents an effective regulatory intervention in ensuring the fulfillment of maintenance obligations and contributes to the effective protection of the best interests of the child. As a result, opinions and amendment proposals were received from more authorities, as well as from civil society. On behalf of the legal commission for appointments and immunities, we will also propose this draft for a third reading, to which the edited text of the law will be attached," the cited source said.

Deputy Parliament Speaker Doina Gherman noted that the document was one of the drafts that required massive efforts on behalf of the legal commission, the competent ministries and all stakeholders involved. At the same time, it is an extremely important draft law for citizens, and it brought back into focus the problem that prompted this initiative, given its particularly large scale.

"We are talking about more than 50,000 children of Moldova who are involved in child support enforcement procedures. At present, regular payments are made in only about 5 per cent of the cases under forced execution. Therefore, the problem is extremely serious. During the debates in the first reading, as well as during the public consultations organized on the platform of the legal commission, we received more proposals from the institutions concerned and interested parties. Thus, a string of amendments were drafted to the Family Code, the Enforcement Code and the Criminal Code. I refer, in particular, to Article 14¹ of the Enforcement Code, under which the court may order, in addition to a travel ban, the application of additional measures, such as unpaid community service, administrative arrest, suspension of a hunting license and of other permissive documents, such as licenses for recreational and sport fishing."

Gherman specified that, with regard to the Family Code, the procedures for establishing a visitation schedule with the child were amended.

"In the absence of an agreement between the parents, the visitation schedule between the child and the parent living separately is established by the territorial guardianship authority and is subject to confirmation by the court, under the Civil Procedure Code. Accordingly, the government will be required, within three months, to adopt a decision clearly regulating the way the best interests of the child are assessed. The child's age, attachment to one of the parents, relationships with siblings, the child's degree of maturity and other circumstances relevant to protecting the child's best interests will be taken into account. Finally, I would like to emphasize the amendment to the Criminal Code regarding the incrimination of femicide in the special part of the Criminal Code as an aggravating circumstance. Following consultations, including with civil society and the Justice Ministry, we reached a consensus wording. Femicide is understood to mean an act that endangers the life and/or health of a woman or girl, committed out of prejudice based on gender and resulting in the victim's death, regardless of whether the act is committed by a family member or another person. This definition introduced in the Criminal Code will allow covering both direct and indirect forms of femicide. Thus, Articles 145, 150, 151 and 201¹ of the Criminal Code are supplemented, so that femicide is expressly provided as an aggravating form in the following cases: intentional murder, intentional grievous bodily harm, incitement or facilitation of suicide and domestic violence. Through these amendments, the Criminal Code will allow the stricter classification and punishment of acts committed against women and girls when they are motivated by gender-based prejudice."

According to the draft, the Contravention Code will be supplemented, so that non-payment of child support is no longer sanctioned only by a fine. Defaulting parents will risk administrative arrest from 10 to 15 days or 45–60 hours of unpaid community service.

The document also provides for additional measures in the case of persons who try to leave the country while having outstanding child support debts, including a ban on crossing the state border.

The draft's authors say that these measures are necessary, given that about 30,000 children of Moldova do not constantly benefit from child support.

The draft also clarifies the child's right to maintain personal relationships with both parents, as well as with grandparents and siblings. The intentional and repeated non-enforcement of the visitation schedule established by law may represent grounds for requesting a change in the child's residence, if this measure corresponds to the best interests of the minor.

The new provisions will enter into force on the date of publication in the Official Journal and the government will have three months to adapt its regulatory framework.