BVI Attorney General endorses OECS Family Law Reform Project

Friday, December 19, 2003

ROAD TOWN, BVI: The British Virgin Islands' Attorney General's Chambers has endorsed the initiatives of the Family Law and Domestic Violence Legal and Judicial Reform project of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS).

Attorney General Cherno Jallow, in a message for the ongoing public consultations in the territory, says the AG's Chambers recognises the importance of the project in "highlighting and addressing endemic family issues presently challenging the BVI society."

Acknowledging the existence of the Matrimonial Proceedings and Property Act 1995, the Domestic Violence (Summary Proceedings) Act 1996 and other enactments addressing family law issues, Mr. Jallow believes there is still need within the territory to pilot law reform and introduce new legislation to effectively deal with the "complexity" of societal relations and related matters.

He says it is commendable, therefore, that the overlap between those issues being targeted by the OECS project and those currently challenging the BVI family court systems have been identified.

Predominant among these issues are the common concerns of juvenile justice, maintenance for children born out of wedlock, the status of children (so-called legitimate or illegitimate), adoption, and custody and access to children.

Mr. Jallow is convinced that the timing of the project is significant, as it "mirrors and coincides" with parallel efforts by various committees within the BVI to review present arrangements in family law and domestic violence.

The spectrum of the exercise now being undertaken ranges from careful examination of the issue of maintenance, for which there is the AG's Chambers Family Court Committee, to the broader review of the adequacy of the present court system to deal with family law matters. In this regard, Executive Council (ExCo) has mandated the AG's Chambers to specifically review the laws relating to the maintenance regime.

He says this broader review raises the question, and examines the present jurisdiction of, the Magistrate's Court against that of the High Court, as well as explores the territory's needs against the backdrop of a single unified family court dealing with all family matters.

In the words of Mr. Jallow, the challenges are "indeed real" and involve the input and collaboration of a variety of Government stakeholders, as well as non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

He says it is envisaged that the umbrella of the ongoing OECS project will provide a comprehensive and cohesive forum for harmonising all family law review efforts currently underway in the BVI.

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