Child access, maintenance must go on, unless court decrees otherwise
Access to children must go on as usual and child maintenance must be paid, despite the current coronavirus situation, a spokesperson for the family ministry has told The Malta Independent.
Child maintenance is regulated by the Criminal Code and it makes it clear that if a person is bound to provide maintenance by a court decree, or by a contract, and fails to do so, they shall be guilty of an offence.
The ministry, however, said that when changes in circumstances occur and a person wishes to change the amount of maintenance owed, one must either file an application in court or initiate civil proceedings to revise the respective contract.
The law says that child maintenance needs to be paid within 15 days from the day on which, according to such order or contract, such sum should be paid.
According to the law, the fee to file an application in court, or to initiate proceedings, is of €100. The courts, however, are currently shut as a measure to limit the spread of the coronavirus, except for any urgent cases or where the court decides otherwise.
No one can take the law into his hands and decide to change the amount of maintenance imposed on, or owed, arbitrarily, the ministry said when asked about those people who can no longer pay child maintenance, due to the current pandemic.
Due to the social distancing measures, the question of access to children, which will entail mixing of people of different households was to put to the ministry. This is also regulated by the Criminal Code, the ministry replied.
The law states that if “a person is ordered by a court, or bound by a contract, to allow access to a child in his or her custody, refuses without just cause to give such access, he shall be guilty of an offence.”
Here, the ministry explained that there is no hard and fast rule of what constitutes ‘ just cause’, and this is entirely in the court's discretion. Failing to give access due to medical reasons, however, has always been interpreted as ‘ just cause’.
For a person to change his or her visitation rights or obligations, the same procedure as above shall apply, that is, either file an application in court to that effect or otherwise initiate civil proceedings to revise the respective contract.
The €100 fee also applies to this situation.
Suspension of supervised access visits
Earlier in March, the court upheld a request by the ministry for the immediate suspension of access carried out with supervision to children, both those with a care order and to other cases.
The request was made in connection with the then-necessary national precautions aimed at avoiding the spread of COVID-19. The measure was introduced to safeguard the best interest of the children, FSWS workers, and their relatives.