Sweeping changes to 'archaic' Jersey family laws urged
Jersey deputies are being urged not to have a "knee-jerk reaction" to updating the island's parenting laws.Rose Colley, a legal assistant in family law at Viberts, said a "wholesale review" of parenting laws was needed to remove "outdated" legislation.Home Affairs Minister Deputy Mary Le Hegarat proposed changing Jersey's parenting laws so children born out of wedlock were no longer considered "illegitimate".Several islanders considered illegitimate by law told the BBC they were unaware of the legal status.
Ms Colley said a strategic review was needed to prevent further changes being introduced in the future and, if changes were made to the Legitimacy (Jersey) Law 1973, it would have to be "done carefully"."In practical terms I do not think that the change in the law will have any real impact on families," she said."However, the concept of an illegitimate child is very outdated and there does need to be a wholesale review of all the legislation that makes reference to this term."There are laws currently that even mean that if a child is born to a couple who are still married and the husband is not the biological father of the child, it is still the case that the child is his child until that child is illegitimised, for example. "This has probably been an outdated legal concept for decades and has never been reviewed by legislators."In the UK, the Family Reform Act 1987 removed all remaining legal distinctions between children born to married and unmarried parents.
'Modernise the laws'
Ms Colley said there were also issues with children born to unmarried parents prior to the law change in 2016."The fathers of these children do not have parental responsibility for their child, even if they subsequently marry the child's mother," she said."This is why it is important not just to have a quick knee-jerk reaction to this issue and take time to properly modernise the laws relating to the island's children."The BBC spoke to many islanders about the proposal who were unaware of their legal status.
'Archaic concept'
Dylan Rawlinson said it had not affected him but added the law was "a very archaic concept".Other islanders who did not want to be named said they had experienced some issues.One said people thought her surname was her father's, not her mother's, which she took at birth.Another said their parent's had "a nightmare" when trying to change their surname "when they did eventually get married" - saying it "cost thousands".One mother said her children had "never once been referred to as illegitimate on anything or [by] anyone since they were born".
Proposing the changes, Le Hegarat had said Jersey's law was "out of step with policy developments over the last few decades"."The option of abolishing the status of legitimacy is strongly preferable, as it is no longer reflective of modern family life," she said."Only children whose parents are married and in a mixed-sex relationship are currently provided with the status of being 'legitimate' at birth."
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