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New laws to help the families of missing persons
The Department of Finance and Personnel has published a Consultation Paper on the draft Presumption of Death Bill (Northern Ireland) 2008 (pdf-2mb). The draft Bill creates a new court procedure whereby a person with an interest may apply to the High Court for a declaration that a person who is missing may be presumed dead. The application can be made in cases where there is evidence that the missing person has died or has not been known to be alive for a period of seven years. If the High Court makes the declaration sought the Registrar General for Northern Ireland will enter the details of the missing person in a new Register of Presumed Deaths.
The draft Bill seeks to address the concerns of the families of "the disappeared" who have asked for the law to be changed to allow the deaths of their family members to be registered and death certificates issued. The draft Bill, however, is of general application and would be available in relation to a wide range of missing persons in circumstances where it may be presumed that they had died.
The closing date for responses to this consultation was Tuesday 15th April 2008.
The Department has now published a summary of responses (PDF-91.4KB) to its January 2008 consultation on the draft Presumption of Death Bill (Northern Ireland) 2008. The Department is considering a number of amendments to the draft Bill with a view to introducing the Bill in the Assembly in the near future.
Court backs Government's policy on reasonable chastisement
The High Court has rejected the challenge from the Northern Ireland Commissioner for Children and Young People to Article 2 of the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Northern Ireland) Order 2006. That Article restricts the defence of reasonable chastisement to a summary charge of common assault and precludes the use of the defence in a civil claim for damages where the harm alleged amounts to actual bodily harm. NICCY had wanted a complete ban on smacking and had claimed that Article 2 breached international human rights standards. The full judgment is available on www.courtsni.gov.uk/en-GB/Judicial+Decisions/Judgments/
Article 2 is underpinned by ongoing work on positive parenting. The Inter-Disciplinary Group on Positive Parenting has produced booklets which are designed to help parents cope with a range of behaviours. The booklets, which have been distributed throughout Northern Ireland and have been very well received by both parents and childcare professionals, can be viewed at www.dhsspsni.gov.uk/ssi-publications
