The parents who leave the country without ensuring the protection of the children through custody will be punished. Also, the penalties for parents who do not fulfill the obligations towards their children will be toughened. The proposals are stipulated in a draft law that was presented on Tuesday by MP Angela Munteanu-Pojoga, IPN reports.
In a press briefing, Angela Munteanu-Pojoga said that the proposed amendments to the Family Code will increase the protection of the child in cases of domestic violence. Specifically, the court will have the possibility to limit the abusive parents’ right to communicate with their children.
"We clarify the conditions under which a parent can be prevented from accessing information about the child, ensuring that his or her best interest is respected. We impose a deadline of three to four months for the resolution of disputes regarding parental rights. We extend the parental maintenance obligation for children at risk until the completion of their studies, but without exceeding the age of 25," said the MP.
Other changes are proposed to the Enforcement Code, which will recognize the children’s refusal to participate in meetings with the parent separately.
Amendments are also proposed to the Criminal Procedure Code and the Police Law. These will allow the police to swiftly intervene in cases of forced detention of children by third parties, including without a warrant, if there is a risk to the child.
"We come up with improvements to the Law on Combating Violence. Thus, we want to ensure that the aggressive parents cannot obtain the right to visit the child if this goes against the best interests of the child," said Angela Munteanu-Pojoga.
Another proposal is to strengthen the protection of the child in situations of risk by empowering the local guardianship authorities to urgently intervene in cases of imminent danger to the life and health of the child, where the local authorities do not act.
