ACT No. XXIII of 2010 AN ACT to amend the Civil Code, Cap. 16.

I assent.

G EORGE A BELA

(L.S.)

President

21st December, 2010

ACT No. XXIII of 2010

AN ACT to amend the Civil Code, Cap. 16.

BE IT ENACTED by the President, by and with the advice and

consent of the House of Representatives, in this present Parliament

assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:-

(1) The short title of this Act is the Civil Code Short title and

(Amendment) (No. 2) Act, 2010, and this Act shall be read and commencement.

construed as one with the Civil Code, hereinafter in this Act referred Cap. 16.

to as "the Code".

(2) This Act shall come into force on such a date as the

Minister responsible for Justice may by notice in the Gazette

establish, and different dates may be so established for different

provisions or different purposes of this Act.

Article 70 of the Act shall be amended as follows

Amendment of

article 70 of the

Code.

(a)

subarticle (2) thereof shall be substituted by the

following sub-article

"(2) The declaration of the mother to the effect

that the husband is not the father of the child shall be given

consideration in an action regarding the exclusion of the

paternity of the husband"; and

(b) in subarticle (3) thereof, for the words "The court

may in an action of disavowal" there shall be substituted the

words "The Civil Court (Family Section) may in an action of

disavowal".

Article 77 of the Code shall be substituted by the following

new article

77. Without prejudice to the

"Husband’s

physical

provisions of article 81, the filiation of a

impossibility of

cohabitation.

child born in wedlock may also be

.

impeached by any person interested

(a) if he proves that, during

the time from the three-hundredth

day to the one-hundred-and-

eightieth day before the birth of the

child, the husband was in the

physical impossibility of cohabiting

with his wife on account of his being

away from her or some other

accident; or

(b)

if he proves that, during

the said time the wife had committed

adultery, and futhermore produces

evidence of any other fact which

may also be genetic and scientific

tests and data that tends to exclude

the husband as the natural father of

the child.".

Immediately after article 77 of the Code there shall be

added the following new articles

" Application

77A. Without prejudice to the

for declaration

provisions of article 81, any person claiming

of paternity.

to be the natural father of a child born in

wedlock, or his heirs if the person was

deceased before the child is born, may

proceed by sworn application before the

competent court against the wife, husband and

child, or their respective heirs if any one of

them is deceased, in order to be declared as

the natural father of the child and only if he

produces evidence that during the time from

the three-hundredth day to the one-hundred-

and-eightieth day before the birth of the child,

the wife had committed adultery with him and

futhermore produces evidence of any other

fact which may also be genetic and scientific

tests and data that tends to exclude the

husband as the natural father of the child.

77B. A judicial demand for a

Demand may

also be

declaration of paternity as mentioned in the

exercised by

the wife.

previous article may also be exercised by the

wife by sworn application before the

competent court against her husband, the

natural father and her child born in wedlock

only if she produces evidence that during the

time from the three-hundredth day to the one-

hundred-and-eightieth day before the birth of

the child she had committed adultery with the

person who is demanding to be declared as

the natural father and furthermore produces

evidence of any other fact which may also be

genetic and scientific tests and data that tends

to indicate that person as the natural father of

the child.

Sworn

77C. In the cases referred to in articles

application

77, 77A and 77B the person claiming to be the

filed within six

months from

father of the child born in wedlock, or the

the birth of the

child.

wife as the case may be, may proceed with the

action for the declaration of paternity if their

sworn application is filed within six months

from the birth of the child

Provided that the Civil Court

(Family Section) may, after the sworn

application of the person claiming to be the

father of the child born in wedlock or the wife

and, if possible after having heard all the

parties interested, and after having considered

the rights of the plaintiff and the child, at any

time authorise the person claiming to be the

father of the child born in wedlock or the wife

to institute an action for the declaration of

paternity as mentioned in articles 77A and

77B

Provided further that, when the

filiation of a person has been declared by the

court, any person who in consequence of such

declaration is to assume a surname other than

the surname used by such person before such

declaration, or his legitimate representative,

may request the competent court by

application against the Director of the Public

Registry to be allowed to continue to use such

other surname, and the court if it is satisfied

that third parties will not be prejudiced

thereby and, where the application has been

done on behalf of the minor, that such use

shall be in the best interest of the minor, shall

accede to such request and order the Director

to make an annotation of its decision on the

relevant Act of Birth of the person whose

filiation has been so declared.

77D. In actions which are referred to in

Examinations

as referred to in

articles 77, 77A, 77B and 77C, the court may

article 70(3).

invite the parties to submit to examinations as

referred to in article 70(3).".

Passed by the House of Representatives at Sitting No. 294 of the

7th December, 2010.

M ICHAEL F RENDO

Speaker

P AULINE A BELA

Clerk to the House of Representatives