By Robert Hart, Staff Reporter
Nicholson
AFTER MORE than four years on the books, the Family Property (Rights of Spouses) Act was renamed and passed in the Senate yesterday with 24 amendments.
The seminal piece of legislation, now referred to as the Property (Rights of Spouses) Act, 2004, saw few concerns emanating from the Chamber floor, but led to an exchange between senators on morality and the 'good old days'.
Government Senator A.J. Nicholson who piloted the Bill said the name change was based on a determination, by the joint select committee that examined the Bill, that its provisions speak to the family home and other property, rather than family property alone.
"To this extent, it is the Committee's view that reference to the term 'family property' could be misleading," he said.
During the debate, Leader of Opposition Business, Senator Anthony Johnson, lamented the current state of Jamaican family life in which divorce and separation rates have increased.
Commenting on the substantive issue within the Bill he suggested that, in days gone by, couples came together and stayed together until one or the other died.
The Property Act puts forward a presumptive 50/50 split of property on the break-up of a marriage or common-law union.
During his own contribution, Government Senator, Keste Miller noted that the legislation would allow couples who have drifted apart to have a clean split.
Another Government Senator, Floyd Morris, pointed out that despite the Bill's acceptance of common-law unions of more than five years, the legislation was not "seeking to encourage shacking up."
Opposition Senator, Dwight Nelson, addressing a perceived rise in common-law unions, cited specific figures recorded in recent years.
"The fact is the statistics are showing a very unwelcome trend," he said, noting that there was a 32 per cent increase in divorce rates in 2002 over 2001. He also noted that, in 2002, incidents of marriage had fallen from 11.3 out of 1,000 in 1999, to 6.4.
"We have to recognise and accept the peculiarity of Jamaican society in that this kind of relationship is a significant part of the statistics of man and woman relationships," Senator Nelson said.
Also contributing to the debate were Opposition senators Dorothy Lightbourne and Shirley Williams, as well as Government Senator, Naval Clarke.
