Author says new family Code is based on real-life cases.

NEW CODE STRENGTHENS WOMEN'S HAND IN MARITAL DISPUTES

by Eugenia Mussuri

Post Staff Writer

Effective Jan. I, Ukrainian law will treat people who live together much the same as though they are legally married. Either can go to court to divide property or demand alimony after separation.

Recognition of common-law marriage is just one of many changes brought about by the country's new family code, which took effect on Jan. I. The code, passed by parliament in 2001, also introduced new concepts such as engagement and paternity identification, as well as further defined the rules pertaining to divorce and adoption.

Former parliament Deputy Zoryslava Romovska, who drafted and spearheaded passage of the law, said her personal experience as a family law teacher at Lviv National University helped her to develop the law, which she touted as one of Europe's best.

Romovska said almost every paragraph in the law has a real-life example from her experience behind it.

" For years, many people have come to my department at the university asking for help with family disputes, " she said. " Most of the code is based on cases from real life."

For the first time, the law defines engagement as the date a couple applies for a marriage license. Should one side back out after engagement, he or she may be liable for the partner's wedding preparation expenses.

" I remember in the village where I was born a wedding was ruined because the groom simply did not show up, " Romovska said. " The bride's family had to put all the food and drink in front of their home and sell it. It was sad."

If that story had happened now, she said, the groom would have had to reimburse his jilted bride for part of the expenses.

Romovska believes the most revolu­tionary change is the law's introduction of paternity identification. A woman may now demand alimony based on a paternity test even if the two are not married. Paternity identification may involve a variety of proofs, including a DNA test.

A court will determine the amount of the alimony. Before, alimony ranged from 25 percent to 33 percent of the father's salary.

" If a man declares his salary is only Hr180, while he drives a Mercedes and his new wife wears a mink coat, the judge will be able to set the alimony adequately, instead of one third of the salary he declares, " Romovska said.

The provision is important in a country where 17 percent of all children born last year were born outside marriage, she said. Many women have also opted for abortions, fearing they wouldn't be able to receive alimony sufficient to support their children. That brought Ukraine's abortion rate to 1.2 per marriage, one of the highest rates in Europe.

" It's not a secret that most women go for abortions because they are unable to financially support a child Romovska said " I think that this code will also improve the demographic situation in Ukraine."

The code also obliges a parent to pay alimony until the age of 23, if a student, as compared to 18 under the previous law.

The maximum age of a child that may be adopted has also been pushed up, from 18 years to 23 years old.

“Once in Lviv there was a family that lost their son in an accident, ” she said. " They met a young man who was orphaned and somehow managed to adopt him, though he was already 18, " she said. Authorities cancelled the adoption after learning the boy was 18. " But who benefited from it? " Romovska questioned. " Why should people suffer because someone said that adoption was not possible after 18? " Many provisions in the new code remain unchanged though. For example, the age of consent for men and women remained 18 and 17 years respectively. Another issue Romovska feels strongly about is homosexual marriages. Even though a non-government gay organization, Regional Information Center for Gays and Lesbians, lobbied for the inclusion of a provision allowing homosexual marriages, none was included.

" When you deal with the issue of human rights you should know your limits, " she said. " In Western countries this issue has been brought to the point of absurdity."