Guardianship of Minors Ordinance

(1)
In relation to the custody or upbringing of a minor, and in relation to the administration of any property belonging to or held in trust for a minor or the application of the income of any such
property—
(a)
in any proceedings before any court (whether or not a court as defined in
section 2
) the
court—
(i)
shall regard the best interests of the minor as the first and paramount consideration and in having such regard shall give due consideration
to—
(Amended
1 of 2012 s. 4
)
(A)
the views of the minor if, having regard to the age and understanding of the minor and to the circumstances of the case, it is practicable to do so; and
(Amended
1 of 2012 s. 4
)
(B)
any material information including any report of the Director of Social Welfare available to the court at the hearing; and
(ii)
shall not take into consideration whether, from any other point of view, the claim of the father, in respect of such custody, upbringing, administration or application is superior to that of the mother, or the claim of the mother is superior to that of the father;
(Replaced
69 of 1982 s. 2
)
(b)
except where paragraph (c) applies, a mother shall have the same rights and authority as the law allows to a father, and the rights and authority of mother and father shall be equal and be exercisable by either without the other;
(Amended
17 of 1993 s. 19
)
(c)
where the minor is
illegitimate—
(i)
a mother shall have the same rights and authority as she would have by virtue of paragraph (b) if the minor were legitimate;
(ii)
a father shall only have such rights and authority, if any, as may have been ordered by a court on an application brought by the father under paragraph (d);
(Added
17 of 1993 s. 19
)
(d)
the Court of First Instance or a judge of the District Court may, on application, where it is satisfied that the applicant is the father of an illegitimate child, order that the applicant shall have some or all of the rights and authority that the law would allow him as father if the minor were legitimate.
(Added
17 of 1993 s. 19
. Amended
25 of 1998 s. 2
)
(2)
Subsection
(1
)(
a)
shall have effect as regards any application under subsection
(1
)(
d)
.
(Replaced
17 of 1993 s. 19
)
[cf. 1971 c. 3 s. 1 U.K.; 1973 c. 29 s. 1(1) U.K.]