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Thirty-first Amendment

Signed 28th Apr, 2015

Provided for an Article expressly relating to children.

Articles Amended

Article 42 After

The text of Article 42 after enacting the Thirty-first Amendment

Article 42.

…
  1. 1:
    The State acknowledges that the primary and natural educator of the child is the Family and guarantees to respect the inalienable right and duty of parents to provide, according to their means, for the religious and moral, intellectual, physical and social education of their children.
  2. 2:
    Parents shall be free to provide this education in their homes or in private schools or in schools recognised or established by the State.
  3. 3:
    1. 1°:
      The State shall not oblige parents in violation of their conscience and lawful preference to send their children to schools established by the State, or to any particular type of school designated by the State.
    2. 2°:
      The State shall, however, as guardian of the common good, require in view of actual conditions that the children receive a certain minimum education, moral, intellectual and social.
  4. 4:
    The State shall provide for free primary education and shall endeavour to supplement and give reasonable aid to private and corporate educational initiative, and, when the public good requires it, provide other educational facilities or institutions with due regard, however, for the rights of parents, especially in the matter of religious and moral formation.

Article 42A After

The text of Article 42A after enacting the Thirty-first Amendment

Article 42A.

…
  1. 1:
    The State recognises and affirms the natural and imprescriptible rights of all children and shall, as far as practicable, by its laws protect and vindicate those rights.
  2. 2:
    1. 1°:
      In exceptional cases, where the parents, regardless of their marital status, fail in their duty towards their children to such extent that the safety or welfare of any of their children is likely to be prejudicially affected, the State as guardian of the common good shall, by proportionate means as provided by law, endeavour to supply the place of the parents, but always with due regard for the natural and imprescriptible rights of the child.
    2. 2°:
      Provision shall be made by law for the adoption of any child where the parents have failed for such a period of time as may be prescribed by law in their duty towards the child and where the best interests of the child so require.
  3. 3:
    Provision shall be made by law for the voluntary placement for adoption and the adoption of any child.
  4. 4:
    1. 1°:

      Provision shall be made by law that in the resolution of all proceedings—

      1. i:
        brought by the State, as guardian of the common good, for the purpose of preventing the safety and welfare of any child from being prejudicially affected, or
      2. ii:
        concerning the adoption, guardianship or custody of, or access to, any child,

      the best interests of the child shall be the paramount consideration.

    2. 2°:
      Provision shall be made by law for securing, as far as practicable, that in all proceedings referred to in subsection 1° of this section in respect of any child who is capable of forming his or her own views, the views of the child shall be ascertained and given due weight having regard to the age and maturity of the child.
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