MOST PARLIAMENTARY PARTIES BACK AMENDMENTS TO FAMILY LAW

ZAGREB, Jan 30(Hina) - Most of the clubs of deputies in the Croatian parliament on Friday supported the proposed amendments to the Law on Family, while the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and the Croatian People's Party (HNS) opposed the bill saying that it was "of a cosmetic nature" and would not benefit citizens.#L# Marija Bajt of the ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) welcomed the possibility of social welfare centres mediating in cases of divorce without minor children and supported the proposed definition of mother as a woman who gives birth. The definition was opposed by some opposition parties who cited cases of doctors taking egg cells without patients' knowledge or consent. "This kind of legal provision would free from responsibility some doctors who are under suspicion that they have abused their position and done damage to their patients," warned Alenka Kosis Cicin-Sajn of the HNS/PGS (Alliance of Primorje and Gorski Kotar) club. SDP deputy Milanka Opacic opposed the possibility of social welfare centres mediating in divorce cases, saying that this would only put an additional burden on the social centres already overloaded with work. Opacic also opposed the proposal to delay establishing family departments in courts of law for six months, adding that such delays would prevent these departments from functioning. Expressing her support for the draft amendments, Djurdja Adlesic of the Croatian Social Liberal Party (HSLS) / Democratic Centre (DC) club again proposed that a national fund be established for the payment of alimony to single mothers. She noted that alimony was not paid in 60 per cent of cases and that courts enforced alimony payments in 80 per cent of cases. Slaven Letica of the Croatian Party of Rights (SDS) proposed that the Family Law be treated as an organic law. (Hina) vm sb