Cap. 16 Art. 66IPowers of the court.

(1) Where a demand for divorce is made to the competent civil court by either of the spouses, or by both spouses after having agreed that their marriage is to be dissolved, and where the spouses are not separated by means of a contract or a court judgement, before granting leave to the spouses to proceed for divorce, the court shall summon the parties to appear before a mediator, either appointed by it or with the mutual consent of the parties, and this for the purpose of attempting reconciliation between the spouses, and where that reconciliation is not achieved, and where the spouses have not already agreed on the terms of the divorce, for the purpose of enabling the parties to conclude the divorce on the basis of an agreement. The said agreement shall be made on some or all or of the following terms:

(a) the care and the custody of the children;

(b) the access of the two parties to the children;

(c) the maintenance of the spouses or of one of them and of each child;

(d) residence in the matrimonial home;

(e) the division of the community of acquests or the community of residue under separate administration.

(2) Where a demand for divorce is made to the competent civil court by either of the spouses, or by both spouses after having agreed that their marriage is to be dissolved, also where the spouses are separated by means of a contract or a court judgement, the court may, where it considers it necessary to do so, either on its own initiative or upon the request of the mediator or of one of the spouses:

(a) appoint a children’s advocate to represent the interests of the minor children of the parties, or of any of them; and

(b) hear the minor children of the parties, or any of them, where it considers it to be in their best interest to do so: Provided that in any divorce proceedings before the competent civil court as referred to in this article, the court may order the parties to present information about the payment of children’s maintenance.

(3) The court may, in the judgement accepting the demand for divorce, and upon a demand of that party to whom, during the hearing of the cause, maintenance was due for the party or for the children, from the other party, order that the payment of maintenance from the other party be safeguarded by means of an appropriate and reasonable guarantee, in accordance with the circumstances of the parties. That guarantee shall not be of an amount exceeding the amount of maintenance for five years. The court shall grant the said order only where, from the evidence in the cause, it results that during the hearing or prior to the commencement of the cause, the party from whom the guarantee is demanded was in default in its obligation to pay maintenance, or where there are serious objective circumstances which demonstrate the necessity of the said guarantee. A demand as provided for in this sub-article may also be made at any time after the said judgement, when maintenance is due.