The use of paternity testing to aid in the biological identification of a child or an individual can help resolve issues that have a financial, legal and social impact on the citizens of T&T. Paternity testing refers to the use of specific biological markers within the human genome (DNA) in the identification of a child's biological parents by comparison between that of the maternal and paternal lineages.
The correct identification of a child's biological parents can greatly impact on the child's development, financial needs, sense of belonging and psychological state. The use of paternity testing cannot address issues with the moral or ethical responsibilities of an individual having a child with denied ownership, but from a legal aspect, it can identify to whom those responsibilities rightful belong.
One question that should be addressed deals the role and responsibilities of the lawmakers in the underlying question of social parentage versus that of biological parentage. That is to say, how are the parents of a child defined legally and what systems are in place to facilitate the correct identification of the biological parents of a child. Is it from a presumption of a social relationship or from a biological scientific technique? In many cases, a child's parents are classified by social relationship, for example, husband and wife having a baby or from a copy of a birth certificate.
While in many instances this "norm" is acceptable and undisputed by most citizens, the legal aspect and its validity in the courtroom may have different implications, especially in cases of child maintenance, immigration/citizenship applications and child custody cases. A court-ordered paternity test or a self-imposed paternity test can be used to substantiate or refute claims from either party allowing for rightful placement of responsibility and financial support.
Another area of direct concern that affects many citizens is that of child maintenance. The issue of payment and non-payment by individuals, many of which are in contestation of being the rightful biological parent, does not only have a direct impact on the child's support but, also, involves a significant amount of the court's time, administrative cost and resources.In addition, the justice system also uses the support and resources of other agencies such as the police service that deal with the execution of the warrants for non-payments or non-appearance or welfare agencies that evaluate the needs of the child and living conditions.
So how can paternity testing help? Well, in a number of cases, the reason for non-payment or non-appearance is that the biological father of the child may actually not be the one being asked to provide support, or he may in fact be the child's father but purport not to be, or in some cases he may simply not be aware that he has a child. A simple paternity test from a legal standpoint can confirm or deny the question of who those payments rightfully belong.
Paternity testing can also address issues that involve child custody or immigration issues such as citizenship by descent. There are a number of cases in which an individual claims that they are the rightful parent of a child and is being denied visitation or interaction with that child. By performing a paternity test, and from a legal standpoint, proving that he/she is the biological parent, this can be used to help gain child visitation and or custody.
Another pressing issue internationally is that of immigration status and citizenship. Although T&T does not face the same number of cases or challenges, it has started to pop up more and more, in addition to concerns such as deportees or human trafficking from the South American continent and onto our shores. These can lead to false claims for applications of citizenship in order to create the appearance of a legitimate legal status, which in itself can cause a number of issues that have direct impact on the citizens including criminal activities.The advancement of scientific techniques and affordability of paternity testing may shift the uncertainty from social parentage to biological testing. This can allow for the accurate identification of a child's parents and ensure that the responsibilities, both socially and financially, lay with the correct people.
The correct identification of a child's biological parents can help reduce the number of disputed cases, aiding the justice system while releasing some of the pressures on operational government agencies and at the same time bring a level of comfort to the citizens who are affected.
The Caribbean Institute for Security and Public Safety offers professional training in many areas of security and public safety.
Dr Maurice J Aboud
Deputy chairman, CISPS