Havana, September 15 (RHC)--  The Family Code, soon to be submitted to a popular referendum, marks a milestone in Cuba's legislative history, said the Minister of Justice, Oscar Silvera.
 
The law approved last July by the National Assembly of People's Power (Parliament) was the first to be submitted to a process of specialized consultation, which meant an innovation within the process of legislative creation, said the Minister on the television program Mesa Redonda on Thursday.

From then on, all the legal norms derived from the intense and complex process of updating the Cuban legal system were submitted to the analysis of experts before reaching Parliament, Silvera added and making public the preliminary drafts.

The Minister also highlighted that this is the first time a law is submitted to a referendum, which until now was only carried out for the Constitution.

He explained that the vote on September 25 will define the application of the Code, which requires a favorable majority vote.

By constitutional mandate, the National Assembly is the only body with constituent and legislative powers, Silvera pointed out; hence its approval was necessary for it to become Law number 156, and now for its total validity, it requires approval in a referendum.

The Parliament did not diminish one iota the power or the responsibility given to the people by the Constitution, he remarked.

The Minister also emphasized that this legislation protects human dignity, and all the institutions of family law, eliminates any vestige of discrimination in the family sphere, and rejects violence.
Oscar Silvera also emphasized that the drafting process was a complex, broadly democratic exercise and included diverse views from the scientific, multidisciplinary and cultural aspects of the Cuban people, which reinforces the quality of the legislation.