Memento of the Justiciable
IF YOU ABANDON YOUR FAMILY...

Abandonment of family has been an offense since February 7. What are the legal elements?

The rapporteur of the bill specified "that it concerns the man who leaves his house completely, leaving his wife or his parents or leaving his children in the care of the mother of the one who, without leaving the household and only coming there on a more or less regular basis, does not contribute adequately, through his salary, to the maintenance of the family; of one who, having been ordered to pay alimony, 1° either after legal separation or after divorce, 2° either in favor of his or her parents, becomes insolvent or succeeds in not paying what is due he was sentenced; of someone who does not have the necessary resources to raise his family, because he is lazy, a wanderer, a drunkard...

For there to be an offense, there must be an intention to harm, awareness of the harm committed, bad faith: The law expressly says that it is voluntary abstention which is condemned; consequently, if the man, first called before the justice of the peace to explain his situation and that of his maintenance creditor, is recognized as deprived of resources, this will not be a deliberate abstention, but of a case of force majeure due to which acquittal must be imposed.

This interpretation of the rapporteur was “formally confirmed”. by the Minister of Justice. As for the penalty, it is either a fine of 100 to 2,000 francs, or imprisonment of three months to one year. In the event of a repeat offense, corporal punishment is mandatory.

The procedure was thus established by article 2°: when a person responsible for maintenance for the benefit of his spouse, his minor children or his ascendants, has remained more than three months without paying the terms of his pension, it must first be called before the justice of the peace for the purpose of finding, by means of a registered letter from the clerk, with acknowledgment of receipt. The magistrate collects the explanations from the parties and draws up the entire report which he transmits to the public prosecutor. This, for the maintenance obligation.

If it is a provisional pension, following a request for legal separation or divorce, the recalcitrant spouse may be summoned before the magistrate who issued the order; and before the president of the court if it concerns a definitive pension, fixed by the judgment which pronounced the legal separation or divorce.

Henri MENUELLE.