This Monday the Council of State met, in the presence of the first Secretary of the Central Committee of the Party and President of the Republic of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, and the Prime Minister, Manuel Marrero Cruz, where the bill of the Family Code was examined, prior to its analysis and discussion by the deputies in the Ninth Ordinary Period of Sessions of the National Assembly of People's Power, in its IX Legislature, convened as of this July 21.

Oscar Silvera Martínez, Minister of Justice, elaborated on the results of the popular consultation on the project of the Family Code, where 61.96% of the participants in this process declared themselves in favor of the entire text.

He, accompanied by members of the Drafting Commission and with the presence of Arelys Santana Bello, president of the Commission for Attention to Youth, Children and Women's Equality Rights of the Cuban legislature, stressed that each and every one of the proposals.

The speakers referred to different relevant aspects enriched in the draft normative provision, among them the express recognition of care as a right; the extension of the protection of children and adolescents to exceptional and disaster situations; the intertwining of the principle of the best interests of children and adolescents and their assessment guidelines with the duties that assist them; and the strengthening of urgent protection against discrimination and violence, as well as the expansion of the possibility of filing a complaint to any person who knows about these facts.

Among other specified elements, they stated that a percentage of the changes constitute improvements in the wording, greater rigor in the systematics, reformulation of statements, breakdown into subsections, changes of letters, among others, to achieve greater understanding and comprehension of the text.

Oscar Silvera Martínez added that on July 5 and 12, 2022, deputies from all over the country were consulted on version 25 of the Family Code project, presented by the Minister of Justice and members of the Drafting Commission. This version is available to the population on the website of the Cuban Parliament.

The proposal to the National Assembly of People's Power was approved regarding the rules for the referendum, the date it will be held and the question that will be put to the voters.

Subsequently, Silvera Martínez explained to the members of the Council of State the progress of compliance with the Legislative Schedule, updated by Agreement IX-115 of the National Assembly of People's Power on December 22, 2021, and published in the Official Gazette of the Republic on January 12, 2022.

He reported that, since the proclamation of the Constitution on April 10, 2019, to date, more than twenty laws have been approved -including the Family Code project that was submitted to popular consultation-, and 79 decree laws. In addition, the head of Justice stressed that in the period until May 2022, what is established in this matter for the laws is complied with, as well as all the legal norms provided for in the approved schedule were worked on.

He specified that it was decided to postpone other regulations for next year; while, in other cases, requesting its extension is evaluated due to the current context and the necessary definition of concepts in other legal regulations.

In this way, Oscar Silvera Martínez assured that, with these details, in 2022 22 laws and eight decree laws will be approved; as well as, with the holding of the referendum on the Family Code, all the Transitory Provisions of the Constitution of the Republic will be fulfilled. He concluded his detailed presentation by reaffirming that the project for the new Legislative Schedule for the next Legislature (2023-2028) is in an advanced stage of definition.

Finally, the members of the Council of State examined the control actions carried out by the Comptroller General of the Republic to the State Budget, an item on the agenda in which Meisi Bolaños Weiss, Minister of Finance and Prices, and Félix Martínez Suárez, participated. Head of the Economic Affairs Commission of the National Assembly.