Parliament resumes after six-week break

Four of the five Government motions are Senate amendments to Bills already passed in the House. Two pieces of Government’s anti-crime legislation are among the four Senate amendments to be considered - the Anti-Terrorism Bill, 2004 and the Indictable Offences (Preliminary Enquiry) Bill 2005. The other is a motion to approve the Summary (Service of Summons) (Family Court) Order, 2005.

Two other motions are Senate amendments to the Trinidad and Tobago Housing Development Corporation Bill, 2005 and the Caroni (1975) Limited and Orange Grove National Company Limited (Divestment and Business Development) Bill, 2004.

In addition, 30 papers are to be laid at the 55th sitting of the Lower House, including 11 sets of Civil Aviation Regulations from the Ministry of Works and Transport; four Reports of the Auditor General are to be referred to the Public Accounts Committee, and five Audited Financial Statements are to be referred to the Public Accounts (Enterprises) Committee.

The House is also expected to receive two Reports from Select Committees of Parliament. One is from a Special Committee appointed to consider and report on a Bill entitled "The Copyright (Amendment) Bill, 2004, and the other is the first report of the Joint Select Committee appointed to inquire into and report on Municipal Corporations and Service Commissions with the exception of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission.

The Bill debated and passed in the Senate to be introduced to the House is the Child Welfare League Incorporation Bill, 2005.

Debate is also expected to an amendment to the Family Proceedings Act, 2004. The original amendment to an Act to amend the Family Proceedings Act, 2004 was introduced in the House of Representatives in June 2004 by Attorney General Senator John Jeremie. It was passed after a short debate.

The Bill was introduced in the Senate on July 6, 2004 but lapsed when the second session of the Eighth Parliament was prorogued on September 3, 2004. This amendment seeks to delete the words "with the agreement of the parties in Section 5:1 to empower the superior and inferior courts of record to refer parties to any family proceedings, to mediation or to the unit responsible for social services in the court or to some other professional, without the consent of the parties.