REPRESENTATIVE Corina Magofna will introduce House Bill 22-108, which aims to provide greater clarity in the administration of divorce proceedings and protection orders.
The bill would require a divorce petitioner to appear in person at a hearing, but the other party could appear telephonically or be represented by counsel. After the filing of the complaint, parties unable to appear in person may appear telephonically or be represented by counsel.
The bill stated that in an uncontested divorce, current law requires that only one of the parties needs to have resided on Saipan for at least seven days immediately preceding the filing of the complaint for divorce.
According to the bill, it is necessary to amend this provision to “provide clarity regarding the other party and if appearing telephonically or represented by counsel will comply with the existing law.”
In regards to the petition orders, the bill states that the following additional information should be required: 1) to whom the order is applicable; 2) the underlying factual basis for the order; 3) when the incident occurred; and 4) how the incident occurred.
The bill states that the CNMI Superior Court “shall develop and adopt uniform forms for petitions and orders for protection, including but not limited to such orders issued pursuant to divorce, custody, and other domestic relation hearings; and in addition to any other required information, the petition for an order for protection must contain a statement listing each civil or criminal action involving both parties. Additional information, such as to whom the Order is applicable, what triggered the Order, when and how the incident occurred is essential information necessary for the court to ascertain the situation before them.”
