Children Act, 2001

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Attendance at Court of parents or guardian.

91.—(1) The parents or guardian of a child shall, subject to subsection (5), be required to attend at all stages of any proceedings—

(a) against the child for an offence,

(b) relating to a family conference in respect of the child, or

(c) relating to any failure by the child to comply with a community sanction or any condition to which the sanction is subject.

(2) Where the parents or guardian fail or neglect, without reasonable excuse, to attend any proceedings to which subsection (1) applies, the Court may adjourn the proceedings and issue a warrant for the arrest of the parents or guardian, and the warrant shall command the person to whom it is addressed to produce the parents or guardian before the Court at the time appointed for resuming the proceedings.

(3) Failure by the parents or guardian, without reasonable excuse, to attend any such proceedings shall, subject to subsection (5), be treated for all purposes as if it were a contempt in the face of the court.

(4) At the hearing of any proceedings in respect of the offence with which the child is charged, any parent or guardian who is required to attend the proceedings may be examined in respect of any relevant matters.

(5) The Court may, at any stage of proceedings to which subsection (1) applies, excuse the parents or a parent or the guardian of the child concerned from attendance at all or any part of the proceedings in any case where the Court, either of its own motion or at the request of any of the parties to the proceedings, is of opinion that the interests of justice would not be served by such attendance.

(6) If in any such proceedings the whereabouts of the parents or guardian of the child concerned are unknown, or neither a parent nor a guardian attends the proceedings for any reason, the child may be accompanied during the proceedings by an adult relative or other adult.

(7) This section does not apply to the parents of a child who is married.