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  by pltm
• May 07, 2021
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(PLTM) - Amendments to the Registration of Births and Deaths Act 2021 will now see stillbirths recorded for the first time in the British Virgin Islands.

Premier and Leader of Government Business, Hon. Andrew Fahie, informed the House of Assembly last night, May 6, the Bill seeks to modernize the territory’s procedures with respect to the registration of births and deaths.

“The Bill enables the computerization of the notification of registration process of births and deaths. The current procedures of notarizing documents must be further developed to facilitate the online submission of filing and documents, as there must be a means of validating the said documentation being submitted,” he added.

Meanwhile, Deputy Premier Dr. Natalio Wheatley, who seconded the Premier’s motion, pointed out that the legislation is over 60 years old.

He added, “And there are some very necessary things which have to be updated in this legislation, and one of them is to allow for the proper registration of stillborn children, which are not currently recorded. We thought that in keeping with good record-keeping that these be brought in line with this legislation. We also have the interim birth certificates for persons who have to travel for emergency purposes.”

He stated that this was just one of the many changes that will be realized as a result of the amendment. “The proposed legislation empowers a governor to appoint a Registrar General, a deputy Registrar General, an Assistant Registrar General and any such other staff as may be necessary for the efficient functioning and operation of the Civil Registry. It also provides for the territory to be divided into districts for the purposes of this Act. It mandates that the birth of every person occurring in the territory shall be registered by the Registrar in the register of births.”

The Bill was passed with amendments.