(b) Best Interests of the Child (Article 4) 34. The State Party subscribes to the principle that in all actions concerning the child undertaken by any person or authority the best interests of the child shall be the primary consideration. Furthermore, URT is working to ensure that all judicial or administrative proceedings affecting a child who is capable of communicating his/her own views, and opportunity shall be provided for the views of the child to be heard either directly or through an impartial representative as a party to the proceedings, and those views shall be taken into consideration by the relevant authority in accordance with the provisions of appropriate law. 35. To substantiate its commitment, the State Party has enacted various Regulations under the Law of the Child Act and the Children’s Act both Tanzania mainland and Zanzibar respectively including the Retention Homes Rules (2012), Approved School Regulations (2012), Foster Care Placement Regulations (2012), Apprenticeship Regulations (2012), Child Employment Regulations (2012), Adoption of Children Regulations (2012), the Day Care Centers and Crèches Regulations (2014), Juvenile Court Rules (2014) and the Child Protection Regulations (2015). 36. Legislatively, the State Party has enacted specific provisions recognizing and protecting the best interests of the child in the Law of the Child Act and the Zanzibar Children’s Act. In particular, section 4(2) of the Law of the Child Act (2009) requires the best interest of the child to be a primary consideration in all actions concerning a child whether undertaken by public or private social welfare institutions, courts or administrative bodies. In a more elaborative manner, section 4 of the Zanzibar’s Children Act (2011) sets out factors to be taken into account in determining the best interests of the child, including the nature of the personal relationship between the child and the parents, or any specific parent; and the child and any other care-giver or person relevant in those circumstances. 37. Apart from being entrenched in the child-specific laws as set out above, the State Party has also embedded the principle of the best interests of the child in other laws that touch on children’s welfare. For instance, in Zanzibar the State Party has also enshrined the principle in the Spinsters and Single Parent Children Protection Act (2005), which allows pregnant girls to return to school after giving birth. The repealed law relating to impregnated school children formerly made it was an offence for a girl to be pregnant; but this legal position was omitted and replaced by the principle that in order to protect the impregnated girl’s best interests. 38. In Tanzania Mainland, section 125(2) of the Law of Marriage Act [Cap. 29 R.E. 2002] states that the paramount consideration in granting custody of a child should be the welfare of the child. The phrase “the welfare of the child” has been defined within the confines of the best interests of the child principle enshrined in Article 4 of the Charter. The leading judicial decision to elaborate on this principle is Ramesh Rajput v. Mrs S. Rajput,41 whereby the Court of Appeal of Tanzania held that the most important factor in custody proceedings is the welfare of the child; and that an infant child of two years should be with the mother; unless there are very strong reasons to the contrary. 42 38A. The State Party strives to safeguard the best interests for children incarcerated with their parents/care-givers. Currently, the Prisons Services has prepared a Child Protection Policy that, inter alia, seeks to safeguard the best interests of children incarcerated in detention and prison facilities with their parents/caregivers, as a long-term strategy to address this challenge. As a shoer-term strategy, the State Party has set aside a separate prison at Kingolwira that accommodates female prisoners who are compelled to be accompanied by their children. 41 [1988] TLR 96. This decision has been authoritatively applied by courts in the State Party, including in and in Pulcheria Pundugu v. Samuel Huma Pundugu [1985] TLR 7 where the High Court of Tanzania held that: ‘In deciding in whose custody an infant should be placed the Court is required (under section 125(2) of the Law of Marriage Act) to take into account the paramount consideration regarding the welfare of the infants.” 42 17