GeCoBi has thoroughly examined the Federal Council's draft law on shared parental responsibility. The result is sobering: it in no way keeps what it promises - on the contrary.
There was a great deal of attention when, after more than three years of deliberation, the Federal Council finally presented a draft law for joint parental care after separation and divorce at the end of January. As the last country in Europe, the Swiss government now also wants to eliminate discrimination against fathers and unmarried children - and thus respond to a concern of the large majority of parliament and the population.
Simple withdrawal of custody thanks to 'child welfare'
In the meantime, the experts from GeCoBi have put the proposed text through its paces. "The disappointment prevails," says Michael De Luigi, dossier manager at GeCoBi. "If this draft enters the code unchanged, little will change in the everyday lives of those affected." The equality of parents in bringing up children is only of a formal nature. In disputes, the court can easily relieve a parent of parental responsibility by invoking the highly problematic concept of 'the best interests of the child'.
Disputes in court continue to be the only means of conflict resolution
The draft does not contain any binding specifications for out-of-court dispute resolution, which have already proved their worth in many countries. Rather, he continues to rely on the dispute in court - which has been proven to strengthen and prolong a conflict between the parents. This may be in the interest of the divorce industry - but not in that of the children involved. It is also completely contradictory that the Federal Council has signed international agreements that prescribe the use of mediative approaches to conflict resolution in cross-border divorce conflicts. Domestically, however, he continues to rely on fighting in court as a privileged means of settling custody disputes.
Farewell to rule of law
Depending on their discretion, courts can use various means to motivate quarreling parents to cooperate – but none of them is binding. When courts are given such a wide scope of discretion and the procedures are completely different from judge to judge, a court decision becomes a lottery – legal certainty and legal equality are no longer given. “If this plan becomes reality, further generations of children of divorce will be traumatized by unnecessary wars of separation. We need concrete improvements for mothers, fathers and children affected by separation and divorce - not euphonious legal prose, but hollow," says De Luigi.
The Swiss Association for Shared Parenthood (GeCoBi) is the umbrella organization of 13 organizations and committed individuals from all over Switzerland who are committed to equality for parents in raising children even after separation or divorce.
Also read our detailed position .
