Tuesday, 18. June 2013
:: Home > Blog > Family Law plan flaws need to be ironed out before it's too late
| M | T | W | T | F | S | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 1 | 2 |
| 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
| 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 |
| 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 |
| 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 |
Today
RSS Feed Blog09. 11. 12. - 13:00
Family Law plan flaws need to be ironed out before it's too late
A conference on family law organized by the FAMZ (the interdisciplinary magazine for family law) took place at "Hotel Strudelhof" in Vienna this week.
Dr. Michael Stormann, head of the department for law of persons, family law and law of succession in the Ministry of Justice, as well as Prof. Dr. Astrid Deixler-Hübner presented the new family law, which becomes law in Austria in February next year.
Much is unclear but one thing is for sure: The new family law seems to not have been properly thought through and nobody knows what it will really mean. The new family law was brought in under pressure from a ruling at the Austrian Constitutional Court and now the question arises over who will be able to deal with the increasing volume of work it will mean.
It will mean many new and well informed family law judges will be needed; and yet the Austrian authorities should have taken precautions against this situation some years ago, when the ECHR held that Austrian family law would violate the European Convention of Human Rights. But in the end, MPs decided many other law reforms were much more important than our children’s welfare.
What does the law include in a closer look? With regard to the so called "cool-down-phase" of 6 months, which is supposed to smooth differences in contentious custody cases with the aid of interim arrangements, Dr. Stormann said: "Neither those who have to read this provision, nor I suspect those who wrote it, can understand it."
Further comments seem to be unnecessary.
At the same time joint custody is considerably devalued. As was always the case, it has to be specified where the child will have its residence if joint custody is granted. If the parents cannot agree on a residence, the question has to be settled in court.
If the habitual residence is determined by court, the parent with whom the child lives has the "right to determine the child’s residence". The chosen parent is according this right that means they are even entitled to move to a foreign country without the consent of the other parent.
This is a big change, because until now it was impossible to move to another country without the consent of the second parent if the parents had joint custody. And if one parent moved abroad without the other parent's consent that person could get his/her child back by invoking the Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.
As a result the new law seems if anything to worsen the situation for those involved, raising costs and complications - and bringing nothing of real advantage. If the very real problems it causes are to be avoided - an urgent rethink is needed - and needed now before it is too late.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Austrian Times columnist Matthias Loinig is a legal correspondent and campaigner for more transparency and fairness in family law in Austria. One of the main areas he specialises in is the often obscure decisions by courts of custody - in particular over the tendency to favour the mother at the cost of the father. He is now a veteran campaigner with extensive experience of the justice system and works with a team of legal professionals recognised as the most experienced and skilled family law practitioners in Austria. He has worked towards resolutions for many parents and children, especially in cases where the parents have an immigration background, and is now a columnist for the Austrian Times Group.
Austrian Times
Tag cloud:
custody consent parents columnist Austria children family cannot Stormann joint settled court Abduction Justice rsquo residence child persons Convention campaigner
Airpower air show damaging the environment, says Green Party
The 2013 Airpower air show due to take place later this month in Aichfeld (Styria, Murtal district) has come in for criticism from environmentalists.
Whats on at the Haydn cinema this week (20 – 26 June)
The following films are on at the English language Haydn Cinema on the Mariahilferstrasse between June 20 and 26.
Elton John - Vienna concert tonight
Elton John is performing at the Stadthalle this evening.
Bathing ban remains on Donauinsel
Swimmers looking to escape the heat wave have been warned to avoid the Donauinsel because of possible infection.
Emergency doctors and security at the Donauinselfest
Security and emergency services will be working around the clock at the 30th Donauinselfest in Vienna this weekend as 200 acts take to the stage.
Better road security for the elderly
A two-day conference on "mobility and road safety in an ageing society" which kicks off tomorrow at the Palais Ferstel (Vienna) will look for measures to improve the security of road users over 60 years of age.
Electro-bike battery causes fire
Over 100 firemen were called out to battle a blaze when an Elctro-bike battery caused a garage to burst into flames in the middle of three houses in Rauris (Pinzgau, Salzburg region).
Hungarian/Croatian: new course material
Over 5,000 Burgenland school pupils studying Hungarian and Croatian will get new course materials from September.
Heat causes damage to the West motorway
High temperatures have caused damage to the A1 "Westautobahn" motorway from Lower-Austria to Vienna.
Red Light Process starts again in Vienna
The so-called "Red Light Process" is being continued in the regional court in Vienna today.
The most popular stories –
last 7 days
Don't moan alone, the Ombudsman Investigates.
Why suffer in silence. Let off steam by letting our readers share your troubles. File your complaints about anything and everything here.
Our ombudsman David Rogers will try and help solve some of the problems from lazy civil servants through to incompetent companies – and at the very least the worst transgressors will end up in our weekly special report.
