Don’t make children the losers in custody disputes

“Court decisions on parental custody that are made without hearing the parents and carefully examining the effects on the child’s welfare must not be legitimized by law”, explained Ines Scheibe from the executive committee of the Humanist Association of Germany yesterday in Berlin. The background to this is a planned new regulation in custody law, which would allow a written summary procedure to be carried out without hearing both parents and the youth welfare office and without an oral hearing if unmarried parents do not agree on joint custody. In future, courts could make decisions on child custody solely on the basis of the files. The Association of Single Mothers and Fathers recently launched a campaign against this reform, calling on legislators to abandon this regulation. The campaign involves an alliance of around a dozen organizations, including Pro Familia, the German Association of Women Lawyers and several church associations. From a humanist perspective, it is also incomprehensible why the tried and tested accelerated procedure, including oral hearings, should soon no longer be used, continued Scheibe. The HVD therefore also supports the campaign against the planned new regulation. “There is legitimate concern that children born into a conflictual parental relationship will be the losers of the new custody law,” warned Scheibe. It is essential that the children concerned, both parents and the youth welfare office remain involved in all proceedings in future if judges are to keep the child’s welfare in mind at all times. “Unfortunately, parental conflicts are sometimes carried out on the backs of the children and this usually has a negative impact on the child’s welfare. Every court custody decision is a highly individual decision that must not be made without hearing the parents. This is about the fundamental rights of parents and their children.” Ines Scheibe therefore called on humanists to take a stand now against the proposed legislation, to inform themselves about the planned reform and to co-sign the appeal of the alliance of the online custody campaign.