Custody

The welfare or interest of the child is the paramount consideration in deciding disputes relating to custody. Several factors, such as wishes of both the child and parents, preservation of status quo and the age of the child, are usually taken into consideration in determining the interests of the child. The question arises as to how far wishes of the parents are considered by the court. Are the child's views followed in all situations? Is the mother always the best in care taking? Another issue is whether to separate the children or not (if there is more than one child in the dispute) in deciding custody disputes. How does conduct of the disputed parties contribute to the interests of the child? Shall the status quo be preserved at all times? Should 'physical, moral and emotional well being' factor be included in the statute? What is the role of a welfare officer in promoting the interests of the child? This article attempts to provide answers to the above questions and at the same time suggestions will be made to improve the law, wherever appropriate.

Turkey is already a party to the Hague Convention on International Child Abduction of 1980. This brief paper will consider some of the reasons why Turkey may find it advantageous to become a party to the Hague Convention on Jurisdiction, Applicable Law, Recognition, Enforcement and Cooperation in respect of parental responsibility and measures for the protection of Children (the Hague Children's Convention 1996).

El convento de los Trinitarios descalzos de Granada fue durante mucho tiempo centro de las celebraciones mas importantes de la ciudad y por lo tanto foco de donaciones de obras de arte, pero con la desamortizacion estas fueron a parar a las colecciones publicas y privadas. Hoy nos centraremos en el estudio de las piezas de mazoneria que podemos encontrar en la actual iglesia de Nuestra Señora de Gracia. /
For many  years the Trinitarian Monastery of Granada played an important role in Granada public life,  and thus received numerous  donations of works of art. With the disestablishment of the monasteries, however, these found their way into  other public and prívate collections. The present paper offers  a  study of th e silver work to be found in Our Lady of Grace church.

Decision-making authority in respect of a child in an intact family is allocated using the concepts variously known in different jurisdictions as custody, parental responsibility (or responsibilities) or guardianship, with visitation, contact and parenting time acquiring significance where the parents separate or have never lived together with their child. Set in the context of international norms and using selective, comparative examples, this chapter addresses the evolution and contemporary application of these concepts. The child's participation rights, historically-marginalised parents and the challenge posed by the intersection of continuing parental involvement and domestic abuse receive particular attention.

Outside the public gaze, discrimination, violence and denial of rights are routine occurrences for psycho-socially disabled persons (PSDPs) in state custody, irrespective of location- be it shelter homes, hospitals, detention centres of prisons. Institutionalisation places PSDPs in a precarious position, robbing them of fundamental freedoms and rights as it squares PSDPs as medico-legal subjects of the state. This chapter highlights the coercive laws and practices prevalent in state institutions in Bihar and Kashmir, which further reinforce the stigmas stemming from their socio-economic condition and disability.

Résumé

Cette recension des écrits théoriques, scientifiques et professionnels s’intéresse à trois questions en lien avec la détermination du meilleur intérêt de l’enfant dont la garde est contestée à la suite d’une séparation : 1) Quels sont les enjeux entourant le principe de meilleur intérêt de l’enfant ? 2) Quelles sont les caractéristiques des situations qui se retrouvent à être expertisées ou débattues en cour ? 3) Comment ce principe est-il évalué concrètement ; quel poids est accordé à différents critères examinés par les juges et les experts ? Pour les professionnels qui doivent se prononcer sur le meilleur intérêt de l’enfant, la réponse à ces questions met en lumière différents défis inhérents au fait d’être guidés par un critère souple, mais offrant peu de balises claires dans un contexte souvent hautement conflictuel et complexe. L’examen des écrits sur les pratiques des experts et des juges met au jour une tension entre deux courants : l’importance du parent de référence, particulièrement pour les très jeunes enfants et une tendance vers la coparentalité et un partage équilibré de la garde entre les parents. À partir de ces constats, des pistes pour les recherches futures sont proposées.

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Abstract

This summary of theoretical, scientific, and professional writings is focused on three questions related to determining the best interests of the child whose custody is disputed following a separation : (1) What are the stakes when it comes down to the best interests of the child ? (2) What are the characteristics of the situations that end up being analyzed or debated in the courtroom ? (3) How is this principle assessed from a practical point of view ; what weight is given to the various criteria examined by the judges and the specialists ? As concerns the professionals whose task it is to come to a decision as to the best interests of the child, the answers to these questions highlight a range of challenges that underlie their being regulated by a flexible yardstick that provides few clear guidelines within a context itself often extremely controversial and complex. An examination of these writings concerning the practices of judges and specialists reveals two conflicting currents of thought : the importance of the referral parent, more especially when the children are very young, and the trend towards co-parenting and an equal sharing of custody between the parents. It is on the basis of these conclusions that suggestions for future research are made.