Law to facilitate family court measures when the best interests of the child are at risk

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Basic data
Title: Law to facilitate family court measures when the best interests of the child are at risk
Type: Federal law
Scope: Federal Republic of Germany
Legal matter: Family law
References : 400-2, 315-1, 211-1, 400-2
Issued on: July 4, 2008
( BGBl. I p. 1188 )
Entry into force on: July 12, 2008
(Art. 5 G of July 4, 2008)
GESTA : C119
Weblink: Text of the law
Please note the note on the applicable legal version.

The law to facilitate family court measures in the event of a threat to the best interests of the child , which came into force in July 2008, revised the provisions on family court child protection proceedings in the German Civil Code (BGB) and in the Act on Matters of Voluntary Jurisdiction (FGG). With this law, the federal legislature wanted to meet its obligation to ensure the protection of children and young people even when the parents do not live up to their responsibility and the child's well-being is thereby endangered.

The law was triggered by several cases in which children had died because their parents had neglected them, including the so-called Jessica murder case . The German Bundestag passed the law unanimously on April 25, 2008 with the votes of government and opposition factions.

Committee

Brigitte Zypries , Federal Minister of Justice, set up a working group in March 2006 on “Family court measures in the event of child welfare at risk”, which included experts from the family courts, child and youth welfare services and representatives of affected associations. The final report of 17 November 2006, the working group came to the conclusion, among other things, that " family courts are often asked too late and mostly with the aim of the parents custody to withdraw all or part of."

A number of experts were invited to the committee; Among them was Christian Dietz, owner of the now closed company Haasenburg .

Opinions

The following organizations commented on the draft bill:

The Federal Council's opinion:

The German Association of Judges commented on §§ 1493, Paragraph 2, 1683, 1845 BGB, 5, Paragraph 5 PStG and against a change in §§ 1908 i, Paragraph 1, Clause 1 BGB, 94 cost regulations .

Changes by law

The law to facilitate family court measures in the event of a threat to the best interests of the child is an article law that supplements the civil code and the law on matters of voluntary jurisdiction, but has no separate content beyond that.

The core of the law is the revised § 1666 BGB . According to Section 1666 (1) of the German Civil Code (BGB), the family court must take action if the child's physical, mental or emotional well-being or property is at risk and the parents are unwilling or unable to avert the danger themselves. Before the law came into force, it was also necessary to prove that the parents had failed to raise their children, which was often difficult in practice.

The following measures are available to the family court in accordance with Section 1666 (3) of the German Civil Code:

  • the requirement to make use of public assistance such as child and youth welfare and health care services
  • the obligation to ensure that school attendance is observed
  • the prohibition to use the family home, to stay in a certain area around the home or to visit other places to be determined where the child stays regularly
  • the prohibition of establishing contact with the child or bringing about a meeting with the child (prohibition of contact )
  • the withdrawal of parental custody

Before the new Section 1666 (3) BGB came into force, the withdrawal of parental authority was often the only measure considered by the courts.

The procedural law was supplemented with §§ 50e and 50f FGG by two provisions, which were later transferred to the law on the procedure in family matters and in matters of voluntary jurisdiction : § 50e FGG (today: § 155 FamFG ) obliges the family courts to proceed to be carried out "with priority and expeditiously" due to endangering the child's well-being. In addition, the courts must examine whether the protection of the child must be ensured through an interim order . According to § 50f FGG (today: § 157 FamFG ), the family courts should discuss with the parents how a possible endangerment of the child's well-being can be countered, in particular through public assistance, and what consequences the non-acceptance of necessary assistance can have. The youth welfare office should also take part in this discussion .

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ http://www.gesmat.bundesgerichtshof.de/gesetzesverbindungen/16_wp/kindeswohl/kindeswohl-index.htm
  2. ↑ http://gesmat.bundesgerichtshof.de/gesetzesverbindungen/16_wp/kindeswohl/schlussbericht_kindeswohl.pdf
  3. ↑ http://www.gesmat.bundesgerichtshof.de/gesetzesverbindungen/16_wp/kindeswohl/anlagen3-5.pdf
  4. ↑ http://gesmat.bundesgerichtshof.de/gesetzesverbindungen/16_wp/kindeswohl/stellung_skf_dcv_refe.pdf