What are the rights of grandparents regarding their grandchildren?
Paragraph 4 of article 300 of the Civil Code states that: "The child's personal relations with their ascendants may not be obstructed without serious grounds. In the event of difficulties, the terms and conditions of these relationships shall be settled by the Guardianship Judge. The Guardianship Judge may, in the child’s interest, also grant correspondence or visiting rights to other persons".
In short, there is a presumption that it is in the child's best interest to maintain personal relations with their grandparents. Therefore, the grandparent claiming for visiting rights does not have to prove that it is in the child's best interest.
On the other hand, the parent who disagrees has to prove that there is a serious reason why visiting rights should not be granted.
What are “serious grounds”?
Serious grounds are left to the discretion of the judge.
It is interesting to note that in a decision dated 16 January 2023, the Court of Revision considered that a disagreement between parents and grandparents does not constitute a serious reason for preventing personal relations between grandparents and grandchildren.
What are the criteria?
The judge sets the terms and conditions of visiting and accommodation rights in the light of several criteria, such as the child's age, lifestyle, family environment and previous practice, this last point being essential.
It is also worth noticing that the Guardianship Judge noted that grandparents rightly invoked the child's cultural roots to evaluate their interests in concreto.
This criteria clearly echoes the practice of the European Court of Human Rights, which considers that "the preservation of religious and cultural values and traditions as part of the child's identity must be taken into account" to a certain extent.
However, the emergence of this new criteria must be treated with the usual caution as it was raised by the Guardianship Judge, but with no follow-up by the Council Chamber of the Court of Appeal and the Court of Revision, which did not mention it expressly.
What is the scope of visiting rights?
The extent of visiting rights depends on each situation and can range from half a day of mediated visiting rights per month at the “Espace de Rencontre Parents-Enfants” of the DASO to several days per month of free visiting rights without socio-educational supervision.
