No handling of the father by penalty money against the mother

ECHR: However, traumatized children must be treated therapeutically
Courts do not always have to enforce the right of access of a divorced father to his child. For if the child refuses to deal with, penalties against the mother can endanger the mother-child relationship and thus the well-being of children, judged on Thursday, October 6, 2016, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg (Az .: 23280 / 08 and 2334/10). However, if the father's right of access is suspended with regard to the traumatization of the child, then the child must be cared for therapeutically as far as possible.

The 44-year-old complainant lives in Cologne. His son was born in 1998. A year later, the parents separated. Since then, the son lived with the mother. This locked itself against contacts of the child with his father. Courts only occasionally accorded the father very limited rights of access.

Not only do children learn about social norms through verbal commandments and prohibitions, but also early on they interpret behaviors as basic rules, even if the behavior is more spontaneous. (Picture: lalalululala / fotolia.com)

In 2007, the family court established a handling of seven hours a month. When the father wanted to pick up his son, he refused to come along. The family court initially imposed a fine against the mother of 3,000 euros; on appeal, however, the Higher Regional Court (OLG) Cologne reversed the 2008 sentence. Because of psychological problems, the mother is unable to prepare her son for dealing with his father.

The ECtHR had no objections to this. A penalty payment against the mother has a negative effect on the relationship between mother and son - and ultimately also disadvantageous for the child's well-being.

In addition, the OLG had suspended contact with the father for three years. In doing so, it relied on the inadequate psychological stability of the child traumatized as a result of the separation.

The Strasbourg judges did not agree with that. The boy himself stated that he occasionally saw his pediatrician. A psychotherapeutic care but apparently not, complained the ECtHR. In addition, the Higher Regional Court had based on statements of the child, who were already 16 months old at the time of the hearing.

A suspension of the right of access for several years was not justified in these circumstances, the ECtHR ruled. The decision of the Higher Regional Court Cologne therefore violates the father in his right to private and family life. It awarded the father a fine of 10,000 euros. In addition, Germany has to pay its legal costs, partly for the lawsuits in Germany. mwo / fle