Child custody and the Judiciary System in Fathers’ Perceptions

Nowadays, the models of meeting and communication with minor child after parental separation or divorce besides custody have a wide variation and remain controversial. Sole physical custody, the most common visitation rule in Taiwanese and international family court after couple’s separation, regulates that children shall reside with and be under the supervision of a single parent while visit the another one only on weekends or holidays. However, since 1980s, the increased female employment rates and changes in society structure had raised more and more conversations about sole physical custody. One of the reasons is that mothers always undertake the responsibility of raising child, including financial support. Moreover, because women often win the custody war in the court, father’s groups started to fight for their rights in custody procedure, to discuss joint legal custody and joint physical custody. Therefore, lots of arguments are questioned about whether joint physical custody is in accordance with the best interest of child. The opponents of joint physical custody doubt that children might have to travel back and forth between their parents, which would probably affect the stability of children’s life, especially when parents are still in high conflict. But those who support joint physical custody emphasize on the relationship between parents and children. They believe that adopting joint physical custody is the best way to keep the children from the feeling of loss after parents’ separation. When children can get the stable relationships with both of their parents, they will get used to the new life much faster. In addition, parents won't need to fight for sole physical custody, which is always where the conflict comes from, if they both agree joint physical custody. As a result, there won’t be so much struggles between parents, and children won’t be suffered about. This study holds the opinion that, if both parents did pay their effort on raising children in the past and they both want to take care of their children in the future, joint physical custody should be considered as a good choice for children’s best interest. Unfortunately, Taiwanese courts seldom use the concept of joint physical custody, without any specific reason. There’s a very high chance that, the concept of joint physical custody is ignored in Taiwan's judicial practices. Considering about the system of the Family Proceedings Act in Taiwan, introducing the concept of joint physical custody through mediations, preliminary injunctions or parent education courses might help more parents who are in the custody wars to know a new choice other than sole physical custody, so that they might end the conflict and give their child a stable life as before. The most important is that the children won’t loss any of their parents after parental separation or divorce.

The judiciary is an independent branch whose powers and responsibilities include administration and implementation of justice, supervision on the proper enforcement of the law, of the promotion of legitimate freedoms, protection of individual and public rights, providing due process for the resolution of judicial disputes, and investigation, prosecution, and punishment of criminals in accordance with the Islamic penal code. It is also incumbent upon the Judiciary branch to take adequate measures to prevent crime and to rehabilitate criminals. The highest Judicial authority is a Justice well versed in judiciary affairs and skillful in the administration of justice. He is appointed by the Leader for a period of five years. The Ministry of justice is the official authority to which all grievances and complaints are referred. The Minister of justice is in charge of administrating the Ministry as well as coordinating the relationship between the Judiciary branch and the legislative and executive branches. The courts are functionally classified according to their area of jurisdiction, civil or criminal, and according to the seriousness of the crime or the litigation, e.g., value of property under dispute or the level of punitive action involved. There are four civil courts: first level civil courts, second level civil courts, independent civil courts, and special civil courts. The latter attend to matters related to family laws and have jurisdiction over divorce and child custody. Criminal courts fall into two categories: first and second level criminal courts. The first level courts have jurisdiction over prosecution for felony charges, while the second level courts try cases that involve lighter punitive action. In addition to the regular courts, which hear criminal and civil suits, the judiciary encompasses clerical tribunals, revolutionary tribunals, and the Court of Administrative justice. Clerical courts entrusted with the task of trying and punishing misdeeds by the clergy. Revolutionary tribunals are charged with the responsibility of hearing and trying charges of terrorism and offenses against national security. The Court of Administrative justice under the supervision of the head of the judicial branch is authorized to investigate any complaints or objections by people with respect to government officials, organs, and statues. The Constitution also requires the establishment of a Supreme Court with the task of supervising the implementation of laws by the courts and ensuring uniformity in Judicial procedures.

A child custody environment that is not conducive can hamper children's development because the child's rights are not fulfilled properly. In a family environment that is not conducive (broken home), the authority of child custody is often debated and even unclear. In addition to the disruption of the child's custody environment as a result of an unfavorable environment, it is not uncommon for parents of children to choose to transfer custody of their children to be cared for by parties other than the family, or even entrusted to orphanages. In the transfer of the environment of child custody to someone other than the family or to an orphanage, it is necessary to have the legality of the court as a legal basis for care that has various legal effects as a consequence of the transfer of the environment of child custody. On the one hand, the Religious Courts, which are one of the implementing agencies for judicial power in Indonesia, do not have a clear legality basis in examining, deciding, and resolving cases of custody applications filed by other than the family. So that the existence of the Religious Courts in examining, deciding, and resolving cases of a petition for child custody is important to be studied, because given the absence of regulations that clearly regulate the authority for the Religious Courts to hear cases of requests for child care or custody of children submitted by other than family party. This research is field research which is classified as qualitative research that combines theory and practice in the field which produces answers that do not number. The results showed that the religious court can examine, decide and settle cases of child custody applications filed by other than the family with reference to two general foundations, namely the juridical foundation and the philosophical basis.

Reviewed by: Child Custody in Islamic Law: Theory and Practice in Egypt since the Sixteenth Century by Ahmed Fekry Ibrahim Gulay Yilmaz Child Custody in Islamic Law: Theory and Practice in Egypt since the Sixteenth Century. By Ahmed Fekry Ibrahim. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2018. x + 278 pp. Cloth $99.99. There are few works on child custody in Islamic law in the literature. Ibrahim's work fills an important gap in the field, as it is well researched with an impressive bibliography. The book is informative on the theoretical aspects of child custody, discussing the different approaches of the Hanafi, Shafi'i, Hanbali, and Maliki legal schools. At the same time, it examines specific cases tried in Ottoman-Egyptian Shari'a courts in premodern and modern times. Ibrahim's attempt to contextualize the concepts of child custody and guardianship enables the reader to trace the historical development of the debates around child custody in modern Egypt. This contextualization is evident in both the periodization of the book and the organization of its chapters. Ibrahim examines approximately 600 cases drawn from eleven courts in Ottoman Egypt from the period 1517-1801. He views the Ottoman Hanafization policy after the French reconquest of Egypt as the first rupture in the application of Shari'a law on child custody cases (1801-1955) and examines hundreds of published Shari'a court records on child custody trials, especially between 1929 and 1954. Finally, the integration of Shari'a courts to the national court system and the incorporation of Islamic family law into a unified judiciary in 1955 marks a second turning point, which the author traces up to 2014. This long-term perspective highlights the complexity of child custody law in Egypt and its legacy in legal equitability in contemporary Egypt. There are six chapters in the book. Chapter 1 discusses the different juristic discourses on child custody. Chapter 2 outlines the approaches of various Islamic schools toward child custody and guardianship rules. These rules are analyzed under categories such as age and gender (the general attitude was to give custody to the mother during infancy and then transfer it to the father or relatives from the male line), remarriage of the mother or marriage of female relatives (the same restrictions did not apply to the father), lifestyle, religion of the parents, visitation rights and joint custody, relocation with the ward (again, only restrictive against the mother), and child maintenance. How jurists incorporated these categories in their custody deliberations in early modern [End Page 159] Ottoman courts in Egypt is examined in chapters 3 and 4. Finally, chapters 5 and 6 focus on the changing interpretations of child custody between the periods 1801–1929 and 1929–2014, respectively. One of the main arguments of the book is that despite the patriarchal nature of the Islamic juristic discourse and a very narrow sense of child welfare that was often associated only with gross abuse, there was flexibility in the application of law in Shari'a courts, attributable to pragmatism and the freedom of judges to adhere to different schools of law during the early modern era. Ibrahim examines private agreement deeds (khul) and argues that some jurists (mostly following the Maliki school of law) accepted them, allowing women to retain custody of their children in case of remarriage or travel with the ward away from their regular residence. This went against the dominant status, which did not consider these agreements binding. The author concludes that during the nineteenth century, the Hanafization of legal codes caused Islamic law to become less flexible. Child welfare ultimately became defined by the dogmatic rules of Hanafi jurists, leaving no room for private deeds or individual judges' interpretations. Ibrahim, however, explains that these private separation deeds (which actually constituted a minority in his sample) had ceased entirely by the 1670s. Therefore, the observed rigidity was not solely related with the Hanafization/codification of Islamic law. Ibrahim also argues that the process of Hanafization of Islamic law in the nineteenth century was highly influenced by European values and the "cult of motherhood," which resulted in a new family ideology. He posits that under this women's rights approach, it was unnecessary...

For the majority of couples, conception is a process involving the woman’s own eggs and the sperm of her male partner. This makes parental identity, for the most part, straightforward—the woman is the child’s rightful mother and the biological father is the child’s rightful father. However, assisted reproductive technology (ART) has brought new definitions to the term parenthood. The legal sanction of parenthood now extends beyond individuals who pass along their DNA or choose to adopt children—sperm donors, egg donors, and gestational carriers now vie for the title of parental ownership. With the rapid rise in ART, the traditional framework of rightful parentage must be reevaluated, especially when considering sperm donors. The laws on this issue vary across states, and in some states, laws regarding donor sperm are still unclear. Traditionally, a donor of genetic material is not legally considered to be the parent of the child. Specifically in California, the family code does not consider a sperm donor to serve as the parent if he is not married to the woman conceiving. Only if a written agreement exists before the conception of the child can the donor be deemed the legal parent. However, the judicial system is beginning to reconsider who might be the “intended” parents of a child. Case by case, the courts often evaluate the adult who has served as a parent to the child and decide whether or not the individual can be considered the legal guardian. The topic of sperm donation becomes most ethically entangled when discussing non-anonymous sperm donors. A recent case in California sheds light on the intricacies involved in using a non-anonymous donor and his legal rights to the conceived child. Achieving national publicity, this case helped to ignite the introduction of a new bill into California legislation, known as the Modern Family Act. The non-anonymous sperm donor has been struggling to obtain parental right to his biological child, while the mother continues to uphold a strict restraining order and denial of any paternal relationship. The former couple did not form an agreement before the child’s conception and broke up permanently shortly after the birth. Although the son shares a middle name with the father’s familial lineage, and spent a significant amount of time with his biological father during infancy, the mother’s lawyer insists on referring to the father as simply the sperm donor. Anonymous donors make up the vast majority of the more than 30,000 estimated births annually resulting from donated sperm. The California Cryobank, which is the nation’s largest sperm bank, administers less than 10 non-anonymous samples a month out of 2,000 total.[1] Although this is not a large number, the frequency of issues that occur from such donations prove that states would greatly benefit from clear-cut regulations. The aforementioned example, along with many other similar non-anonymous sperm donor cases, raises the question of original intention. Issues with same-sex couples create their own confusion; however, the situation can grow even more complicated when the biological parents were originally in a relationship together, could not conceive naturally, sought ART services, and then later permanently split apart. Situations like this beg the question: what type of relationship did the biological father originally intend to have with the future child when he offered his genetic material? Disagreements and legal battles could be more easily prevented if patients who used a fertility center were required to make these life-altering decisions about their future child before seeking physician assistance. Another way to look at these circumstances would be to consider what it would have been like if the pair could have conceived naturally. If this were possible, then the father would have undoubtedly been both biologically and legally the parent. Is it fair that just because the child was conceived through in-vitro fertilization that the mother can use this condition as leverage to label her former partner as a mere sperm donor? Moreover, it is important to consider the well-being of the child. One would think that denying the child of a father-son relationship gravely affects their upbringing. Fortunately, if California’s new law passes, it will require donors to enter into a formal, written agreement before donating semen for artificial insemination or in-vitro fertilization. Along with many other implementations, some more controversial than others, the Modern Family Act would demand that all parties sign a statement of parental intention before any medical procedure can take place. This would eliminate many of the ambiguities infiltrating the tangled web of assisted reproductive medicine and would prevent the hundreds of cases that have already surfaced in courts across the country due to disagreements over child custody. As the modern world reveals, people create their families in different ways. This act would allow people the freedom to safely enter into agreements. California has recognized a need for clarity and regulation within the assisted reproductive realm, and one hopes that they will set a precedent for other states as well. [1] “Does Sperm Donor Mean Dad?” by Brooks Barnes - New York Times.

Background:Divorce has become a common contemporary phenomenon in India. In this context, the child is pulled into the vortex of parental disputes over the child’s custody. The spiteful and protracted nature of these legal cases adversely affects the child’s mental health. Despite the growing research in the Western context, the understanding of this phenomenon and its psychosocial impact on children in India is still in its infancy. In this background, this study aimed to explore key child mental health and related psychosocial issues in the context of child custody cases in urban India.Method:The study explored the psychosocial complexities of child custody cases by interviewing 24 key informants using a semi-structured interview guide. The key informants comprised seven mental health professionals and seven legal professionals working in the area of child custody and access. It also included 10 parents who were contesting parties in child custody cases. They were selected using a purposive sampling method over a period of 6 months.Results:Seven themes identified using thematic analysis were: (a) parent–child relationship and interaction; (b) parenting dynamics; (c) parental mental health issues; (d) malicious acts by parents; (e) child’s adjustment to changes in life; (f) issues in the school context; and (g) child mental health issues.Conclusion:This study highlighted the potential risk factors in the familial context that adversely affect the child’s well-being and mental health in custody disputes. Therefore, interventions at the family level in the legal setting are crucial in the mitigation of these risks. In child custody cases, the coordination and liaison of child mental health professionals with the judicial system is crucial for child mental health promotion and safeguarding the best interests of the child.

The author believes the time has come for psychiatrists and other behavioral scientists to reevaluate their roles in assisting the legal system in child custody cases. The State of Michigan recently proceeded in this direction by passing the Child Custody Act of 1970. Written with the help of behavioral scientists, the act cites ten parameters that give the courts flexibility in determining the "best interests of the child." The Friend of the Court system is currently helping to make the theory of the new law a practical realization in at least one Michigan jurisdiction.

Highly conflicted divorcing families often seek the services of the courts to assist them in making child custody plans. In these cases, judges encourage or order divorcing parents to cooperate with child custody evaluators to settle their disputes. The task of these experts is not an easy one, and it is complicated by procedural issues to which the courts adhere. This study mapped the flow of procedural text through the court system. Twenty-two Court of Queens Bench judges and eight child custody evaluators employed in Alberta, Canada, participated in focus group discussions pertaining to the matter at hand. The study was deemed unique because Queen's Bench judges in Canada had never previously engaged in scholarly research. Procedural text used in the courts was assessed as a detriment to child custody planning. Consequently, the term courtextual slippage was coined, recognizing its restraint to child custody planning.

Over the last several decades, nearly all of the states have formed task forces to look at the perception of a gender bias within the family court systems as they pertain to child custody. This self-scrutiny has included the attitudes of judges and attorneys within the system and the need of reform of our family courts. This research focused on replicating a study conducted by Dotterweich and McKinney that was completed in 2000 that compiled statistics from four different state task forces in Maryland, Missouri, Texas, and Washington. This research focused on Illinois judges and attorneys, using the same questions and response categories as Dotterweich and McKinney to determine if perceptions still existed of favoritism towards the mother in awarding custody of the children, even while state laws mandated equal treatment. An additional variable was introduced, specifically, if the dependent variable of the “deadbeat dad” effects the presiding judge’s decision of awarding custody and does this negative perception of males help favor mothers in these disputes. E-surveys were sent to 1,910 judges and attorneys in the state of Illinois, with all 102 counties represented, the aim of which was to provide a “perspective regarding attitudes towards gender bias in child custody cases” (Dotterweich & McKinney, 2000). Of the 1,910 surveys sent, 183 responses were returned; 160 (87.4%) attorneys participated and 23 (12.6%) judges. Of the 160 attorneys, 103 (65.9%) of the participants were male and 57 (34.1%) were female. In compiling the results, over a third of the attorneys (35.6%) felt that judges favored the mother “always or usually” when awarding child custody, whereas, only 4.4% of the judges perceived this bias. Less than half of the attorneys (40.6%) “always or usually” hold the opinion that fathers are given fair consideration in child custody matters, and yet 78.3% of judges hold the same opinion. Neither attorneys (5.0%) nor judges (8.7%) “always or usually” hold the opinion that financial standing matters as is also the case with employment outside the home (19% for attorneys and 0% for judges). Deadbeat dads as a dependent variable has no significantly statistical relationship in regards to decision making on child custody awards. Overall, attorneys perceive that mothers continue to be favored in custody cases but not to the same degree as in the Dotterweich & McKinney study; judges do not share this opinion.

Alternative means for settling disputes are a negotiation and dialogue with the parties to compromise in order to reach an appropriate and satisfactory solution for the parties of the dispute. Interest in alternative means at the local and international level follows growing problems among members of the community, and its side by the accumulation and overstock of case files in judicial bodies around the world, especially in custody matters that have been accumulated by the personal status courts due to the high divorce rates. . There is no doubt that these means will play a vital role in finding quick solutions to settle disputes related to custody, which are one of the most important combinations of society, and that these means represent common goals between the parties of dispute, and great gains for the child for the sake of the safety of his life and the goodness of his upbringing.

The research is devoted to the analysis of judicial review and resolution of disputes related to the establishment of parentage and custody of children. The first section explores the process of reviewing and resolving cases related to the establishment of parentage, with a particular emphasis on the importance of ensuring justice and protecting the rights of all parties. An analysis of judicial practice has been conducted, allowing the identification of major shortcomings in the review and resolution of parentage establishment cases.The second section focuses on the analysis of the judicial review of cases concerning the establishment of custody of children. Key aspects such as the child’s well-being, distribution of responsibilities between parents and guardians, and the determination of rights and obligations are discussed. Judicial practice in this category of cases has been analyzed, highlighting the main problems faced by courts in the review and resolution of custody establishment cases.The third section examines the peculiarities of the enforcement of court decisions regarding the establishment of parentage and custody. Challenges faced by judicial systems and social services in ensuring the effective execution of decisions and protection of the interests of children are discussed.This research makes a significant contribution to understanding the contemporary aspects of judicial regulation in matters related to parentage and custody, outlining practical aspects of effective conflict resolution and the protection of children’s rights in the legal environment.

Lesbians and gay men, whether seeking child custody or adoption, continue to be marginalized by the general public and legal system. This article explores the large body of research documenting that same‐sex couples are as effective as parents as straight couples. However, the judiciary system still disapproves of same‐sex couples in relation to adoption and custody of children. An alternative approach to avoid the courts and uphold the dignity of the family is mediation. The author analyzes how mediation is used in the gay community and, from a personal perspective, discusses his upbringing by a gay couple and how, as a teenager, he was caught in a custody dispute.

This article examines the experiences of four non-resident fathers in child custody battles in South Africa. These fathers have been in constant legal battles and have concluded that the South African family law system has failed them. The system, according to these fathers, refers to the various laws related to the maintenance court system and the children’s court, as well as the people who implement them, including social workers from the Department of Social Development, court-appointed psychologists, and family lawyers, and all the other organisations tasked with ensuring that the best interests of a child in custody cases are upheld. The interviewed participants maintained this view based on what they perceived as the barriers that the system places before fathers. Participants in this study also believed that in child custody cases, the courts tend to be biased against men, and they lament the slow manner in which the children’s court handles and resolves child custody cases. The narratives of the four participants presented in this article shed light on an important aspect of parental relations in South Africa. The study recommends a coordinated effort by the government, the South African court system and organisations advocating for fathers’ rights to encourage the involvement of non-resident fathers, and commends the recent court judgements in favour of fathers in parental alienation cases. The article emphasises that the systems should promote positive and active father involvement with their children with the same vehemence as financial provision by fathers for mothers and their children.

Our experience is that in many cases, trying to assess the "truthfulness" or "falseness" of sexual abuse allegations that occur in the midst of custody and access disputes may not be possible. Instead therapeutic management of such cases is advocated. A case is presented in which sexual abuse was suspected because the recanting child displayed sexualized symptoms. Following a thorough assessment, which indicated that the child was abused, but could not confirm who the offender was, both the child and the mother were seen in psychotherapy on a regular basis. The father used counselling to achieve rights for visitations. The building of a therapeutic relationship allowed us to experiment with the situation to where we felt we could identify the potential offender who had to be kept away from the child. In addition, the therapeutic relationship enables this family to come to us to resolve their disputes rather than use the judicial system.

It's Not Just Shopping, Urban Lofts, and the Lesbian Gay-By Boom: How Sexual Orientation Demographics Can Inform Family Courts