Denmark also introduces shared parenthood as a principle

With the new law, both parents continue to have joint custody of the children - even in the event of a divorce. The parents are obliged to agree on how to handle parental responsibilities after the divorce - i.e. when the children are with whom and who has to pay how much maintenance to whom.

However, joint custody can be terminated by a court. It can itself decide that equal care is obviously not in the child's best interests, or a parent can submit a corresponding application. If both parents make such a request, the court must comply with it.

According to the new law, there must be solid reasons (such as abuse) for refusing shared parenthood. The law stipulates that parents share a number of responsibilities among themselves (such as taking children to school); However, it also requires that parents exchange information about the child's concerns (such as school issues). Children also have more say under the new legislation because they are interviewed by child protection authorities about custody issues.

Experts now fear that the introduction of shared parenthood as a principle will lead to a wave of renegotiations of custody issues. Anja Cordes, the chairwoman of the Danish Association of Family Lawyers and a member of the legislative commission, is not very optimistic: She fears that arguing parents will not be able to separate their role as parents from the conflictive couple relationship. 'It will take time before parents learn to separate parenthood from partnership and stop trying to take revenge on others through their child.'

Anette Hummelshøj, Director of the Department of Family Affairs, takes a less pessimistic view 'We assume that with the courts establishing a clear legal practice, more parents wishing to divorce will be able to reach an agreement with or without court.'

Denmark's recent example, as well as broader European developments, prove that the bill for shared parental responsibility presented in June by the Swiss Associations for Shared Parenthood (of which mannschafft plays a driving role) is by no means 'radical', as suggested by various parties Page is accused. It is no longer the codification of something self-evident - that a child has two parents and generally wants to keep them even after they separate. It is therefore desirable that the Swiss law makers also keep a close eye on European developments when drafting national regulations.