The time has finally come. Today the Federal Council announced the implementation of joint parental custody on July 1, 2014.
Almost 10 years after National Councillor Reto Wehrli asked in a parliamentary inquiry whether joint parental custody is possible in Switzerland, the question can finally be answered with YES.
After Parliament passed the law in the summer, it seemed a foregone conclusion that the new law would come into force on January 1, 2014. But far from it – just before the finish line, the cantonal authorities raised concerns. In a letter to the Federal Council, they explained that they were far from ready for a new law and requested a postponement of at least a year, or even longer.
In an open letter, VeV, together with other organizations, then addressed KOKES, the author of the letter.
Today, the Federal Council made a typically Swiss decision and opted for a middle ground: a postponement of six months to give the authorities time to prepare.
Specifically, this means that all affected parents will have to wait another six months before they can submit a corresponding application. In particular, it also means that divorced fathers whose divorces took place in the first half of 2009 will no longer be able to benefit from the retroactive effect. This is bitter, it is very sad, but at the same time, it must be clearly recognized that such retroactive effect is in itself unique in legislation.
Overall, this relatively short postponement should therefore be seen as a success for our opposition.
But the work continues; with the introduction of the new law, many people now have to rethink their approach, learn new things, and perhaps even break some old habits. We will support this process and try to contribute our experience and knowledge.
Here is today's press release from the umbrella organization for shared parenting, GeCoBi.