Grandparents' visiting rights
Grandparents' visiting rights
Our son divorced under very difficult circumstances and, since his divorce, we no longer see our three young grandchildren, whom we used to look after regularly. Our ex-daughter-in-law no longer wants to speak to us and our son himself has very limited visiting rights. I really missed my grandchildren over Easter, so I've been thinking about asking a judge for visiting rights for grandparents: is this possible?
A granny from Geneva
In Switzerland, access rights are in principle designed to enable the non-custodial father or mother to maintain personal relations with the minor child (art. 273 of the Civil Code).
When asked about the possibility of enshrining grandparents' visiting rights in law, as exists in France for example, the Swiss parliament has so far always refused to consider the matter, arguing that it is primarily up to parents to organise their children's relationship with their grandparents, and that current regulations already allow for a few exceptions.
Visiting rights may be granted to persons other than the father and mother, in particular to members of the child's family, in exceptional circumstances and provided that it is in the best interests of the minor (art. 274a CC).
In certain cases, grandparents could be granted visiting rights, in particular - according to the case law of the Swiss Federal Supreme Court - if they have developed a very close relationship with their grandchildren and if the parents are in default.
In your case, you would therefore have to convince the judge of the existence of such special circumstances and of the fact that such access would genuinely serve the interests of your grandchildren, since it would be in addition to the exercise of personal relations with your son. The fact that your current relationship with your grandchildren's mother is apparently conflictual will undoubtedly complicate the situation somewhat. The best advice you can give in these circumstances is to first consider taking other avenues than the courts, such as mediation, to try to organise time directly with your son's ex-wife to share with your grandchildren.
