Arrangements regarding contact with a minor child

Where you can sort this out

Příbram Town Hall,
Department of Social Affairs and Health
, Child
Social and Legal Protection Unit, nám. T. G. Masaryka 107, Příbram I

Procedure

Example:
I am divorced and have two sons from my first marriage, who were granted to their mother’s care. Until now, contact with the children has taken place by mutual agreement with their mother. Now, however, their mother is refusing, without reason, to hand the boys over to me for contact at weekends. I wish to maintain contact with my children and continue to play a part in their upbringing. How should I proceed?

You can discuss this matter with the relevant social worker at the OSPOD.
In this specific case, the father may exercise his right and file an application to amend the contact arrangements with the locally competent district court, where the minor’s custody file has been kept to date. Proceedings concerning the care of minor children are exempt from court fees.

In order for a parent to exercise their rights and fulfil their obligations arising from their parental responsibility, they must have the opportunity to have contact with the child and to play an active role in their upbringing.
The issue of contact between a minor child and a parent is governed by Section 27 of the Family Act No. 94/1963 Coll., as amended.

The extent of contact between a parent and a child depends on many circumstances relating to both the child and the other parent. For the child, this is primarily a question of their age. An older child may already express their own views on the extent of contact, and the child’s relationship with the other parent also plays a significant role – that is, whether the child had already been in contact with that parent prior to the court’s decision and is accustomed to them. Consideration must also be given to the child’s various out-of-school activities, which should not be significantly curtailed by the contact arrangements.

In practice, deciding on arrangements for a parent’s contact with a child is a highly sensitive matter, and where relations between the parents are seriously strained, the enforcement of such a decision is also considerably problematic.
The question of whether the entitled parent has been prevented from having contact with the child without good reason may become the subject of a relatively complex process of evidence-gathering. In extreme cases, an expert report in the field of child psychology or, where appropriate, psychiatry may assist the court in making an objective assessment of the matter (such a report is, however, considerably costly, quite apart from the fact that it may significantly prolong the court’s decision-making process).

If the parent to whom the child has been entrusted for upbringing prevents the other parent from having contact with the minor child even after receiving a final judgment on contact arrangements, the entitled parent may file an application with the court for the enforcement of the decision.
The court will then, pursuant to Section 272(2) of the Code of Civil Procedure, summon the parent who refuses to comply with the court’s decision or fails to fulfil the court-approved agreement on the upbringing of minor children and arrangements for contact with them, or a decision on the return of the child, to comply with the court’s decision or to fulfil the court-approved agreement. In such circumstances, the court may request the social and legal protection authority to provide the necessary cooperation.
If the parent continues to refuse to comply with the court decision, the court shall order the enforcement of the decision by imposing a fine, which may be imposed repeatedly, with individual fines amounting to up to 50,000 CZK. Where necessary, the court will then order the removal of the child from the person with whom, according to the order or agreement, the child is not to be, and the child’s handover to the person to whom custody has been granted by the order or agreement.

Where the court has previously ruled on the extent of contact and subsequently concludes that a parent has been repeatedly and unjustifiably prevented from having contact with their minor children, it may initiate proceedings to change the child’s living environment.

An appeal against a decision of the court of first instance (district court) may be lodged with the regional court within 15 days of receiving a written copy of the judgment.

Form

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