Ministry of Justice Prepares Major Family Law Reform on Divorces, Child Support, and Custody
The Polish Ministry of Justice is working on a comprehensive family law reform aimed at redefining divorces, introducing standard child support, and establishing shared custody to protect the best...
The Polish Ministry of Justice is working on a comprehensive family law reform aimed at redefining divorces, introducing standard child support, and establishing shared custody to protect the best interests of children.
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Ministry of Justice: Separation Does Not End Parenthood
The Ministry of Justice is working on a reform of family law covering child support, shared custody, and the enforcement of family court rulings. Dorota Łopalewska, a family judge and Director of the Department of Family and Juvenile Affairs at the Ministry of Justice, emphasized in an interview with Infor.pl that separation ends an adult relationship but does not end parenthood. Children should not become participants or tools in a dispute, and all proposed solutions share a single common denominator: the special protection of the child’s best interests.
Faster Divorces and Standard Child Support
An important premise of the “Right to Childhood” package is basic child support. The reform provides that the amount of such child support will be linked to the minimum wage and the number of children entitled to the benefit. The ministry assures that the new project is the result of experiences from previous legislative work and broad consultations with practitioners and the social side.
Abolishing Fault-Based Divorce and Assessing Real Needs
Plans also include abandoning fault adjudication in divorce cases to simplify divorce proceedings. According to the Ministry of Justice, prolonged trials and conflicts between parents do not serve the child. Judge Łopalewska stressed that the project assumes a departure from tying the maintenance obligation between former spouses to a fault ruling, shifting the reference point primarily to the actual needs of the entitled person and the earning and property capabilities of the other party.
Flexible Custody and New Family Proceedings
The new regulations will define the concept of shared custody and specify the criteria for its application, though there will be no automatism as the court will evaluate each family situation individually. Małgorzata Wojciechowska, a psychological expert from the Department of Family and Juvenile Affairs, noted that the care model will be flexible and adapted to the needs of the specific child.
New Enforcement Procedure in Family and Guardianship Cases
To ensure parents have no trouble implementing court rulings, a new enforcement procedure in family and guardianship cases is being introduced. Mateusz Korzeniowski, a court probation officer and Deputy Director of the Department of Family and Juvenile Affairs, stated that the enforcement procedure as a separate legal act is designed to enable faster responses to problems related to child custody, contact, and other obligations, while strengthening the roles of the court probation officer and the court itself.
Primacy of the Child’s Best Interests
The expert emphasizes that all proposed solutions—regardless of whether they concern basic child support, shared custody, divorce, or enforcement proceedings—are subordinated to the overarching principle of the child’s best interests.