Problems of implementation of the rights of the child, determining the place of residence of the child, in the case of parents divorce in Lithuania

ENThe relevance of this study. According to the data of the Lithuanian Statistics Department, 8,683 families divorced in the Republic of Lithuania in 2019, in 2020 – 7544. Of them in 2019, 6,659 children remained living with one parent, in 2020 – 6118 (Portal of Official Statistics). Divorce of parents is one of the most painful experiences for children, the consequences for children are irreversible and devastating (R. C. van der Wal… 2019). The preamble of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child enshrines the principle that the full and harmonious development of a child is possible only when growing up in a family, therefore it is necessary to ensure the child’s right to family ties with the help of legal measures. The participation of both parents in the child’s education is necessary; the communication between the child and the parents must be direct and constant. The main problems. The Civil Code of the Republic of Lithuania stipulates that if the parents have not agreed peacefully. In the case of divorce, the court determines the permanent place of residence of the child only with one of the parents, and the order of communication must be determined with the father or mother living separately (Civil Code of the Republic of Lithuania…, 2000). Does such regulation not violate the child’s right to family ties? The problem arises because in case of divorce of the parents, if no agreement is reached, the place of residence of the child is determined only with one of the parents. In this way, not only is the right of the separated father or mother to communicate with the child not ensured, the parental conflict is encouraged, but the child’s interests and his right to family ties are often affected as a result.The child’s right to family relations is not ensured by legal instruments but becomes dependent on the understanding and goodwill of the father or mother living with the child. The following tasks: 1) analyze the concept of child rights; 2) to examine the responsibilities of parents to their children; 3) to analyze the implementation problems of the child’s rights in case of parental divorce regarding the determination of the place of residence in Lithuanian court practice. The aim of this work: after examining the legal regulation and court practice in Lithuania, to assess the protection of the child’s rights regarding the determination of the child’s place of residence in case of parental divorce. The paper concluded: The analysis of the judicial practice of the Republic of Lithuania showed that the court can determine the child’s place of residence. Only with one of the fathers, but it can be concluded that according to the latest practice of advanced countries, the court must have wider powers to decide on the determination of the child’s place of residence. The novelty – in some Western European countries, the so-called shared residence model is common, according to which the child’s place of residence is determined with both parents, and the specific time when the child lives with each parent is determined considering the child’s needs and interests. Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in 2015 October 2 Resolution 2079 (2015) also recommended that member states enshrine in their legislation a model of variable residence for the child, which could be limited in cases of abuse of parental responsibilities, child neglect or domestic violence.In the practice of the Supreme Court of Lithuania, the position is taken that the child’s place of residence is determined with one of the parents. As the result – establishing children’s residence with both parents at their separate residences would encourage parents to agree and cooperate. The used methodology document analysis and systematic method. Keywords: child’s rights, parents’ responsibilities, place of residence. [From the publication]

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