Facts
A. and B. are the unmarried parents of daughter C., born in 2009. At the time of birth, they lived together and agreed on the joint exercise of parental responsibility, which was approved by the guardianship authority.
A few months later, the parents separated. The mother moved several times with C. and has lived in W. since 2011, while the father has not had his own apartment since moving out and maintains contact with his daughter at the paternal grandmother's home.
At the mother's request, the KESB (Child and Adult Protection Authority) in 2013 revoked the joint parental responsibility due to the parents' lack of cooperation and communication skills, and transferred sole parental responsibility to the mother, while regulating the father's right of access and establishing a guardianship.
The father appealed against this decision, which was rejected by the District Council, the High Court, and ultimately the Federal Supreme Court.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court had to clarify the interpretation of Art. 298d(1) of the Swiss Civil Code, which allows for the re-regulation of parental responsibility in the event of a significant change in circumstances to safeguard the child's well-being.
The court concluded that the same strict requirements do not apply to the sole allocation of parental responsibility under Art. 298 et seq. of the Swiss Civil Code as for the withdrawal of parental responsibility under Art. 311 of the Swiss Civil Code. Significant and chronic communication or cooperation incapacity of…