Facts
On June 21, 1968, the Civil Court of Bern dissolved the marriage of H.-W. and awarded parental authority over the five marital children to the father. The mother was granted limited visitation rights.
On March 29, 1969, the father applied to the Civil Court of Basel-Stadt to completely revoke the mother's visitation rights, or alternatively, to suspend or modify them. The mother filed counter-applications, requesting that the children be awarded to her and that the father be obligated to pay maintenance.
The Civil Court of Basel-Stadt and the Court of Appeal of the Canton of Basel-Stadt partially modified the divorce judgment. They severely restricted the mother's visitation rights and granted the children, from the age of 14 onwards, the authority to decide for themselves about visits to the mother.
The mother appealed this judgment to the Federal Supreme Court.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court stated that, according to Art. 157 of the Swiss Civil Code (ZGB), a modification of the parental rights arrangement made in the divorce judgment is only permissible if the circumstances have changed so significantly since the divorce that a different decision is imperative. A mere change in circumstances is not sufficient; the change must clearly require a different decision in the best interests of the child.
The Federal Supreme Court considers the prerequisites for a modification of the visitation rights to be fulfilled, as the divorce judge's prognosis that the relatively frequent visits by the mother would be…