Facts
The appellant [A.] is married to his wife [B.] and they have two children together. Since 2009, the parties have been living separately. In August 2010, [A.] took the children to Tunisia, where they have since been living with their grandparents. [A.] was criminally convicted for this. In July 2012, [B.] filed for divorce. The District Court of Winterthur dissolved the marriage, granted sole custody to the mother, initially denied the father visitation rights, and waived the obligation to pay child support. [A.] appealed this judgment. The Cantonal Court of Zurich partially granted him legal aid, namely for the question of jurisdiction and the division of pension assets, but not for the other disputed issues (parental responsibility, visitation rights, child support, post-marital maintenance).Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court overturns the decision of the Cantonal Court and grants the appellant full legal aid for the entire appeal proceedings. It justifies this by stating that the question of international jurisdiction and the applicable law are complex and cannot be assessed as hopeless without further…