Facts
The appellant, [X.] , and the respondent, [Y.] , married in January 1997 and have a son, [A.] , born in 2000. The spouses separated in 2001 and filed a joint divorce petition in October 2003. The District Court of St. Gallen divorced the spouses and granted parental custody of [A.] to the father. The mother appealed and requested that the child be placed under her parental custody.
The Cantonal Court of St. Gallen dismissed the appeal and confirmed the allocation of parental custody to the father. The mother filed a federal appeal and requested that the judgment of the Cantonal Court be overturned and the child be placed under her parental custody.
Considerations
The Federal Court examined the admissibility requirements of the appeal ex officio and with free cognition. The appeal is primarily directed against the allocation of parental custody for the child [A.] to the father. The Federal Court must base its decision in the appeal proceedings on the factual findings of the lower court, unless they are based on an obvious error or a violation of federal rules of evidence.
The Federal Court found that the Cantonal Court considered the relevant criteria for the allocation of parental custody, such as the personal relationships between the parents and the child, their educational abilities, and their willingness to have the child in their own care and to personally care for and support it to a large extent. The Cantonal Court also considered the need for stability in the child's…