The joint parental responsibility bill aims to give a voice to children whose parents have separated or divorced Pexels

The joint parental responsibility bill aims to give a voice to children whose parents have separated or divorced Pexels

The joint parental responsibility bill introduces a number of changes to the law, including the right for minors to request changes to custody, to choose where they live, and determine parental access rights and alimony. The bill says the child must be “capable of discernment” for a family court judge to consider their request.

Discussing the bill on Wednesday, some MPs raised concerns this element could be exploited by a parent at the expense of another.

Married or unmarried

The bill proposes to amend the law so that unmarried parents with children are treated the same as married parents. It allows for alternate custody for children, if this is in the best interest of the child and daily family organisation permits its.

It also grants certain rights other family members, such as grand-parents or a partner of one of the parents if they have a link to the child. The bill, which aims to make the divorce process more efficient, faster and less conflictual and costly, is expected to be finalised before the summer.

Eurostat data show that in 2015 Luxembourg had the fifth highest divorce rate of the EU at 2.4 divorces for every 1,000 residents. There were no figures on the proportion of divorces where couples had children nor was there data on the proportion of separations of unmarried parents.