Parental Rights and Custody Legal Framework

Chapter II: Custody

Section One: General Provisions

Article 347: Definition of Parental Rights

Parental rights mean all rights and duties of parents in relation to children who have not attained their majority, which pertains to the care, development, and education of children.

Article 348: Content of Parental Authority

Parental authority includes guardianship, the representation, and the administration of property of children subject to it.

Article 349: Authority During Marriage

Parental authority over the children belongs to the father and mother during the marriage, and the same is exercised jointly, primarily in the interest and welfare of the children. In case of disagreement over what is required in the interest of children, parents should be guided by practices which have served to resolve similar situations. If this practice does not exist or there are well-founded doubts about its existence, either parent can go before the judge of the Trial Chamber of the Court of Protection of Children and Adolescents, who shall decide after an attempt at conciliation between the parties.

Article 350: Authority Outside of Marriage

In the case of joint children out of wedlock, custody is shared between the father and mother when the affiliation is established simultaneously with respect to both. If the affiliation is set separately, the parent who recognizes the child later shall share the exercise of parental authority if recognition occurs within six months after the birth of the respective child.

In all other cases, ownership of custody only corresponds to that of the parents on which parentage was first established. However, the competent court may give custody to the other parent if the affiliation is established with respect to it through voluntary acknowledgment that the parent makes to the child, and proof that the latter has, in relation to it, possession of state. This occurs after hearing the opinion of the child and the parent who has custody, and provided that such conferral is appropriate in the interests of the child, all of which must be recorded in the minutes of the proceedings.

When the father and mother jointly exercise parental authority, disagreements regarding the children will be resolved as provided in the preceding article.