Child Custody and Cognate Concepts: The Challenges

Abstract

Decision-making authority in respect of a child in an intact family is allocated using the concepts variously known in different jurisdictions as custody, parental responsibility (or responsibilities) or guardianship, with visitation, contact and parenting time acquiring significance where the parents separate or have never lived together with their child. Set in the context of international norms and using selective, comparative examples, this chapter addresses the evolution and contemporary application of these concepts. The child’s participation rights, historically-marginalised parents and the challenge posed by the intersection of continuing parental involvement and domestic abuse receive particular attention.