Avoid gatekeeping of information
Avoiding gatekeeping of information concerns a typical issue of Swiss family and procedural law. For the legal assessment, buzzwords or personal attributions are not decisive; what matters are the established facts, the applicable legal basis and the concrete effects of the measure applied for or ordered.
Courts must distinguish between party submissions, documented facts, evidence and their own findings. An application does not by itself prove the factual prerequisites it relies on. Conversely, a relevant, substantiated fact must not be disregarded solely because it was submitted by a party.
In family law, the child’s best interests are central in matters concerning children. At the same time, procedural guarantees such as the right to be heard, access to files, a comprehensible reasoning and an appropriate assessment of evidence apply. Interventions must be suitable, necessary and proportionate.
A good legal documentation therefore states the date, document type, author or official role, the content of the specific action and its procedural status. It avoids motives that are not substantiated and explicitly indicates whether something is a party’s allegation, an authority’s action, a judicial finding or an editorial classification.
For those affected, it is often essential to keep a complete chronology, retain filings and service documents, and ensure that applications are clear. Where the factual situation changes, it must be examined whether new facts can still be introduced in the ongoing proceedings and which remedies are available.
Further posts
Editorial expert article. Not individual legal advice. Prior to publication, the status of legislation and case law as well as the sources must be checked again.