Expedited proceedings and due diligence
Acceleration of proceedings and due diligence concern a typical issue of Swiss family and procedural law. For the legal assessment, what matters is not catchphrases or personal attributions, but the established facts, the relevant legal basis and the concrete effects of the measure requested or ordered.
Courts must distinguish between parties' submissions, documented facts, evidence and their own findings. A request does not in itself prove the factual prerequisites it alleges. 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 the files, a comprehensible reasoning and an appropriate evaluation of the evidence apply. Interventions must be suitable, necessary and proportionate.
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 evidenced, and explicitly indicates whether something is a party allegation, an administrative action, a judicial finding or an editorial characterization.
For those affected it is regularly crucial to keep their own chronology complete, to retain submissions and service documents, and to ensure applications are clearly formulated. Where the factual situation changes, it must be examined whether new facts can still be introduced in the ongoing proceedings and which legal remedies are available.
Further contributions
Editorial specialist article. Not individual legal advice. Before publication, the statutory and case-law situation and the sources must be checked again.