Legal rights in regards to children

[Einstein]

Hi guys,

My wife have chosen to call it quits. I can't really get answers to WHY, so I have given up trying to get any.
I travel a lot due to work and when I came back a week ago it was over...
We have a 10 months year old daughter and I would like to have joint costudy. What are my rights?

[KansaiBen]

Originally Posted by Einstein

Hi guys,

My wife have chosen to call it quits. I can't really get answers to WHY, so I have given up trying to get any.
I travel a lot due to work and when I came back a week ago it was over...
We have a 10 months year old daughter and I would like to have joint costudy. What are my rights?

be ready for a rough ride. This aint the states, mate. there is no such thing in Japan as joint custody and in the divorce form you have to nominate who gets parental custody. Either mother or father, not both. If you want to fight it you have to take her to court and basically prove shes an unfit mother.


If wife takes custody (happens in 95% of cases in japan you can have visitation if your wife allows it but its entirely at her discretion. In her eyes kid is Japanese and part of her family tree (that included her parents) you just happen to be the biological father.

You will be up for paying child support until kid is 18. YOu can always elect not to pay but you risk not seeing your kid again,

[KansaiBen]

Originally Posted by Einstein

Hi guys,

My wife have chosen to call it quits. I can't really get answers to WHY, so I have given up trying to get any.
I travel a lot due to work and when I came back a week ago it was over...
We have a 10 months year old daughter and I would like to have joint costudy. What are my rights?

I will add thatshe needs your consent to get a divorce in japan (kyogi rikon), she may have left you and gone back to mothers) but if you dont want a divorce you can contest it or seek compensation or mediation to get a divorce granted. Make life difficult for her if you have to.

[ericsson]

Pretty much on the spot there KB.

Until they're 18? I thought it was 20.

[shu]

As noted above, there is currently no joint custody in Japan. Moreover, KB is correct that even when courts order visitation, it's still basically at the discretion of the ex-wife.

It may seem odd that a vindictive parent can effectively overrule a court order, but it all boils down to the fact that the court order has no teeth.

Here, a father armed with a court order can travel out to visit his kids only to have the ex-wife refuse to answer the door. In the U.S., such a scenario could very well lead to contempt of court sanctions. In Japan, the father can spend the time and money to bring the ex-wife back to court and, at best, all he's going to get is the judge to admonish the ex-wife to allow visitation -- but no threat of any punishment if she does not.

Edited to add:

A 10-month old child and father busy traveling, my first thought is that it's some kind of postpartum or maternity related depression. If she's left the house and refuses to talk to you, I guess there's not much you can do. But, if there's still some line of communication, I'd try to encourage her to seek professional help and offer to watch the child as much as possible.

[Einstein]

great info, guys.

Since Dec. 2007 it has been going downhill. Yes, she did go to her parents house, eventhough we live 200meters from their house. So when I am home I live in our apartment alone. Sad, since I miss them a lot. I have asked her to come home, but she is afraid I will ask questions. It's like she already made up her mind. I have asked her to come home so we can talk and be a family and because I have been confused and sometimes angry about this, she now hates my personality (her own words). I feel like a stalker because I have to go to my inlaws house to see my daughter and when I "visit" my daughter my mother in law takes full control. She even tells me where to walk my daughter when I take her for a stroll. Yesterday I was playing with my daughter and my mother in law just sat down in between my daughter (her back facing me) and I and started playing with her.. I was lost for words.. She now does all my wifes laundry, cook for her and buys my daughters toys etc. I hate this, because I can take care of my own family. In terms of communication I have to admit I have been selfish trying to get answers but what should a guy do?

[what's it to you ?]

Originally Posted by Einstein

Hi guys,

My wife have chosen to call it quits. I can't really get answers to WHY, so I have given up trying to get any.
I travel a lot due to work and when I came back a week ago it was over...
We have a 10 months year old daughter and I would like to have joint costudy. What are my rights?

Wow. Seems like you'd have to ask your inlaws what your rights are. It really is disheartening to hear all these stories about break-ups and the limbo over access and custody.
I know in Australia there are many fathers who are upset about the general ease with which a wife gets custody, but at least the fathers have a clear right in terms of access. I guess this is because there is a feeling that the child has a right to a mother AND a father and maybe too that a father has a right to a child of his. But in Japan it seems a different ballgame.

Hard to have any sympathy for the North Korean abductee families when Japan's standards are so sloppy.

[what's it to you ?]

On a more serious note, I think you will have to be active in determinign what rights you do have. And it seems this will involve negotiating with the family. It's a call for diplomacy and a hope for some sympathy from them I guess.
No good calling the mum-in-law a _____ cos that may well be exactly what she is hoping for - especially if she really is a ____ of a _____ and a ____ed up ____.

If people play games with your feelings BITE YOUR TONGUE and SMILE. Go along with it. I think you're going to have to play your own hand here.
But go to that website which is often liked to in these threads and seek out any real advice from people AND a GOOD LAWYER. Get real.

And like KB said, get ready for a rough ride. If you love your daughter then I guess it's worth it. Though if you can walk away from the situation I wouldn't blame you actually. ....not suggesting you're cold-hearted or anything - but it is sad that losing your daughter could reasonably weigh up against the ugliness of family disputes.

[shu]

Well, it sounds like a difficult situation.

The only thing I can suggest is to try and tough it out as long as possible and hope your wife comes around.

I would not run to lawyer. You will lose. In fact, if it were me, I think I'd dig in my heels and refuse a divorce under any circumstances. From a foreign father's standpoint, nothing good can come of it. The only positive custody results for foreign fathers I've ever heard of were when the wife agreed to give the father sole custody in advance.

Also, this may be my irrational side showing, but if it were me, I think I'd try to spend more time at my in-laws house. You are still married and, if she won't come home, you still have a right to visit your wife and children. I'd go there every day. I might even start moving my stuff in. Seriously. If they don't like you around, tough sh-t. You are still married and they're the ones enabling your wife to keep your daughter from you.

If my mother-in-law tried to get between me and my child, I'd probably step right back in front of her and warn her not to do it again. Remember, you still have joint custody. At least until divorce, that is. I'm not suggesting you get violent or even yell. But a little dose of "what the hell is this crazy foreigner cable of" might not not be a bad thing. Make it clear you are not going to just roll over and give up. My read on the situation is that's exactly what they want. In my case, I know that when it comes to my kids I can be more stubborn than any person alive. My wife and in-laws know it, too.

[JBS3009]

Originally Posted by Einstein

Hi guys,

My wife have chosen to call it quits. I can't really get answers to WHY, so I have given up trying to get any.
I travel a lot due to work and when I came back a week ago it was over...
We have a 10 months year old daughter and I would like to have joint costudy. What are my rights?

I'm really sorry to hear that, man.

btw, did you get to the bottom of it? The PM box is always empty.

[legalright]

Children’s Rights: Russian Federation

Executive Summary | Introduction | Implementation of International Rights of the Child | Child Health and Social Welfare | Education, Including Special Needs | Child Labor and Exploitation | Sale and Trafficking of Children | Juvenile Justice | Conclusion
Executive Summary

Protection of children’s rights is a serious problem for Russia, particularly because of the worsening demographic situation and progressive involvement of youngsters in criminal and other underground activities. Several presidential programs, together with major pieces of legislation, address this issue, which is at the center of domestic public discussions; because of insufficient budget financing and restrictions on work of nongovernmental organizations, however, legislative declarations remain largely unimplemented. It is expected that the newly created institution of a Children’s Rights Ombudsman and introduction of the long delayed juvenile justice system will improve the situation. This paper analyzes legislation that regulates the protection of children’s rights and evaluates government attempts to enforce relevant laws. [PDF]

Introduction

The Russian Constitution, which was adopted in 1993, provides for the state protection of childhood, motherhood, and the family.[1] According to the Constitution, hundreds of laws, presidential decrees, government resolutions, executive regulations of specific agencies, and legal acts of the constituent components of the Russian Federation are supposed to secure rights of children. The primary documents in this field are the Family Code of the Russian Federation[2] and the Federal Law on Basic Guarantees of the Rights of the Child in the Russian Federation of July 21, 1998.[3] Child protection policy is also affected by the implementation of relevant provisions of such legislative acts, as the Civil Code, Labor Code, Housing Code, Criminal Code, Criminal Correctional Code, Fundamentals of Health Care Legislation, Federal Law on State Assistance to Individuals having Minor Children, Federal Law on State Support of Youth and Children’s Organizations, Federal Law on Social Assistance, and many others.

It appears that from the legal point of view, such basic rights as the right to life, dignity, personal inviolability, housing, education, freedom of movement, social security, protection of health and health assistance, access to cultural values, and others are protected. All the typical problems, however, of the implementation of Russian legislation and the functioning of government institutions are inherent in the area of children’s rights protection. Among these problems are a lack of separation of powers between the federal and regional levels of authorities; contradictions within the legislation; no defined division between federal and state budgets in regard to the payment of state subsidies to children; maintenance of social support institutions; and absence of working mechanisms that would provide for rehabilitation and integration of children with disabilities.

The economic and social crisis of the 1990s affected the area of children’s rights substantially. Until 2003, payment of social assistance subsidies was constantly delayed, and even if money was received by children and parents having minor children, it did not have a positive impact on the economic situation in the family because of its insignificant amount and inflation. The situation was complicated by the dismantling of the previously existing traditional structures of social protection. Difficulties in family relations impacted the health and welfare of children most. For example, between 1994 and 2003, the population of children in Russia decreased by 4.4 million; approximately eighty percent of all high school graduates have significant health problems.[4]

Several targeted programs aimed at creating opportunities for children’s development and protection of their rights were developed by the federal government and the President of Russia. These programs are dedicated to such aspects as the development of gifted children, the organization of summer vacation for children, protection of children whose parents are refugees or forced migrants, treatment of Chernobyl catastrophe victims, family planning, counteraction to drug abuse, and some others. According to Russian tradition, issues included in government or presidential programs receive better financing; their implementation is better controlled by the responsible government agencies; and legislative support is provided.

The system of government authorities is responsible for assisting children in defending their rights and monitoring their implementation. It includes education, health, and youth affairs authorities, as well as interagency bodies, such as guardianship committees and commissions on affairs of minors. This system, however, is not able to respond to children’s complaints effectively. Because all these institutions belong to the executive branch of power, the scope of their activities cannot be extended beyond the authority of the agency of which they are a part. Twenty-three out of eighty-seven constituent components of the Russian Federation have established the regional office of a Children’s Rights Ombudsman, an office which advocates children’s rights, addresses government authorities and courts on behalf of those children who have no other representation or are mistreated, and coordinates the activities of other government and public services involved in the protection of children. In most of the cases, such Ombudsmen are appointed by the Governor and are included in the executive system; during the last two years, however, the appointment, as a rule, is made by the regional legislature or requires its approval. That new procedure gives parliamentary status to the Ombudsman, increases his independence, and expands his authority. The UN Committee on Children’s Rights recommended the expansion of this institution in all Russian provinces and the establishment of the federal Children’s Ombudsman office.

Among other problems that await a legal solution are the adoption of laws on a specialized juvenile justice system; development of different forms of raising children without parental care; protection of children from mistreatment, commercial, and sexual exploitation; adoption of legal measures aimed at preventing parental kidnapping and illegal transfer of children throughout the sate borders of Russia; the legal education of children, their parents, and officials working with the children; and further involvement of nongovernmental organization in work on the protection of children.

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Implementation of International Rights of the Child

As a legal successor to the former Soviet Union, Russia became a party to the International Convention of the Rights of the Child (CRC), which was ratified on August 16, 1990.[5] On February 15, 2001, Russia signed the Optional Protocol to the International Convention of the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict. After the Convention was ratified, Russia attempted to bring its domestic legislation in accordance with international obligations in the field of children’s rights protection. The Federal Law on Basic Guarantees of the Rights of the Child in the Russian Federation of July 21, 1998 repeats all the provisions of the CRC.

It appears that family law was among the most revised areas of legislation in regard to the care of children. In order to secure children’s rights, the Family Code of the Russian Federation dedicates a special section to the rights of minors.[6] Almost all provisions of the Code reflect the requirements of the CRC, except the right of the child to be reunited with his or her family. Despite the fact that the Federal Law on Exit from and Entry into the Russian Federation[7] was amended numerously, no provision regarding the protection of migrant children was included in this Law. Different pieces of Russian legislation do not follow the definition of children provided by the CRC uniformly. Despite the fact that article 1 of the CRC states that everyone under eighteen years of age is recognized as a child, most specialized health care programs in Russia do not include children older than fourteen, or older than sixteen, if a child is disabled. Parental consent for medical procedures is required for children under sixteen, and tax legislation treats minors under sixteen, and between sixteen and eighteen years of age differently.

[legalrights]

Encouraged by the overwhelming support for the Convention on the Rights of the Child,
demonstrating the widespread commitment that exists to strive for the promotion and protection of the rights of the child,
Reaffirming that the rights of children require special protection, and calling for continuous improvement of the situation of children without distinction, as well as for their development and education in conditions of peace and security,
Disturbed by the harmful and widespread impact of armed conflict on children and the long-term consequences it has for durable peace, security and development,
Condemning the targeting of children in situations of armed conflict and direct attacks on objects protected under international law, including places that generally have a significant presence of children, such as schools and hospitals,
Noting the adoption of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, in particular, the inclusion therein as a war crime, of conscripting or enlisting children under the age of 15 years or using them to participate actively in hostilities in both international and non-international armed conflicts,

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