Joint custody law ushering in a new era

The planned changes in family law, namely joint custody and the alternating residency of children between divorced parents, are widely seen rectifying a protracted injustice to fathers in Greece, while some legal experts say that it is essential for safeguards to be instituted.

"With the ongoing changes, joint custody, which is already legislated in the courts, is being passed into the Civil Code," legal expert and lawyer Giorgos Tzevelekos told Kathimerini.

"It is a small but important step to mitigate an injustice, as the courts still give 90% of custody to mothers," he said, noting that courts currently do issue decisions for joint custody, but this is done sparingly.

In the future, however, the granting or not of joint custody will be down to the judge, while the opinion of the minors themselves may also be factored in. Tzevelekos notes that "in the case of...