LA GARDE CONJOINTE, REEQUILIBRAGE DE L'AUTORITE PARENTALE

Abstract

It is generally accepted that the award of custody of a child to a divorced or separated parent confers, in effect, on the guardian the exclusive right to exercise parental authority and to take all decisions concerning the well-being and education of the child. In order to prevent this concentration of parental authority and to give the non-custodial parent a less passive role the courts have developed various techniques: thus, they have divided the concept of custody into "physical custody" and "legal custody" and they have created "joint custody". These devices have given birth to a defective terminology. On the other hand, they permit a happier balance in the exercice of parental authority by divorced or separated parents.