Procedure for visiting the child and placing the child under custody of claimant to have statutory regulation

Within the scope of implementation of the actions arising from the 2023-2026 National Strategy for Human Rights Protection, the procedure for conducting enforcement proceedings for visiting the child and placing the child under the custody of the claimant has been established under the order of the Minister of Justice.

The Guide for Conducting Enforcement Proceedings for Visiting a Child — approved by the Compulsory Enforcement Service back in 2021 — lies at the core of the document based on European standards and the international best practice in ensuring the best interests of the child, as well as on the law-enforcement practice of the Compulsory Enforcement Service.

The order of the Minister of Justice lays down the following:

1. a toolkit for ensuring the best interests of the child within the scope of proceedings for visiting a child and placing the child under custody, emphasising the need to maximally consider the opinion of the child;
2. cases for engaging an expert psychologist in the proceedings, the questions posed to the expert;
3. rules on the place, time, duration of the visit, the sequence of actions to be carried out by the compulsory enforcement officer in each situation;
4. cases and procedure for ensuring participation of guardianship and curatorship authorities.

The aim of adoption of the decision is to maximally protect the rights of the parties and the best interests of the child in the proceedings for visiting the child and placing the child under the custody of the claimant, improve the effectiveness of conduct of these procedures and establish a uniform practice. The order is available at https://rm.coe.int/final-report-on-reforming-armenian-hate-speech-laws-arm/pdf/1680a0b84d.