| Abstract: | Although divorce disrupts the marital bond thereby terminating marital rights
and obligations, each parent’s obligations to the wellbeing and upbringing of
children (custody, visitation rights, and maintenance) persists. This article
examines the practice of courts with regard to child custody, visitation rights
and obligation to supply maintenance in the Southern Nations, Nationalities
and Peoples (SNNP) Regional State. The experience of various court decisions
in SNNP Regional State with respect to these matters is explored. Since the
laws do not have detailed provisions that regulate the various issues of child
custody, visitation and child support, there is inconsistency in judicial
decisions. Many decisions do not distinguish between physical and legal
custody. As a result, the legal and physical custody of the child usually rest on
the same person. With regard to visitation, there is variation in court decisions
although the conventional arrangement seems standard visitation. In some
cases, courts specify the duration and form of visitation. However, in many
cases, courts do not indicate how and when visitation shall be allowed. There
are cases where courts overlook the issue of visitation. There is also
inconsistency in court decisions with regard to child support. These problems
call for detail provisions to ensure consistency and predictability in child
custody, visitation and child support decisions. |
