Grandparents’ contact rights: a critical assessment

Abstract

This article examines how case law deals with claims of grandparents who seek contact with their grandchildren against the will of one or both parents, and the scope given to their rights. The resulting state of the law is assessed taking into account the interests of all the parties involved (parents, grandparents, and grandchildren). The experience of more than twenty years of application of the specific provisions concerning grandparents’ contact rights sheds light on the impact of giving grandparents stronger legal rights. It also prompts the question of whether this legislative choice might have brought about useless and potentially harmful litigation.