Children in family law cases: comparative study of custody and contact arrangements in Slovenia and Lithuania

ENFocusing on child custody and contact arrangements, this chapter explores the legal aspects related to children in family law cases in Slovenia and Lithuania. It compares the approaches of the two countries, which, on the one hand, are similar in a number of factors (e.g. population size, time of independence), but on the other hand are located in different parts of Europe, which brings with it different history, culture, traditions, as well as (family) legal rules. The chapter examines the national legislation of the countries concerned and the case law of their courts. The authors claim that physical custody, which determines the child’s primary residence, and contact arrangements, which regulate the interaction between the child and the non-resident parent, are intricately connected as they jointly shape the child’s experience of parental care after separation. Moreover, child contact arrangements can be structured to closely resemble shared physical custody in countries where this possibility is not foreseen in law.