THE IMPORTANCE OF PSYCHOLOGICAL AND PEDAGOGICAL KNOWLEDGE OF CASE LAW IN MATTERS RELATED TO PARENTAL RESPONSIBILITY

Abstract

Contemporary court case law relies on the everyday practice of experts or professionals, appraisers and specialists in various fields, whose knowledge can be useful in the process of adjudication. It is understandable that in the case of family matters, issues related to the exercise of parental responsibility, courts also refer to knowledge of educators and psychologists. Th is concerns mainly psychologists, whose participation in court proceedings dates back to the 19th century. Experts with psychological or pedagogical backgrounds are properly prepared to collect and analyze data from observations, interviews, tests, medical documentation, school documentation and other sources. As the research shows, expert opinions prepared by consultative teams of court specialists constitute the main evidence in cases of limitation or deprivation of parental authority. When assessing a child’s situation and manner of exercising parental responsibility, a judge who is a lawyer by training should undeniably consult professionals from groups that have a wide range of psychological and pedagogical knowledge. Th e paper presents the main institutions with which family judges cooperate, in ruling on parental responsibility. It also discusses the scope of opinions prepared by appraisers and other experts.

Keywords

• parental authority
• court appointed expert
• psychological and pedagogical knowledge