• Legal reform Who gets the dog?

    The law will establish joint custody in divorce cases

Any parent who has abused a pet or threatened to coerce their former partners may not have joint custody of the children.

This has been approved by Congress this Tuesday within a triple legal reform on animals by which they will cease to have the legal status of 'things' and will be considered "living beings endowed with sensitivity." Now these modifications will go to the Senate.



This is a legal change that will allow a judge in divorce proceedings to determine the joint custody of the family dog ​​or cat between the two people of the former couple. It is an increasingly common problem today in separations. Likewise, the animals will not be considered as real property in the seizure or eviction processes, so they cannot be retained or separated from their owners.



To achieve this legal change regarding the consideration of animals as sentient beings, the Justice Commission, with full legislative competence, has approved the modification of the Civil Code, the Mortgage Law and the Criminal Procedure Law. There have been 22 votes in favor and 14 against, those of PP and Vox.



In its processing, an amendment to the PNV has been approved that refers to pet mistreatment as a cause for judges to deny joint custody of the children in a separation. "The joint custody" of the children will not proceed in a divorce when it is appreciated "the existence of mistreatment of animals, or the threat of causing them, as a means to control or victimize any of these people", be it the children or the other member of the couple. This implies bringing it to the law as a case of possible vicarious violence, by which the animal is harmed as a method of coercion or intimidation.



"Numerous studies show that the mistreatment of animals, and the threat of mistreating them, especially pets, are part of a coercive system, and that this type of aggression is used by aggressors as a tactic to intimidate, control and make minors and minors suffer. people in vulnerable situations, especially in the family context ", justifies the PNV.



And he continues in his explanation: "Animal abuse and the threat of mistreating animals is also a tool to ensure the silence of human victims about other abuses they suffer or have witnessed, or even to make it difficult for victims to flee."

Joint custody of the dog or cat


Regarding the substance of the law, it was a matter of collecting in the legislation that animals are "living beings endowed with sensitivity" and, consequently, that their legal treatment will be placed in very relevant aspects on a similar plane to that of people . In this sense, the objective is that the rights of possession over animals are always exercised taking into account their welfare and protection.



Thus, precepts aimed at "specifying the custody regime for companion animals" are introduced into the legal regulations applicable in crises and marital breakdowns so that, in the event of a dispute, the courts have clear criteria to make the decision of a who provides the care of the animal attending to its welfare.



The judge may entrust the care of the companion animals to one or both spouses, determining, where appropriate, the way in which the spouse who has not been entrusted with the daily care may have them in their company.

Ultimately, you can establish a visiting regime or a period of stay.



On the other hand, it will be absolutely forbidden to seize companion animals "in view of the special bond of affection that binds them to the family with which they live."


Broken consensus



The PP has accused the PSOE of breaking the previous consensus in the law on the legal regime of animals and has considered that the changes introduced by the socialist group in the amendment phase, "also in relation to the limitations on the granting of the joint custody of the parents ", have turned the text into" an ideological instrument instead of a useful, simple and clear tool to establish measures that guarantee the welfare of animals. "



For this reason, deputy Teresa Angulo has urged the PSOE to reverse certain changes in the Senate to recover the "consensus" that was reached in 2017 with a PP law.

The PP urges the PSOE to reverse the modifications promoted by the socialists via amendments "because, far from achieving a peaceful reform, they remove the possibility of an agreement, falling into hyperbole, the lack of technical and legal rigor and introducing more difficulties to the already difficult situation of a family breakdown ".

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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