Russia: draft law to protect parents from the removal of children
Legislation to protect families from the removal of children to be finalised by the Russian Government
07.04.2023
Draft amendments to the Federal Family Code have been prepared concerning the rights of parents, the protection of the family from unwarranted interference and the removal of children.
A special parliamentary and government working group has been set up to finalise the legislation. The legal text was tabled in April last year.
“In cases where a child has been left on its own, we suggest that priority be given to close relatives, i.e. grandparents, aunts and uncles, in adoption and custody issues”, said Vyacheslav Volodin, speaker of the Duma’s lower chamber.
Svetlana Stroganova, Programme Director of the Our Children charity, stated that a child’s right to live and to be raised in a family is already guaranteed under the Federal Family Code, as is the priority given to blood relatives. “There are no ground-breaking proposals in the latest published version of the Bill”, said Stroganova.
In February, Artem Metelev, Chair of the State Duma Committee on Youth Policy, suggested introducing temporary custody of “stateless” children.
