Legal glossary

Faculty for the spouses to subject their divorce to the law of their common nationality rather than Swiss law by default.

Procedure by which a judgment rendered abroad becomes enforceable in Switzerland, or conversely a Swiss judgment abroad.

Strategic choice of one national court among several with jurisdiction in order to maximise an outcome — common in binational divorces.

Procedural principle under which the plaintiff must, as a rule, sue before the court of the defendant's domicile.

Effective centre of a person's interests — operational concept of private international law, distinct from administrative domicile.

Test, at the time of recognising a foreign judgment in Switzerland, of the jurisdiction the foreign court would or could have had.

Rule determining whether the Swiss courts can hear a divorce or ancillary divorce action involving an international element.

Rule under which Swiss proceedings are stayed when the same matter is already pending before a competent foreign court.

Limit on the recognition of foreign judgments or the application of foreign law where the outcome would offend fundamental principles of Swiss law.

Arrangement in which the child lives alternately with each parent — possible whenever the concrete conditions allow it.

Maintenance amount set to cover the direct and indirect costs of the child — appropriate upkeep matching the family's living standard.

Share of the estate that the deceased may freely allocate by will — the remainder being the forced share of protected heirs.

Default regime since 1 July 2014: both parents continue to exercise parental authority after divorce, save for a duly motivated contrary decision.

Urgent decisions issued by the civil court to organise the spouses' separated life without dissolving the marriage.

Division between spouses of assets acquired during marriage according to the applicable regime — participation in acquisitions by default in Switzerland.

Equal split, on divorce, of occupational pension assets accrued by the spouses during the marriage.

Personal right of the non-custodial parent to maintain a personal relationship with the child — and of the child to that relationship.

Central criterion of international family law — the State in which the child has their effective centre of life.

Restricted grounds on which return of the child may be refused — strictly construed by the courts.

Wrongful removal or retention of a child in breach of custody rights — the 1980 Hague Convention organises its prompt return.

Default rule: a child wrongfully removed or retained is returned immediately to the State of habitual residence if the application is filed within the year.

Mechanism by which a divorce or parental-responsibility decision rendered in one EU Member State is recognised without any special procedure in the other Member States.

Unified EU framework for jurisdiction, recognition and enforcement of matrimonial and parental-responsibility decisions between Member States.

Standardised document issued by the court of origin certifying the enforceability of a decision for the purposes of the Lugano Convention.

Treaty governing jurisdiction and enforcement of civil and commercial decisions between Switzerland and the EU/EFTA states.

Standardised form issued by the court of origin certifying that a decision rendered in a Lugano State is enforceable and fit to circulate.

Right for the holder of a Swiss permit B to bring spouse and children to Switzerland, subject to housing, means and time conditions.

Retention of the foreign spouse's residence right after divorce or death, subject to either a lasting conjugal union or major personal reasons.

Comparison between the income without health impairment and the income reasonably expected with impairment — determines the level of the AI pension.

Cantonal and federal benefits intended to cover the basic needs of beneficiaries of an insufficient AVS or AI pension.