This thesis deals with the criteria for courts, when they must decide a case on the child's place
of residence in accordance with the Parental Responsibility Law (FOL) Act § 17.
Since FOL § 17, do not indicate which criteria should be used in conjunction with the
residency decision, the preparation work are used as interpretative contributions thereto.
In order to answer the problem formulation, 17 out of 19 decisions settled after FOL, § 17 of
the years 2014 and 2015 has been chosen. These judgements has been grouped after the main
criterion in 7 factual groups. Each group header reflects the main criterion. For each group are
the most representative judgement chosen (in a single group two).
These judgments has been reviewed in depth, in order to give a true and fair view of the law's
application in practice, as well as the elements of judiciary's emphasis on the decisions.
From the other judgements the main reasons are included, when relevant, in order to support
the Court's reasoning.
It can, in the light of the judgment- analysis be concluded, that FOL§ 4 is included in all
decisions of the courts as the objective prerequisite for the judgment result.
FOL § 4 is a particularly broad provision, based on the UN child Convention art. 3. and is
youes in Denmark as a general legal standard.
FOL § 4 is like the Convention art. 3, an indicative provision for all decisions, within the Act
and the Convention area of responsibility of parents respectively.
It is with this in mind, not possible to derive a specific criterion that determines the residency
cases after FOL §17, since all decisions is made with respect of the child's best FOL § 4, why
decisions are made on the basis of a concrete, individual assessment of each case.
However, in the light of the 17 judgments used in the judgement-analysis, it has been possible
within the 7 different groups to demonstrate some indicative pattern, there are specific for
each type of case.