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ABGB § 138 — Kindeswohl-Checklist (verbatim, 12 statutory factors)

Jurisdiction: Austria · Citation: Allgemeines Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch § 138 · Authoritative source: ris.bka.gv.at — § 138 ABGB

The welfare-paramountcy + statutory checklist in Austrian family law. § 138 ABGB establishes the Kindeswohl (welfare of the child) as the leitender Gesichtspunkt (guiding consideration) in all matters concerning the minor child, and codifies twelve specific welfare-checklist factors that the court considers when assessing the welfare interest. The provision is the Austrian structural parallel to: - UK Children Act 1989 s. 1 + s. 1(3) welfare checklist - Ireland Guardianship of Infants Act 1964 s. 3 + Part V checklist - Germany BGB § 1697a Kindeswohlprinzip

§ 138 is doctrinally distinctive among the welfare-paramountcy provisions because two of its enumerated factors — items 9 (reliable contacts to both parents + secure attachments) and 10 (avoidance of loyalty conflicts) — are expressly relevant to PA-pattern analysis. The Austrian framework thus codifies what other systems treat as implicit considerations in welfare assessment.

Verbatim text (current consolidated, post-KindNamRÄG 2013)

§ 138 ABGB — Kindeswohl

In allen das minderjährige Kind betreffenden Angelegenheiten, insbesondere der Obsorge und der persönlichen Kontakte, ist das Wohl des Kindes (Kindeswohl) als leitender Gesichtspunkt zu berücksichtigen und bestmöglich zu gewährleisten. Wichtige Kriterien bei der Beurteilung des Kindeswohls sind insbesondere:

  1. eine angemessene Versorgung, insbesondere mit Nahrung, medizinischer und sanitärer Betreuung und Wohnraum, sowie eine sorgfältige Erziehung des Kindes;

  2. die Fürsorge, Geborgenheit und der Schutz der körperlichen und seelischen Integrität des Kindes;

  3. die Wertschätzung und Akzeptanz des Kindes durch die Eltern;

  4. die Förderung der Anlagen, Fähigkeiten, Neigungen und Entwicklungsmöglichkeiten des Kindes;

  5. die Berücksichtigung der Meinung des Kindes in Abhängigkeit von dessen Verständnis und der Fähigkeit zur Meinungsbildung;

  6. die Vermeidung der Beeinträchtigung, die das Kind durch die Um- und Durchsetzung einer Maßnahme gegen seinen Willen erleiden könnte;

  7. die Vermeidung der Gefahr für das Kind, Übergriffe oder Gewalt selbst zu erleiden oder an wichtigen Bezugspersonen mitzuerleben;

  8. die Vermeidung der Gefahr für das Kind, rechtswidrig verbracht oder zurückgehalten zu werden oder sonst zu Schaden zu kommen;

  9. verlässliche Kontakte des Kindes zu beiden Elternteilen und wichtigen Bezugspersonen sowie sichere Bindungen des Kindes zu diesen Personen;

  10. die Vermeidung von Loyalitätskonflikten und Schuldgefühlen des Kindes;

  11. die Wahrung der Rechte, Ansprüche und Interessen des Kindes;

  12. die Lebensverhältnisse des Kindes, seiner Eltern und seiner sonstigen Umgebung.

English working translation

§ 138 ABGB — Welfare of the child

In all matters concerning the minor child, particularly Obsorge (parental responsibility) and personal contacts, the welfare of the child (Kindeswohl) is to be considered as the guiding factor and to be safeguarded as best possible. Important criteria in the assessment of the welfare of the child are, in particular:

  1. adequate care, in particular with food, medical and sanitary care, and accommodation, as well as careful upbringing of the child;

  2. care, security, and protection of the physical and emotional integrity of the child;

  3. esteem and acceptance of the child by the parents;

  4. promotion of the child's predispositions, abilities, inclinations, and development possibilities;

  5. consideration of the child's opinion, depending on the child's understanding and capacity for opinion-formation;

  6. avoidance of impairment that the child could suffer through implementation and enforcement of a measure against the child's will;

  7. avoidance of the danger that the child itself suffers attacks or violence, or witnesses them inflicted on important reference persons;

  8. avoidance of the danger that the child is wrongfully removed or retained, or otherwise comes to harm;

  9. reliable contacts of the child with both parents and important reference persons, and secure attachments of the child to these persons;

  10. avoidance of loyalty conflicts and feelings of guilt of the child;

  11. preservation of the rights, claims, and interests of the child;

  12. the living conditions of the child, his/her parents, and other surroundings.

Why this matters for PA

  • Welfare paramountcy + checklist. § 138 ABGB establishes both the welfare paramountcy principle (als leitender Gesichtspunkt … bestmöglich zu gewährleisten — as guiding factor … to be safeguarded as best possible) and the 12-factor welfare checklist (the wichtige Kriterien). The structural design — principle + checklist — parallels UK CA 1989 s. 1 + s. 1(3).
  • Factor 9 — verlässliche Kontakte + sichere Bindungen. Verlässliche Kontakte des Kindes zu beiden Elternteilen und wichtigen Bezugspersonen sowie sichere Bindungen des Kindes zu diesen Personen. Reliable contacts of the child with both parents and important reference persons, and secure attachments. This is doctrinally direct: factor 9 codifies the welfare-protective interest in both-parent contact. In alienating-conduct cases, factor 9 provides express statutory authority for treating contact-frustration as direct welfare evidence.
  • Factor 10 — Loyalitätskonflikte + Schuldgefühle. Die Vermeidung von Loyalitätskonflikten und Schuldgefühlen des Kindes. Avoidance of loyalty conflicts and feelings of guilt of the child. This is the structural recognition of the alienation-pattern psychological harm — Austria expressly codifies it in the welfare-checklist framework. No other comparative welfare-paramountcy provision is as explicit on this point.
  • Factor 5 — Berücksichtigung der Meinung. Die Berücksichtigung der Meinung des Kindes in Abhängigkeit von dessen Verständnis und der Fähigkeit zur Meinungsbildung. The child's opinion considered with regard to Verständnis (understanding) and Fähigkeit zur Meinungsbildung (capacity for opinion-formation). This is the structural capacity-based assessment for the child's expressed view — analogous to the Gillick competence standard. In PA-pattern cases the Fähigkeit zur Meinungsbildung prong is the analytical pathway for assessing whether the child's expressed view is autonomous.
  • Factor 6 — Vermeidung der Beeinträchtigung gegen den Willen. Die Vermeidung der Beeinträchtigung, die das Kind durch die Um- und Durchsetzung einer Maßnahme gegen seinen Willen erleiden könnte. Avoidance of impairment to the child from enforcing measures against the child's will. This is doctrinally important: it operates as a structural caution against welfare-protective measures that override the child's expressed view — but balanced against factor 10 (loyalty conflicts), it does not preclude such measures where the expressed view is the product of alienating influence.
  • Factor 7 — Übergriffe und Gewalt. Avoidance of the danger that the child suffers attacks or violence, or witnesses them inflicted on important reference persons. This is the welfare-protective floor against DV — codified alongside the PA-relevant factors 9 and 10, structurally signalling that both DV protection and alienating-conduct findings can engage § 138 analysis without privileging one over the other.
  • Factor 8 — rechtswidrig verbracht oder zurückgehalten. Avoidance of the danger that the child is wrongfully removed or retained. This is the structural welfare-protective framing of Hague 1980 wrongful-removal proceedings — § 138 (8) operates as the substantive welfare anchor for return analysis.

Procedural application

  • § 138 operates throughout all Obsorge and Kontakte proceedings under the AußStrG
  • The court's reasoning typically addresses each factor individually where relevant
  • The Familiengerichtshilfe assessment addresses the welfare-checklist factors
  • Appellate review on welfare-paramountcy grounds is available where the lower court has not adequately addressed the checklist

Use in alienating-conduct cases

  • Where alienating-conduct findings are established, factors 9, 10, 5, and 6 are typically engaged
  • Factor 9 provides the structural authority for ordering or maintaining contact with the targeted parent despite the alienating parent's opposition
  • Factor 10 provides the structural authority for treating sustained alienating conduct as direct welfare-harming evidence
  • Factor 5 + 6 together provide the structural framework for the autonomy-of-expressed-view assessment
  • The combined operation of factors 9 + 10 makes Austrian welfare-paramountcy analysis structurally more PA-aware than parallel provisions in DE, UK, IE

Cross-reference

Sources & authoritative references

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