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4912.3. The Best Interest of the Child: The Russian ViewElena G. Dozortseva, Serbsky National Center for Social and Forensic Psychiatry, Moscow, Russia(edozortseva@rambler.ru)Recently in Russia, demographic problems, decrease of population, and therefore problems of family andchildren have become an issue of national security. Every year about 470 000 children are left with oneparent as a result of divorce.The Russian Family Code adopted in 1995 regulates issues of children’s rights, parents’ rights and duties,custody in cases of divorce, deprivation and limitation of parental rights, adoption etc. The central notionof this regulation is focused on the best interests of the child. According to the law “interests of the childmust be the essential subject of parental care” (Art. 65, 1). Whereas the Code defines the child’s rights,there is no clear legislative definition for the category titled “interests of the child”. Articles characterize achild’s best interest as inclusive of education, care for health, physicality, psychological well being, as wellas a responsibility for spiritual and moral development (article 63, 1).Theoretically, in cases of divorce, parents have equal rights for custody of the child, and therefore issues ofconflict can be discussed in terms of the child’s primary residence. Both parents have equal opportunity toexert their rights regardless of which parent the child lives with. In deciding issues of custodial control, thecourt first takes into consideration “the child’s attachment to each of the parents and to the siblings, thechild’s age, moral and other personal quality of the parents, the relationships between each of the parentsand the child, conditions for the child’s education and development…” (article 65, 3). The rights of theparent who resides separately from the child on issues of child rearing and education can be contested bythe former spouse when contacts with the parent damage the child’s “physical and psychical health andmoral development” (article 66, 1). The court can demand expert opinion in such cases, in considering thebest interest of the child.The development of expert assessment in the framework of family law in Russia is now in its initial stagedemanding a clearer definition of what is included in the best interests of the child.12.4. Investigative Methods and Standards for Psychological Expertise Concerning theBest Interest of the ChildMarianne Kalinowsky-Czech, Practicing Psychologist, Buchholz/Nordheide, Germany (M.Kalinowsky@tonline.de)Since 1998, when the Child Reform Act came into effect in Germany, joint custody has been obligatory; incontested cases however, parents can ask for sole custody to be awarded. This process entails psychologicalexpertise in answering the question of the child’s best interest. This paper will demonstrate through aconcrete case, the plan of the investigation, the hypothesis, and the guideline for exploration with theparents, the child and other related persons, the process of determining best interest.The position of the law court depends on stereotypes of the judges (e.g. preferring a rapid decision) inawarding custody to the mother (with whom in most cases, the child lives), determining damages ordisadvantages of the best interest of the child living in joint custody, or to suggest communication and cooperationbetween the parents as a base for the decision. Important points to explore are: the educationalpositions and opinions of the parents concerning physical custody, every day life problems and importantconcerns like schooling, religious denomination, or basic conception about medical treatments.