Legally, family law has favored amicable divorce for about twenty years, and the maintenance of joint parental authority has been the rule since 2014.
These basic principles aim to preserve the child's right to have a personal relationship with each parent, in order to ensure their emotional and personal development, as well as their socio-economic security.
And yet, during a divorce (one in two marriages in Switzerland) or separation, issues of contention often crystallize into conflict between the parents, requiring the use of numerous social and legal resources.
Already successfully developed abroad, the parental consensus model (or the so-called "Cochem" method) aims to help separating or divorcing parents find amicable solutions that meet the needs of the children and do not make them a factor in the tensions between them.
Since 2020, ISS Switzerland has been supporting French-speaking cantons in implementing the parental consensus model. Two pilot projects have thus been developed in the cantons of Valais and Fribourg.
ISS Switzerland was commissioned by the Canton of Fribourg to implement a parental consensus pilot project in three districts in the southern part of the canton. Working groups composed of judicial authorities and professionals from the psychosocial and legal fields met to develop a project tailored to the local context. The pilot project began in February 2025.
The project includes:
- free counseling sessions
- an adapted legal procedure
- free support services: mediation and co-parenting coaching sessions
The canton of Valais has been testing the parental consensus model in family law procedures involving minors since January 2020.
Within the framework of this pilot project in Valais, a procedure corresponding to Swiss law has been implemented. This includes a series of measures to prevent parental conflicts or their aggravation in the interest of child protection. The best interests of the child are the factors that lead the parents, the courts and the KESB of the districts of Monthey, Martigny, St-Maurice and Entremont to reach an agreement in terms of a "parental consensus". Parents in separation are referred to mediation or counselling for shared parenting right from the first hearing. In addition, they are informed beforehand about what it means for a child to experience a parental separation.
Evaluation Report of the Parental Consensus Pilot Project in Valais
This evaluation report presents an in-depth analysis of the results obtained during the first two years of the Valais Parental Consensus Pilot Project (2022-2023) in the districts of Monthey, Entremont, Martigny, and Saint-Maurice.
The objective of this report is to evaluate the implementation of the parental consensus model by analyzing the feedback received for each type of proposed measure from the various professional associations involved as well as from the beneficiaries. It highlights the significant impacts of the model on the beneficiaries and the professionals involved, and compiles their recommendations. Finally, it examines the pilot project in light of the principles defined by the Convention on the Rights of the Child.