Does the loss of full parental authority lead to the abolition of access rights?

A father convicted of violence and harassment against his partner has lost parental authority over his child, resulting in the loss of access. Can he obtain access in the name of preserving the personal relationship between a parent and his child?

Public Service replies:

The mother, who was a victim of violence and harassment, applied to the family court judge to request the withdrawal of parental authority and to fix the child's residence at home without the father's right of access. The father was convicted of a criminal offense and was deprived of parental authority and denied access by the Court of Appeal.

The father refers the matter to the Court of Cassation. It invokes the right of the child to “maintain personal relations with his or her ascendants” (article 371-4 of the civil code) and respect for family life (Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights).

The Court of Cassation considers that the total withdrawal of parental authority, pronounced by the criminal judge, automatically results in the loss of all attributes related to this authority, including access rights. It also considers that the withdrawal of parental authority is justified by the need to protect the child, considered an indirect victim of domestic violence.

The "protection requirements" of the child, as set out in the domestic violence act, 2019 and in the law of 2024 aimed at better protecting children from such violence, make it necessary “to break off, for at least one year, the relationship between the child and the parent”, deprived of parental authority in this context.

The Court also rejected the father’s argument that ‘the child has the right to maintain personal relations with his ascendants’. This text of the Civil Code only applies to ascendants other than parents.

A parent deprived of parental authority automatically loses his right of access and cannot invoke his ancestry with his child to request such a right, the Court of Cassation ruled.

This decision rendered on 1^er october 2025 is part of an absolute protection of the best interests of the child.