Anna Saliienko

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Family law specialist. Deals with issues of divorce, alimony, division of property and adoption.

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Case: The court protected the father’s right to communicate with his children

Family law
Reading time: 5 min.

Case Summary

A client, the father of two minor children, approached Anna Saliienko, a lawyer at the Prikhodko & Partners Law Firm, after his divorce, having faced systematic obstacles in communicating with his son and daughter.

The client sought to remain a full part of his children’s lives, participate in their upbringing, spend time with them, maintain an emotional connection, and ensure the children’s perception of the divorce was as painless as possible.

However, after the dissolution of the marriage, the former wife began creating obstacles to the father’s communication with the children:

  • restricted personal meetings;
  • hindered telephone communication;
  • ignored the children’s desire to maintain contact with their father;
  • created conflict situations surrounding communication.

In fact, the conflict between the former spouses began to negatively affect the realization of the client’s parental rights and the children’s interests.

Case Circumstances

The client and his wife were in a registered marriage from November 13, 2013, to June 14, 2024.

Born in the marriage:

  • son — born in 2013;
  • daughter — born in 2016.

After the divorce, the children remained living with their mother. The father did not object to this residence but insisted on the necessity of regular and unhindered communication with the children.

The client repeatedly attempted to resolve the situation peacefully, but this yielded no results.

Therefore, the decision was made to file a lawsuit with the court for:

  • eliminating obstacles to communication with the children;
  • determining the father’s method of participation in upbringing;
  • establishing a clear visitation schedule.

Legal Position

When preparing the legal position, lawyer Anna Saliienko proceeded from the premise that:

  1. dissolution of marriage does not terminate parental rights;
  2. a child has the right to regular communication with both parents;
  3. one parent has no right to prevent the other from participating in the upbringing of the children;
  4. the interests of the children take priority over personal conflicts between the former spouses.

The lawsuit and subsequent procedural documents referred to:

  • the Convention on the Rights of the Child;
  • the Declaration of the Rights of the Child;
  • the Law of Ukraine “On Child Protection”;
  • norms of the Family Code of Ukraine;
  • practice of the European Court of Human Rights.

Particular attention was paid to the ECHR case law in matters of:

  • “Hunt v. Ukraine”;
  • “Johansen v. Norway”.

Work on the Case

Lawyer Anna Saliienko, in tandem with advocate Roman Sulyk, provided full legal support for the case.

Within the judicial process, the following was done:

Lawsuit Prepared and Filed

The violation of the father’s rights and the necessity of judicial protection were thoroughly substantiated.

Involvement of the Guardianship and Custody Authority Initiated

Upon the motion of the plaintiff’s representative, the Department for the Protection of Children’s Rights of the Kropyvnytskyi City Council was involved in the case.

Opinion of the Guardianship and Custody Authority Requested

A separate motion was filed to request an official opinion on the method of the father’s participation in the upbringing of the children.

The court granted the motion.

Client’s Position Supported by Evidence

It was confirmed that:

  • the father has all the rights to communicate with the children;
  • he seeks to actively participate in their upbringing;
  • there are no circumstances that could negatively affect the children.

The case materials also contained family needs assessment acts, according to which the parents are capable of ensuring the children’s proper needs and are not in difficult life circumstances.

Opinion of the Guardianship and Custody Authority

In September 2025, the Department for the Protection of Children’s Rights of the Kropyvnytskyi City Council provided an official opinion supporting the client’s position.

The Guardianship Authority considered it appropriate to determine the following schedule for the father’s communication with the children: from 6:00 PM every Friday until 2:00 PM on Sunday.

This specific schedule was subsequently taken into account by the court when making its decision.

The Court’s Position

The Court thoroughly analyzed:

  1. the principle of equality of parental rights;
  2. the children’s right to communicate with both parents;
  3. the opinion of the Guardianship and Custody Authority;
  4. international standards for the protection of children’s rights;
  5. the practice of the European Court of Human Rights.

The Court specifically emphasized that:

  • the father has a legal right to participate in the upbringing of the children;
  • the conflict between the parents cannot be grounds for limiting this right;
  • the children’s interests lie in maintaining stable contact with both parents.

Case Outcome

On May 20, 2026, the Fortechny District Court of Kropyvnytskyi fully satisfied the client’s lawsuit.

The Court:

  1. obliged the mother not to create obstacles to the father’s communication with the children;
  2. determined the official procedure for the father’s participation in the upbringing of the children;
  3. established the visitation schedule: from 6:00 PM every Friday until 2:00 PM on Sunday;
  4. confirmed the father’s right to regular and unhindered communication with the children using mobile applications (Viber, WhatsApp) and/or programs (Skype, Zoom,) on any day of the week, while respecting the children’s daily routine.

Significance of this Decision

This case is a clear example that:

  • courts stand up for the real interests of children;
  • a father has equal rights to participate in upbringing;
  • hindering communication with a child can be successfully appealed in court;
  • a well-formed legal position and proper legal support are crucial for the case outcome.

Case Team

Lawyer — Anna Saliienko

Advocate — Roman Sulyk

Prikhodko & Partners Law Firm

The Law Firm provides support for family disputes of any complexity, including:

  • determining the children’s place of residence;
  • eliminating obstacles to communication;
  • determining the visitation schedule;
  • deprivation and restoration of parental rights;
  • recovery of alimony;
  • international family disputes.

We help protect not only the rights of parents but also the best interests of children.

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