Legal consequences of an infringement of visiting rights

This paper begins by examining access rights as such. In addition to the constitutional foundations, it explains, amongst other things, the legal nature of the right to personal contact, the associated rights and obligations, and the purpose of access rights. The main focus of the paper is on the potential legal consequences that may arise if visiting rights are infringed. The paper outlines the possible consequences for both the parent with custody and the parent not living in the same household as the child, as well as for the child. The final section of the paper examines the amendments contained in the proposed 2012 Act Amending the Law on Parentage. The amendments set out in the current (June 2012) draft of the proposed new Act are presented and assessed in this section. This paper aims to demonstrate how the Austrian right to personal contact is structured under the current legal framework, what potential legal consequences may arise if this right is infringed, and how the legislature plans to reform family law, and in particular the right of access.