Unless a child has no ties with their biological parents, adoption by the grandparents must remain an exceptional circumstance.
That’s a ruling today by the Federal Supreme Court.
It came on an appeal from a couple in Bern who have so far raised their 10-year-old grandson but were denied the right to officially adopt him.
That’s because their daughter, his mother, lives nearby and the whole family has a close relationship.
The Court said that while adoption by grandparents is allowed by law, it should only be permitted when the child has no contact at all with one of their parents regardless of who is raising the child.