Biographie :
Maria Berenice Dias est avocate spécialisée en droit de l’homosexualité, droit de la famille et droit successoral. Ancienne juge à la Cour de justice de l’État de Rio Grande do Sul, au Brésil, elle est vice-présidente nationale de l’Institut brésilien de droit de la famille (IBDFAM).

Plenary title:
Shared Parenting – Parentalidade compartilhada

Abstract
Not only the Federal Constitution, but all infra-constitutional legislation attributes to both parents the responsibilities arising from parental authority. The end of the marriage does not change the responsibility for all care for the offspring. However, even if the law determines that “custody” of the children is shared, the children remain with the mother, with the father assuming only the duty of paying child support and the right to “visit” them on alternate weekends, if at all. In addition to being detrimental to the children, whose father-daughter relationship is essential for their development, this imbalance places a great burden on the mother, who must assume all the responsibilities towards her children. This is clearly a gender issue, the result of structural machismo, which needs to be revisited. And this is the purpose of the Gender-Based Judgment Protocol (CNJ – Recommendation 128/2022 and Resolution 492/2023), which requires judges to judge in light of this reality that is still so present in Brazilian society. Following the example of what has already been happening in several countries around the world, the Brazilian Institute of Family Law (IBDFAM) has developed a project to train professionals to work as Co-Parenting Counselors, an activity that is not to be confused with mediation or conciliation. Therefore, when the couple’s disagreements do not allow for the division of parental responsibilities, the judge refers them to the Co-Parenting Workshop, where, together with a counselor, a Co-Parenting Plan will be drawn up, to be submitted to a trial period. With judicial approval, the Plan constitutes an executive title, the failure to comply with which may result in the application of fines and other sanctions, including criminal sanctions, as it constitutes the crime of disobedience to a legal order.