There is no unified family court in Switzerland due to the federal nature of the country. Each canton has the right to a separate legal and judicial system. A strong structure of civil courts has been established and most family law cases are resolved in these courts through adversarial proceedings.
Although courts for children and youth have been established, they do not function as family courts. This situation raises skepticism because judges emphasize the position that dealing with divorce or separation cases is „unattractive” and stressful. Therefore, there are great concerns about frequent turnover of court staff and the increase in the phenomenon of burnout. So far, family courts have been created uniformly in the canton of St. Gallen, where the basics of family justice are visible.