In its judgment of 8 September 2021, file no. I. ÚS 1081/20, Constitutional Court resolved a complaint concerning the determination of contact of grandparents with a minor child. The Court emphasized, in particular, that the determination of the extent of contact cannot be based on the criteria normally applied for deciding on parents' contact, but on specific criteria for other relatives, such as grandparents.
In the decision, the Constitutional Court is aware that the legal system does not set precise criteria for determining the extent of contact between grandparents and the child. Therefore, decision-making in this area is still primarily within the jurisdiction of the general courts.
At the same time, however, it is clear that the extent of contact of other relatives with the child cannot be more extensive than the contact of parents with the child. This is especially the case when parents do not wish so, or when there is a certain tension or dispute between parents and grandparents. Thus, for the first time, the Constitutional Court stated explicitly that the contact of parents with a child is in fact a priori preferred over contact with other relatives.