Joint Custody as Norm: Solomon Revisited

Most jurisdictions in Canada and the United States have, to a greater or lesser extent, endorsed the notion of joint custody in recent years. The author suggests that-the move toward joint custody has resulted from a combination of two major factors: the notion of parental equality and the application of the best interests of the child test. The growing prominence of equal parental rights has created a strong temptation to approach custody as a Solomonic exercise in dividing the children equally between those with equal rights over them. The indeterminacy of the best interests test may readily encourage custody determinations on this basis as well. Joint custody has been received less enthusiastically in Canada than in the United States. The author suggests that the tendency of the Supreme Court of Canada to reject the sameness of treatment approach to equality may well explain this