Germany
In Germany, one parent may apply to the family court for sole right of custody. The court will agree to such an application if the removal of joint custody and transfer of custody to one parent is in the child’s best interests.
Non-married Fathers; To obtain "Shared Custody" (and any real rights concerning children) is only possible through marriage or by the mother signing a declaration of shared custody. Thus, sole custody (for the father) is of course not realistic under the current German family law. The German Supreme Court (Bundesverfassungericht) has decided on 21 July 2010 that the actual Family Law is against the German Constitution Law. For a very detailed explanation of the legal situation, see Wikipedia German web page;
Mathieu Carriere, a well-known German actor, who after the mother and sole custodian of his 8-year-old daughter sued him for allowing several newspapers to publish pictures of Carriere with his daughter, decided to refuse to pay a 5,000 Euro fine associated with the lawsuit and instead announced publicly that he would be serving a 10-day prison sentence in support of the campaign for equal rights for both parents following divorce or separation.
There are a lot engaed communities to change the rights like Blauer-Weihnachtsmann.de, Väteraufbruch or Väter helfen Väter.
Read more about this topic: Fathers' Rights Movement By Country
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