Overview of the Interim Proposal Concerning the Review of the Family Law
Office of the Counselor, Civil Affairs Bureau, Ministry of JusticeThis document was prepared by the Office of the Counselor of the Civil Affairs Bureauof the Ministry of Justice, which is the secretariat of the Family Law Subcommittee ofthe Legislative Council, to explain the overview of the "Interim Proposal Concerning theReview of the Family Law" (hereinafter simply referred to as the "Proposal") summarized
by the Family Law Subcommittee of the Legislative Council on November 15, 2022.
Please note that [Proposal A] and [Proposal B] should be treated equally as they were notwritten in the order of priority.
About the Note of the proposal:
The note added to the proposal states that terms in the current law such as"parental authority" might be reviewed if better alternatives are found and that thematters included in the proposal are intended to respond appropriately to bothspousal violence cases and parental abuse cases.
1: Consolidating the Basic Rules on Parent-Child Relationships
Proposal 1-1: it is proposed that parents have responsibility to parent a minor child,and that they must consider the best interests of the child as the basic rules
concerning parent-child relationships.
Proposal 1-2: it is proposed that the obligation of parents to support a minor childis greater than that of other lineal relatives, and as the levels of parental obligation
to support an adult child, several ideas are provided.
2: Review of Rules on Parental Authority After Divorce, etc.
2-1: Article 819 of the Civil Code provides that only one of the parents shall haveparental authority after they divorce. Concerning this article, two options areprovided: [Proposal A] states that this rule should be amended to allow both parents
to have parental authority after divorce, and [Proposal B] states that the current ruleshould remain unchanged. If [Proposal A] is adopted, whether both parents or one
parent shall have parental authority will be determined by agreement between
parents or a decision of the family court.
In addition, if [Proposal A] is adopted, three options of specific rules are provided

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in Proposal 2-2; [Proposal A-1] states that, in principle, both parents shall haveparental authority, but parental authority may be granted to only one parent if certain
requirements are met; [Proposal A-2] states that, in principle, only one of the parents
shall have parental authority, but parental authority may be granted to both parents
if certain requirements are met; [Proposal A-3] states that who shall have parental
authority should be determined on a case-by-case basis, instead of establishing rules
concerning the requirements or criteria for making decisions.
2-2: According to [Proposal A], if both parents shall have parental authority afterdivorce and a custodial parent is undecided, both parents generally shall exercise
parental authority jointly over the matters related to custody arrangements, property
management, and legal representation. Moreover, if the parents fail to reachagreement, the family court shall mediate the conflict between them according to therelevant procedures (Proposal 2- 3 (3)).
2-3: On the other hand, according to [Proposal A], if both parents shall have parental
authority after divorce and a custodial parent is decided, the custodial parent is tocare for and educate the child as provided in Proposal 2-3(2)(a). The following
proposals are stated in Proposal 2-3(1) as to whether a custodial parent should bedecided mandatorily.
[Proposal A-A] If both parents shall have parental authority after divorce, theymust agree upon which parent shall have custody over a child.
[Proposal A-B] If both parents shall have parental authority after divorce, they
may agree that one parent shall have custody over a child, or that acustodial parent will not be decided (as mentioned in 2-2, both parents
may agree to share parental authority including physical custody jointly).
In addition, [Proposal A-B] includes following options: (1) a custodial
parent should not be decided as a general rule unless certain requirements
are met, (2) a custodial parent should be decided as a general rule unlesscertain requirements are met, and (3) no rules should be established bylegislation concerning the requirements or criteria for custodial parents,
and decisions on this matter should be left to parents or the courts.
2-4: In addition, if both parents shall have parental authority after divorce and acustodial parent is decided based on [Proposal A], the proposals for property
management and legal representation are stated in Proposal 2-3(2)(b) as follows:[Proposal α] The custodial parent shall be solely responsible for exercisingparental authority regarding property management and legal
representation but shall notify the other parent having parental authority

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after such exercising.
[Proposal β] Parental authority shall be exercised jointly by both parents. If they
fail to agree on exercising parental authority, thecustodial parent shall besolely responsible for exercising it.
[Proposed γ] Parental authority shall be exercised jointly by both parents. If theparents fail to agree, the family court shall mediate the conflict between
them according to relevant procedures.
2-5: If both parents shall have parental authority after divorce and a custodial parent isdecided based on [Proposal A], the proposed options for changing the residential
address of a child are listed in Proposal 2-3(4) as follows:[Proposal X] The custodial parent shall make the decision solely.
[Proposal Y] Both parents having parental authority shall be involved in thedecision-making process in accordance with the rules of aforementioned[Proposal α], [Proposal β] or [Proposed γ].
2-6: Moreover, Proposal 2-4 states that rules applicable to cases where one parent shallhave parental authority while the other parent shall be a custodial parent should beconsolidated. Proposal 2-5 mentions the case of paternity and includes [Proposal A],
which allows both parents to have parental authority after paternity is established,and [Proposal B], which allows one parent to have parental authority after paternity
is established.
3: Review of the Rules Concerning Child Custody Arrangements After Divorce
Proposal 3-1 focuses on a review of the procedures for parents of a minor child tofile for divorce by agreement, and the main question is whether completion of aparenting class should be required for divorce by agreement.
Regarding Proposal 3-2, several proposals were presented as means to promote
the agreements for child support payments and parent-child contact (visitation andother contacts) after divorce by agreement. It is proposed that as a means to improvethe effectiveness of the agreements for child support payments, a new system toprovide an enforceable document easily for child support claim or to establish ageneral statutory lien for child support claims should be created. In addition, as asystem to respond to cases where parents are unable to negotiate child support
payments, a new statutory system for child support payments has been proposed
under which a right to claim a certain amount of child support payments is to begranted based on certain requirements without agreement by parents.
Proposal 3-3 states that, if certain requirements are fulfilled, such as where a3

married couple lives separately and they are unable to exercise joint custody, a ruleshould be established that allows parents to make custody and/or visitation
arrangements by themselves or a rule that allows the family court to make sucharrangements if parents fail to reach an agreement.
Proposal 3-4 states that the factors considered by the family court should beclearly stated when it makes a decision on custody and visitation arrangements.
4: Establishing a New Rule on Custody of Child and Visitation by Third Parties Otherthan Legal Parents
Proposal 4 states that rules should be established to allow third parties other thanlegal parents to become a custodial parent and to allow visitation by third parties
other than legal parents.
5: Review of the Rules Concerning Procedures for Making Child Custody Arrangements
Proposal 5 presents the following topics for discussion on judicial proceedings
concerning child custody, such as child support claims and visitation:
・ A system to look up the address of the other party
・ A system to disclose information related to other party’s income
・ With regard to court procedures for visitation, enabling temporary visitation
while court proceedings are pending and before the conclusion of mediation oradjudication, and measures to improve the effectiveness of the signed mediationagreement or the court adjudication of visitation.
・ Measures to reduce the creditor's burden in executing civil proceedings for childsupport claims etc.
・ A system to quickly reject abusive petitions, and a system to appropriately
respond to suspected cases of domestic violence or abuse
6: Review of the Rules of the Adoption System
According to Article 798 of the current Civil Code, as a fundamental rule, thepermission of the family court is required to adopt a minor; however, the family
court's permission is not required if a person adopts their spouse’s child or adopts
their grandchild. Proposal 6-1 includes [Proposal A] stating that requirement of thepermission of the family courts should be expanded to include the adoption of a
spouse's child or one's grandchild and [Proposal B] stating that the current ruleshould remain unchanged.
Proposal 6-3 provides the rule for parental authority after adoption, stating that if4

the same child is adopted more than once, the last adoptive parents shall haveparental authority.
Furthermore, the agendas for discussion on other requirements for the adoption ofa minor and the obligation of biological parents to support their child after adoption(Proposal 6-2 and 4) are also included.
7: Review of the Rules for the System for Division of Property
Proposal 7 states that the factors to be considered should be clearly stated when
the family court makes a decision on the division of property, that the legal limitation
period for filing a case for division of property should be extended, and that a system
to disclose information related to the other party’s property should be established.
8: Other Necessary Measures
Proposal 8 states that necessary measures should be taken in terms of court
proceedings, the family register system and other arrangements related to thematters included in Proposals 1 through 7 mentioned above.

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