Issue 14. Full Amendment Bill of the Family Litigation Act - in relation to
para. 5 of the List of Issues
40.
The full amendment bill of the Family Litigation Act which was proposed by the
Government to the National Assembly in March 2018 clarifies ‘the protection of welfare and
interests of minor children’ as the purpose of the Act. In addition, the bill provides for a
litigation procedure assistance system which helps parents have an accurate understanding of a
minor child’s intention and give him/her appropriate assistance in a litigation procedure, and
requires that, in principle, a minor should be heard in case he/she is a party or stakeholder of the
case concerned. Moreover, the bill also requires that a minor should be heard when his/her
guardian is appointed or changed or a supervisor for his/her guardianship is appointed or
changed. However, this bill is still pending at the National Assembly.
41.
The Government should give support to ensure that the full amendment bill of
the Family Litigation Act gets the parliamentary approval and children’s right to be
heard is guaranteed. In addition, once the bill is passed by the National Assembly, the
Government should set the standards which are required to ensure that children’s right
to be heard is properly fulfilled in line with their phase of development, in the process of
law enforcement.
Issue 15. Respect for the views of the child in school
42.
According to the 2016 Current Status Survey on the Guarantee of Students’ Rights in
School conducted by the NHRCK, 29.4% of 2,616 middle school students and 39.1% of 3,484
high school students answered that their schools had not asked for students’ opinions in the
process of formulating or amending school regulations. This means that the children’s right to
be heard is not guaranteed even in the process of school regulation formulation or amendment
although this process is aimed at making decisions related to the children. Under the current
Elementary and Secondary Education Act which defines the members of the School
Governance Committee, which is the highest decision-making body of the school, as the
representatives of teachers, parents and the local community, students’ participation in the
School Governance Committee is not formally recognized.
43.
In December 2017, the NHRCK recommended that the MOE should draw up a
manual for the operation of school regulations, based on the Fundamental Principles for the
Composition of the School Regulations to Guarantee Students’ Rights proposed by the
NHRCK, and distribute such manual among schools and should revise the legislation on
elementary and secondary education to ensure that students’ views are effectively
accommodated in the process of school regulations formulation or amendment. In response, the
MOE revised the Enforcement Decree of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act to
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