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Specialized family courts to start by January next year

Beginning in January next year, domestic legal affairs will be handled in specialized family courts according to a Judicial Yuan official.

The establishment of family courts has been on the agenda of the Judicial Yuan since 1997 and has been actively promoted by women's rights groups.

But, it wasn't until June of this year when the Legislative Yuan approved a budget of NT$ 860 million for family courts, that real progress began.

The family courts, which are scheduled to be established by Jan. 1, will resolve domestic issues with more care than the current system does, said Shen Fan-wei (沈方維), who is the head of the Judicial Yuan's task force in charge of establishing the family courts.

Family courts will handle and specialize in problems such as divorce, marital separation, child custody, inheritance, and juvenile crime.

Specialized judges

"Under the current system, such domestic matters are often tried separately by different courts and judges even though the cases might be inter-related. "If we want to resolve family problems properly, we need specialized judges to consider every aspect of a family dispute," Shen said.

Cases brought before the family courts are to be handled by a single judge, who will have access to thorough reports prepared by the courts' probation officers and to psychological profiles which will be drawn up by medical officers specially trained in psychiatry.

Currently, Taiwan's only court that specializes in dealing with juvenile delinquency is located in Kaohsiung. The Taipei and Taichung district courts have family divisions specially assigned to take care of family-related legal issues.

Shen said the independent family courts will be located at the same premises as the current district court offices.

However, there are still worries that the new system will not work because Taiwan judges typically rotate between various types of proceedings during their tenures.

"It's like specialization among doctors. Would you have any confidence in a dentist attempting a heart transplant operation?" asked Hsieh Chi-ta (謝啟大) a New Party lawmaker and a former judge.

"Many cases are about matters of life and death, but a case might be handled by a judge who has little experience in this particular field. It's a serious problem in our justice system."
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