The legislature yesterday enacted the Family Proceedings Act (家事事件處理法) to accelerate the pace of trials in family-related cases and protect disadvantaged women and children.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Pan Wei-kang (潘維剛) said the act was more progressive than similar acts in countries like Japan and Germany, mainly because it allowed for consolidation of trials of related offenses.
As an example, in line with the principle of consolidated trials, in proceedings for divorce, related cases such as child-rearing expenses and child custody may be jointly tried, to save the parties involved time and energy.
At present, trials in family--related cases are governed under the Civil Procedure Code (民事訴訟法) and Non-Contentious Case Act (非訟事件法).
Under the current system, a parent who rears a child after divorce must file a civil lawsuit for any child support that the defendant has failed to pay and must have a family proceedings court decision to force the defendant to pay maintenance.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Huang Sue-ying (黃淑英) said the act was designed to protect the rights and interests of those who are disadvantaged in a marriage.
The act stipulates that proceedings in family courts be held in private and the decisions not be made public, except with the informed consent of all parties involved, Huang said.
Juveniles appearing in courts shall be accompanied by social workers and family courts shall conduct gender equality awareness programs for judges and staff to avoid gender-biased decisions, the act said.
The legislature also approved an amendment to the Consumer Debt Clearance Act (消費者債務清理條例) to ease restrictions on credit card debtors’ ability to negotiate debt settlement with lenders, which could affect about 850,000 credit card debtors who are trying to clear their debts.
Since the act was passed three years ago, only 24 percent of applications for debt repayment negotiations were approved, and only 10 percent of debtors were declared exempt from repaying their debts, DPP Legislator Chen Chieh-ju (陳節如) said.
“The act was not effective to facilitate debt settlements,” Chen said.
In Japan, 82 percent of debt repayment negotiations are approved, and the debt exemption rate for debtors is about 95 percent, Chen said.
KMT Legislator Hsieh Kuo--liang (謝國樑) said that under the amended act, courts shall rule in favor of debtors against banks as long as the debtors have regular incomes and are willing to repay the debts to the best of their abilities.
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it opposes the introduction of migrant workers from India until a mechanism is in place to prevent workers from absconding. Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Thursday told the Legislative Yuan that the first group of migrant workers from India could be introduced as early as this year, as part of a government program. The caucus’ opposition to the policy is based on the assessment that “the risk is too high,” KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said. Taiwan has a serious and long-standing problem of migrant workers absconding from their contracts, indicating that
TRADE-OFF: Beijing seeks to trade a bowl of tempura for a Chinese delicacy, an official said, while another said its promises were attempts to interfere in the polls The government must carefully consider the national security implications of building a bridge connecting Kinmen County and Xiamen, China, the Public Construction Commission (PCC) said yesterday. PCC Commissioner Derek Chen (陳金德), who is also a minister without portfolio, made the remarks in a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, after Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Hsu Fu-kuei (徐富癸) asked about China’s proposal of new infrastructure projects to further connect Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties with Xiamen. China unveiled the bridge plan, along with nine other policies for Taiwan, on Sunday, the last day of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun’s (鄭麗文) visit
RSS