The Constitutional Court on Friday ordered that the eight-year-old daughter of a Taiwanese mother surnamed Chan (詹) and an Italian father can remain in Taiwan, suspending a Taipei District Court decision that awarded custody to the father.
After the couple divorced, the father in 2017 took the girl, who at the time lived with Chan, to Italy to visit his family, where she remained against the will of the mother, local media reported.
Chan later flew to Italy to take her daughter back, which the father described as “abduction,” the report said.
Photo: Hsu Kuo-chen, Taipei Times
The Taipei District Court last month awarded him custody.
Chan appealed to the revamped Constitutional Court, also known as the Council of Grand Justices, on Monday, and the council on Friday ruled that the daughter should remain with her as long as the case is pending.
The case has garnered media attention after the girl reportedly wrote a widely publicized letter to President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), saying that she wishes to stay in Taiwan and pleading for Tsai for help.
The court said it is important for the child’s mental and physical health to remain in Taiwan.
Allowing the father to take her to Italy would be a “serious infringement on the child’s constitutional rights,” it said, citing the “urgent nature” of the case in its quicker-than-expected ruling.
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