The Council of Grand Justices suggested yesterday that the legal age for parents wishing to adopt children is outdated and needs to be adjusted to meet the changing demands of society.
Responding to the appeal of a stepmother of three, the council determined yesterday that flexibility should be introduced to the existing adoption law, which requires potential adoptive parents to be at least 20 years older than the children they wish to adopt.
"In accordance with traditional family values of our country, the law was created in good faith to maintain social order and public interest. And as a result it does not breach the Constitutional guarantee on civilian liberties," according to the council's written decision.
"However, considering the harmony of the family and well-being of the adopted children, the legal limit on the age of those wishing to adopt should be adjusted with more flexibility so as to keep up with actual needs in modern times," the council wrote.
In its conclusion, the council suggested that authorities should make an evaluation on the adoption law and offer possible changes.
Kuan Yi-ping, 31, filed the application for the council's interpretation of the adoption law three years ago after her request to adopt her three stepchildren had been rejected by a district and high court.
In her written application to the council, Kuan said she was married in 1995 to a divorced father of three and that she has been a very caring mother for the children.
However, Kuan said she felt very disappointed and outraged when the court rejected her adoption request in 1997 on the grounds that the she was too young to adopt the children. Kuan, born in 1969, is only eight years older than the eldest of the children, 13 years older than the middle child, and 14 years older than the youngest. Her request for adoption was thus rejected by the court under the 20-year legal limit.
While it has taken Kuan three years to see significant action in her case, changes to the adoption law may come more swiftly.
According to an official at the Ministry of Justice, draft amendments to the law are currently pending before the legislature.
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