China’s Supreme People’s Court (SPC) and the All-China Women’s Federation issued the “Opinions on Providing Guidance on Family Education” (關于開展家庭教育指導工作的意見) on 29 May 2023.
This judicial policy is intended to help the courts better apply the “Family Education Promotion Law” (家庭教育促進法), which was enacted by the Chinese legislature in October 2021s.Family education refers to the education provided to minors by parents or other guardians.
The judicial policy aims to enable the courts to guide minors’ parents or other guardians in fulfilling their legal obligations regarding family education during litigation. Its core contents include:
- In the process of hearing divorce cases, courts shall provide family education guidance to couples with minor children.
- In cases involving disputes over custody, adoption, guardianship, and visitation rights as well as cases involving left-behind minors, minors in distress, and other special groups, courts may proactively conduct investigations and assessments on guardianship and family education. Where necessary, courts may provide family education guidance in accordance with the law.
- During the proceedings, if the minors’ parents and other guardians are found not to have fulfilled their family education responsibilities, courts may reprimand them and may issue family education guidance orders in the form of decisions.
Photo by Chris Briggs on Unsplash
Contributors: CJO Staff Contributors Team
