Chinese courts empowered to better support family education, protect minors

BEIJING -- A new document will empower Chinese courts to increase support for family education and help ensure that parents fulfill their legally binding responsibilities and that minors grow free of fear and violence.

The document, jointly released by the Supreme People's Court and the All-China Women's Federation on Tuesday, clarifies the scenarios where courts should guide family education and the scope of their guidance.

China adopted a law on family education promotion in October 2021 and enforced it in January 2022. The law assigned courts responsibilities in guiding family education, but previous court orders were not unified in their names, forms, content, and application scenarios and lacked clear standards in their enforcement, said experts.

According to the new document, courts can take the initiative and investigate and evaluate the status of guardianship and family education and provide law-based guidance when necessary.

It relates to child support, adoption, custody and visiting rights disputes, and cases involving minors left behind in rural areas or who are in difficulties.

The document also stipulates the scenarios where court orders are necessary regarding family education.

Court orders can be issued in the form of written decisions if parents or other guardians of minors reject guidance or still fail to fulfill their custody responsibilities following the guidance under the scenarios, said the document.

By the end of 2022, Chinese courts had issued 10,308 orders regarding family education guidance, helped set up 837 organizations working on the issue, and provided 38,080 guidance services, said Duan Nonggen, an official with the top court.