A government panel on Tuesday released a draft law revision that would allow divorced parents to share custody of their children.
Based on the draft from the Legislative Council's Family Law Subcommittee, which advises the Justice Minister, the government is expected to present a bill to revise the Civil Code during next year's regular session of Parliament.
According to current law, only one of the divorced parents is entitled to custody. The sole custody system has been criticized by some as disrupting parent-child interactions and leading to nonpayment of child support.
Meanwhile, others strongly oppose the introduction of a shared custody system in the country, claiming that it could allow child abuse or domestic violence to continue even after divorce.
The planned law revision will allow divorced parents to choose between a joint or sole custody agreement. If the parents cannot agree, a family court will decide.
If there is a possibility that a joint custody agreement will lead to child abuse, domestic violence or other circumstances that are harmful to the child, a family court must appoint one parent as legal guardian.
Under possible joint custody, the consent of both parents is required to decide on important matters, such as the children's advancement to higher education.
In the meantime, a parent named as guardian is allowed to make sole decisions about the child's daily education and residence.
A new system will be created that will allow a family court to order people who do not pay child support to disclose their income and assets.
If there is no agreement on meetings between children and separated parents, a family court would be permitted to facilitate such meetings on a trial basis.
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