The International Conference on the Child's Voice in Family Law Cases took place on September 11^th, 2024. This event was co-hosted by Taiwan Taipei District Court, National Chengchi University Research Center for Civil Law, and Child Welfare League Foundation (CWLF). Our distinguished international speakers included The Honorable Justice Bruce Smith (Australia), Prof. Yuko Nishitani (Japan), Prof. Andreas Roth (Germany), and Prof. Jaap Doek (Netherlands). Each of the speakers delivered a speech, followed by a Q&A session. The morning sessions were moderated by Mr. Jiun-I Lin, Justice of the Constitutional Court, and the afternoon sessions by Mr. Kun-Lin Li, Deputy Director-General of the Juvenile and Family Department of Judicial Yuan. Taiwanese experts also exchanged their insights in the final panel discussion session. There were 92 on-site participants and 138 online participants in the conference.

The Taiwan Constitutional Court Judgement No. 8 of 2022 (hereinafter referred to as “No. 111-Hsien-Pan-8”) has sparked attention to the right of the child to be heard in family law proceedings. CWLF has long been dedicated to promoting child-friendly judicial procedures and participated in Judicial Yuan’s Human Rights, Child Protection, and Gender Friendly Committee. In 2023, CWLF submitted a proposal to Judicial Yuan, suggesting holding more conferences on how family law cases involving minor children could ensure their participation procedure and the right to be heard. At that time, CWLF had already begun planning this conference with the aim of bringing together more people to discuss this important issue.

Although CWLF has long been advocating for the enactment and amendment of child welfare policies, we need more allies when it comes to judicial procedures. We are honored to collaborate with Division-Chief Judge Li-Ling Lee from the Family Division of the Taiwan Taipei District Court, and Prof. Yu-Zu Tai from the National Chengchi University College of Law. This collaboration brought different insights and contributions from judicial practice, law research, and child right NGO.

The Honorable Justice Smith is a Trial Judge and a Judge of Appeal in Family Law at the Federal Circuit & Family Court of Australia. In his presentation, The Honorable Justice Smith explained how the right of the child to be heard is implemented in Australian Courts through an indirect approach. Instead of a direct approach that requires a child to attend court and speak with the judge, the court usually appoints a Court Child Expert to convey the child’s views, or an Independent Children’s Lawyer to assist in determining the child’s best interests. This indirect approach is taken to prevent the child from potential risks caused by participating directly in the court proceedings.

Prof. Andreas Roth holds the Chair of Legal History and Civil Law at Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz in Germany. In his presentation, Prof. Roth explained the necessity of the court conducting a hearing of the child, as stated in Germany’s Act on Proceedings in Family Matters and in Matters of Non-contentious Jurisdiction. The purpose of the in-person hearing is to obtain a personal impression of the child. Even in cases where the child lacks the ability to express themselves verbally, their behavior can still reveal their desires and relationships with their parents. The Federal Court of Justice (Bundesgerichtshof, BGH) basically holds that hearings for 6-year-old children are meaningful and valuable, with some cases in practice even considering lowering the age to 3.

Prof. Jaap Doek is an Emeritus Professor of Law (Family and Juvenile Law) at the Vrije Universiteit (VU) Amsterdam. He used to be a chairperson of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child from 2001 to 2007. In his presentation, Prof. Doek discussed Article 12 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), which stipulates the child’s right to be heard in any judicial and administrative proceedings, either directly, or through a representative or an appropriate body. Due weight must be given to the child’s views in accordance with their age and maturity. In the Netherlands, the minimum age for direct hearing is 12, and there is currently discussion to lower it to 8. Children are welcomed but not obliged to directly tell the judge their views; they can also choose to express their views through a representative.

The final session of the conference was a panel discussion among Taiwanese experts, including Prof. Shyue-Ren Teng from the Central Police University Department of Law and the Taiwan Family Law Association, Prof. Yu-Zu Tai from National Chengchi University College of Law, and Associate Prof. Yueh-Mi Lai from CWLF. Prof. Teng and Prof. Tai compared different legal systems for the right of the child to be heard in various countries. Associate Prof. Lai shared her experiences as a guardian ad litem and what she learned from research and practice. The panelists exchanged their perspectives on the No. 111-Hsien-Pan-8 and discussed important factors such as training for legal professionals, children’s rights (not) to express views, child custody system, parenting education, and trauma-informed approach.

The International Conference on the Child's Voice in Family Law Cases was a great opportunity to learn and collaborate. We deeply thank our distinguished speakers and panelists for their spectacular contributions. We also appreciate the participation of our attendees from various professional fields. The valuable content presented in this conference will be published on the Taiwan Law Review to spark further discussions among legal professionals. Together with our like-minded partners, CWLF will continue our work to improve the system for the right of the child to be heard in family law cases in Taiwan.