Top court stresses protection of children in divorce cases

Chinese courts should put children's protection as a top priority in the handling of divorce cases, with prudence to deal with problems of child custody, visitation and property allocation in such lawsuits.

The requirement has been stressed by the Supreme People's Court, China's top court, in a guideline on Monday, aiming to provide more care and stronger legal supports for children involved in divorce disputes.

As the implementation of the Civil Code, the Minor Protection Law, the Law on Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency and the Family Education Promotion Law, the 16-article guideline is also to find and solve young people's mental problems in early stage, so that their legitimate rights and interests can be effectively protected, according to the top court.

While calling on divorced parents to provide a harmonious environment for their children to grow up, the guideline also stipulates that neither husband nor wife can fight for child custody by robbing or hiding their minor children.

Those who seriously violate the stipulation can be fined, detained by courts or even face criminal punishment, it added.

In addition, the care for children involved in divorce lawsuits is allowed to be provided at any step of case handling, including pre-trial mediation, case hearing and ruling enforcement, it said, noting that the way to express the care can also be various, such as through oral notification, video playing and reminder card.