CHINA Law and Practice Contributed by: Hongyu Liu, Shuaifeng Wang, Dongda Wei and Chen Rong, King & Capital Law Firm
has legal effect, and both parties should abide by it. • Confirmation and enhancing enforceability: To increase the security of the agreement, both parties can jointly apply to the court for confirmation of the agreement’s content in the form of a civil mediation statement. If one party fails to perform the agree ‑ ment, the other party can directly apply to the court for compulsory enforcement without needing to file a new lawsuit. • Modification of the agreement: If circumstances change later (eg, increased child expenses, chang ‑ es in parental income), the parties can also modify the prior agreement through a new agreement. The court can make orders regarding child mainte ‑ nance. The payment period for maintenance generally lasts until the child reaches the age of eighteen. How ‑ ever, the duration can be extended in the following special circumstances: • the child is still receiving a high school education or below – for example, a court may order a father to pay maintenance until a child who has turned 18 but is still in their final year of high school gradu ‑ ates; or • the child loses or partially loses the ability to work and cannot maintain a normal life for non-subjec ‑ tive reasons – the parents need to continue bearing maintenance costs. A child can apply for financial provision as the entitled party, but the legal proceedings must be conducted by their legal representative (usually the parent with primary custody). The law does not set a minimum age limit for this right of claim. 3.3 Other Matters The court has the power to make orders on specific issues, based on the child’s best interests. However, the court usually respects the decisions of the custo ‑ dial parent on daily matters, while major issues require consultation between both parents. There is no explicit legal concept of “parental aliena ‑ tion” in China. However, in judicial practice, courts recognise behaviour by one parent that alienates the
child from the other parent. The court may modify cus ‑ tody or take corrective measures. Children can give evidence, but special methods are used (eg, video link, testifying in a separate room). Courts cautiously evaluate such evidence, consider ‑ ing it in conjunction with other evidence, and prioritise protecting the child. 3.4 ADR in Child Law Matters Mechanisms include mediation, negotiation, family education guidance, etc. Court-annexed mediation is common. ADR is not mandated, but strongly encour ‑ aged. There are no penalties for non-compliance. It has the effect of a contract and can be enforced after court confirmation. Agreements are enforce ‑ able. There are no statutory requirements for parties to engage in ADR, but courts may recommend it. 3.5 Media Access and Transparency in Children Proceedings In China, media reporting on juvenile cases follows the principle of “non-disclosure as the rule”. This is not a simple restriction but a systematic protection measure running through the entire process of inves ‑ tigation, prosecution and trial. Multiple laws explicitly stipulate that judicial organs have a duty of confiden ‑ tiality during proceedings. For example, Article 481 of the People’s Procuratorate Criminal Procedure Rules requires procuratorates not to disclose or dissemi ‑ nate any information, such as the name, address or photo, of a minor involved in a case that could lead to their identification. Article 103 of the Minor Protection Law extends this obligation to all relevant organisa ‑ tions and individuals, including public security organs, courts and judicial administrative departments. The scope of protection covers not only minor criminal suspects and defendants but also equally includes minor victims, witnesses and the minor children of adult parties involved in cases, striving to minimise the “secondary harm” caused by litigation. News media are required to be objective, prudent and moderate when reporting on incidents involving minors. Some local judicial authorities issue joint state ‑ ments with media outlets, committing not to publicly disclose the identity information of minors involved in litigation and to avoid sensationalised or exagger ‑
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