萬國法律事務所

Amendments to the Civil Code in connection with gender equality recently passed the third reading at the Legislative Yuan. In the future, if one of the parents fails to perform his or her parental duties or to protect the interests of a child, then the court may, at the request of the other parent or by the child, change the surname of the child to either the paternal or maternal surname, as per the request. Children of adult age may also unilaterally opt to change to the paternal or maternal surname without the written consent of the parents, but only one change may be made in a lifetime.

Further, the Legislative Yuan also recently passed the third reading of the amendments to the Law Governing the Application of Laws to Civil Matters Involving Foreign Elements to offer more protection to women. Currently, where a Taiwanese woman marries a foreign national, the effect of the marriage, the matrimonial property regime and divorce, among other issues, are governed by the laws of the foreign husband’s nation. According to the amendments, the governing law will be changed to the “laws of the joint nationality of the couple”, “laws of the joint domicile” and “laws of the location most closely connected to the conjugal relation” to offer more protection to Taiwanese women involved in international marriages.