The Constitutionalization of Taiwanese Family Law

臺灣家庭法制的憲法化

Family law has long been categorized as a special field of law for it regulates the construction and operation of family, where has been identified as an altruistic, affective, and morally saturated social and legal sphere, opposite to the market or other parts of the civil society. However, the unique status of family law does not keep it out of the constitutional order, or prevent it from the appealing ideas of individual rights, freedom, and equality. In Taiwan, the Constitutional Court has issued a series of rulings declaring that family was one constitutionally protected institution and the individual rights protection as well as the principle of gender equality should be applied to family law. In addition, the Court has recognized a growing group of fundamental rights related to family and marriage, including right to marry, right to have a family, and children’s rights to know their parents. The Constitutional Court’s Interpretations have a great influence on Taiwanese family law development since the 1990s. This article intends to explore the relationship between the development of constitutionalism and family law in Taiwan as well as how and to what extent the Constitutional Court rulings have changed family law and the related legal/social discourses. Furthermore, this article discusses the implications of the constitutionalization of family law and the challenges to both the Constitution and family law in the future.