A Comparative Overview of Asia Pacific Maintenance/

Child Support Systems

Hong Kong9 November 2015

Mikiko Otani

To researchers:

How and where would you get the information on the child support system in every each country in the Asia-Pacific?

To practitioners:

How and where would you get the necessary information and assistance for your cross border child support case involving the foreign jurisdiction in the Asia-Pacific?

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Countries in the Asia-Pacific

AfghanistanAustraliaBangladeshBhutanBrunei DarussalamCambodiaChinaCook IslandsDemocratic People's Republic of KoreaFijiIndiaIndonesiaIran (Islamic Republic of)Japan

KiribatiLao People's Democratic RepublicMalaysiaMaldivesMarshall IslandsMicronesia (Federated States of)MongoliaMyanmarNauruNepalNew ZealandPakistanPalau

Papua New GuineaPhilippinesRepublic of KoreaSamoaSingaporeSolomon IslandsSri LankaThailandTimor-LesteTongaTuvaluVanuatuViet Nam

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Practical information necessary for a child living outside Japan to collect child support from the father living in Japan – (1) Legal basis

• If the parents are divorced → Article 766 of the Civil Code

• If the parents are married→ Article 760 of the Civil Code

• If the parents are not married→ Article 877 of the Civil Code

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Practical information necessary for a child living outside Japan to collect child support from the father living in Japan – (2) Court procedure

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Practical information necessary for a child living outside Japan to collect child support from the father living in Japan – (3) Practical issues

• How much can this child get from the father?• How to locate the father?• How to find out the father’s income?• How to prove that he is the father?• How to find an available Japanese lawyer?• How much it would cost for the legal process?• Is there legal aid available?• How to enforce a court order if the father doesn’t pay?

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Practical information necessary for a child living outside Japan to collect child support from the father living in Japan – (4) Cross-border issues• Does the Japanese court have jurisdiction?• Which law does the Japanese court apply?• Will the Japanese court recognize and enforce the foreign

court child support order?• Is the applicant required to attend the proceedings in the

Japanese court?• Who will pay translation/interpretation cost?• Is legal aid available for the party who lives outside Japan?• How to find a Japanese lawyer who can communicate in

English or other foreign languages and handle cross-border cases?

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Examples of common challenges for cross-border recovery of child support in the Asia-Pacific Left behind children in the Philippines born

from a Filipino mother and a Japanese father (“JFC”), a Korean father (“Kopino”), an Australian father or a father from other countries.

Amerasian children born from the US military father and an Asian mother in Japan (Okinawa), Korea, Philippines, Vietnam

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NGO/practioner’s initiative in response to the challenges - Citizen's Network for

Japanese-Filipino Children

• Initiative started by some 60 Japanese lawyers in 1993• Main activity: To provide legal assistance to the JFC for

recognition, recovery of child support, etc.• The local office was opened in Manila in 1998• Network has grown: 200 Japanese lawyers (as of Dec.

2014) are accepting JFC cases in Japan• Cases have increased from 91 (2005) to 336 (2014)• 75% of the cases are Japan-Philippines cross-border

cases (clients are living in the Philippines)

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.

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Father ordered to support 'Kopino' son

A local court ordered a Korean father, Tuesday, to support his son who was born to a Filipino woman with whom he had an affair during an overseas trip there.

Children born from such unions are often referred to as "Kopino," a portmanteau of Korean and Filipino. 

The ruling, which recognizes the parental responsibility of men who father illegitimate children in The Philippines, is the second such decision, following one reached by Suwon District Court last month.

The Seoul Family Court Tuesday said that the man, whose identity was withheld, should pay the mother in Philippines 300,000 won ($267) a month in child support until his son reaches the age of 19.

According to "We Love Kopino," an organization of Kopinos, there are some 30,000 such biracial children. 

According to the Seoul Family Court, some 50 similar cases seeking child support are pending. - Korean Times, June 9, 2015

Child Support as the Child Right

1. Right of the child to development2. Primary responsibility of the parents3. Responsibility of the state to secure the

recovery of maintenance for the child from the parents

4. Particularly vulnerable situation of left behind children – recognition, nationality, child support, contact, discrimination

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UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989)

Article 271. States Parties recognize the right of every child to a standard of living adequate for the child's physical, mental, spiritual, moral and social development. 2. The parent(s) or others responsible for the child have the primary responsibility to secure, within their abilities and financial capacities, the conditions of living necessary for the child's development.4. States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to secure the recovery of maintenance for the child from the parents or other persons having financial responsibility for the child, both within the State Party and from abroad. In particular, where the person having financial responsibility for the child lives in a State different from that of the child, States Parties shall promote the accession to international agreements or the conclusion of such agreements, as well as the making of other appropriate arrangements.

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The recommendation of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child to Japan (2010)

- Strengthen the implementation of existing laws and measures which ensure that both parents, married or not, contribute equitably to the maintenance of their children and that maintenance obligations are effectively recovered when a parent fails to meet his or her obligations;

- Ratify the 1996 Hague Convention on Child Protection.

[Background]Ratio of single mother receiving child support from the

father: 19.0 % (2006), 19.7% (2011)Resource: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare Statistics (2011)

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The recommendation to other countries in the Asia-Pacific in relation to UN CRC Art. 27

*Countries randomly picked up

Country Year RecommendationMalaysia 2007 NonePhilippines 2009 NoneCambodia 2011 NoneAustralia 2012 NoneThailand 2012 Ratify the 1996 Convention on Child

ProtectionIndia 2014 NoneIndonesia 2014 None

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Australia

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Australia - cont’d

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Australia - cont’d

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Australia - cont’d

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Australia - cont’d

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Promoting Hague 2007 Child Support Convention in the Asia-PacificWhy?1.Child Rights/Parents Responsibility/State Responsibility2.To improve/strengthen the national mechanisms for domestic and cross-border recovery of child support

Effective access to procedures (Art. 14) Free legal assistance (Art. 15) Prompt and effective enforcement measures (Art.

32, Art. 34)3. To enhance access to information (Country Profile) (Art. 57) 20

How? – Strategy recommendations1.Put the issue in the context of the Child Rights – use UN Convention on the Rights of the child, work in partnership with the UN Committee on the Rights of the child2.Use all the regional fora and opportunities – ASEAN Commission on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Women and Children (ACWC), LAWASIA (The Law Association for the Asia and the Pacific), any regional conferences on children3.Put the issue in the regional context – address the common challenges, connect to other key challenges such as poverty4.Raise awareness among NGOs, practitioners, all stakeholders working on children5.Data collection, statistics6.Technical assistance

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Mikiko OtaniAttorney at law

Toranomon Law and Economic OfficesToranomon Hoso Bldg. 9F, 1-20-3 Nishi Shinbashi

Minato-ku, Tokyo, 105-0003, JapanTEL +81-3-5501-2090 FAX +81-3-5501-2080

Email motani2@nifty.com

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