Civil Code revision targets parents who repeatedly abuse

A Justice Ministry panel proposed Friday establishing a new legal framework aimed at restricting the authority of parents who repeatedly abuse their children, ministry officials said.

In a report filed with Justice Minister Keiko Chiba, the study group also called for giving more priority to foster parents and child-safe haven operators than to abusive parents to protect children.

After receiving the report, Chiba told a news conference she will seek advice on revising the Civil Code from her advisory body, the Legislative Council, at its general meeting on Feb. 5.

Meanwhile, the Social Security Council, an advisory body to the minister of health, labor and welfare, will begin work to revise the child welfare law and the child abuse prevention law.

The two ministries plan to submit related bills to the Diet during the next ordinary session, which convenes next January, officials said.

The Justice Ministry panel headed by Atsushi Omura, an authority on the Civil Code and a professor at the University of Tokyo, has been studying since June a new legal framework on how to prevent child abuse.

The study group has 22 members, including academics, Supreme Court representatives and officials from the health and Justice ministries.

The report says the panel conducted the studies with a view to rejecting any authorization of parental authority that would be detrimental to the child.

Under the current legal system, a child consultation center can seek a family court order that would deprive abusive parents of their parental rights.

But the report says the harm to abusive parents themselves is too great under the current system as it could deprive them of such rights indefinitely. It also says the current system sets tough criteria for depriving people deemed abusive of their parental rights.

Some parents try to justify child abuse by citing the Civil Code, which grants the right to take disciplinary action against children.

The report says panel members have called for deleting this provision in the Civil Code and urged more studies.

The report also says further studies are needed on such points as a wider ban on parents who try to get their children back from safe havens and restrictions on parental authority for those who fail to provide appropriate health care for their children, an act considered medical neglect.

Parental authority is defined as parents' rights and duties of care and education of their children. Under such authority, parents can determine the residence of their children, discipline, and administration and representation of property.

The Civil Code stipulates that parental authority shall be exercised jointly by married parents. In the case of divorce, the parents may agree on which parent shall have such authority or a court shall determine which parent shall have such authority.

The number of child abuse cases is on the increase. Cases handled by children's counseling centers set a record high of 42,662 in fiscal 2008 through last March, rising for the 18th straight year, according to a survey released in 2009 by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.