In order to implement the important instructions of General Secretary Xi Jinping on the work involving minors, and give full play to the role of the people¡¯s courts in the judicial protection of minors, the Shanghai Jinshan District People¡¯s Court (hereinafter referred to as the ¡°Jinshan District People¡¯s Court¡±) held a press conference on May 30, 2024 with the 74th International Children¡¯s Day around the corner and released the ¡°White Paper on Trial of Cases Involving the Support of Minors (from January 2021 to December 2023)¡± (hereinafter referred to as the White Paper) and typical cases. Wu Zhiyong, member of the Party Leadership Group and vice president of the Jinshan District People¡¯s Court, circulated the relevant situation.

The press conference was attended by Ding Xiangyang, a deputy to the Shanghai Municipal People¡¯s Congress, Shen Lanrong, deputy to the Jinshan District People¡¯s Congress, Shen Juan, a member of Jinshan District Committee of the CPPCC, and relevant persons in charge from the Jinshan District People¡¯s Procuratorate, Judicial Bureau, Civil Affairs Bureau, Education Bureau, Federation of Trade Unions, Women¡¯s Federation, Communist Youth League, some town safety offices, judicial offices, primary and secondary school principals, as well as representatives for the four-role mechanism for cases of family affaires in the Jinshan District People¡¯s Court and representatives of people¡¯s mediators.

The White Paper shows that the Jinshan District People¡¯s Court has concluded a total of 230 cases involving the support of minors from 2021 to 2023, among which there are 114 cases of disputes over child support, accounting for 49.56%, making it the most common type of cases involving support. In terms of the results of the cases handled, mediation and withdrawal are the main way of conclusion with good quality and efficiency. Among the 230 cases concluded, 72.17% were concluded with mediation and withdrawal.    

The White Paper summarizes the specific measures taken by the Jinshan District People¡¯s Court to protect the legitimate rights and interests of minors in recent years: I. Actively perform duties and follow the ¡°Fengqiao Experience¡± in the management of litigation source. Adhere to and develop the ¡°Fengqiao Experience¡± of the new era, focus on early intervention and preventive measures with the help of creating a ¡°Fengqiao-style People¡¯s Court¡± to promote the resolution of cases involving the support of minors through non-litigation methods. II. Give priority to mediation and create a trial mechanism of whole-process mediation + professional team. It is necessary to rely closely on the leadership of the Party Committee to form a diversified dispute resolution system with ¡°court guidance, multi-party participation, mediation priority, and dispute resolution by litigation¡±. It is necessary to establish collegial panels for cases involving minors¡¯ disputes, conduct centralized acceptance of cases involving minors in the entire district, build a professional trial team led by the court president and focus on the trial and research on cases involving minors. III. Improve the concept and pay attention to the comprehensive protection for healthy growth of minors. In the process of trial, attention should be paid to ensuring the continuity and stability of minors¡¯ existing living conditions and the dual protection of material and spiritual life. IV. Take into account both trial and enforcement and ensure the healthy growth of children from divorced families. It is necessary to take a number of measures at the stage of trial to fully understand the minors¡¯ actual family situation, living environment, and closeness with relatives, to fully respect and consider their needs, and ensure the smooth enforcement of the cases. V. Provide follow up support and assistance to prevent strictly conflicts and disputes from rebounding. It is necessary to conduct follow-up through visits, family education and other means, actively coordinate with various departments such as the Women¡¯s Federation, Civil Affairs Bureau, and Trade Unions, work together to help disadvantaged groups to resolve difficulties in support, care and other field, and devote to writing the ¡°second half of the article¡± on trial of cases involving minors.

The Jinshan District People¡¯s Court published 8 typical cases at the press conference. The typical cases involve the determination of visitation rights regarding time and manner for exercise, the payment of child support for non-marital children, and the change of custody relationships, which demonstrates the judicial goal of the Jinshan District People¡¯s Court to adhere to the principle of maximizing the interests of minors and effectively safeguard their legitimate rights and interests.

The initiative made by the Jinshan District People¡¯s Court has been read out at the conference, advocating that divorced parents shall assume their responsibilities as guardians and do their best to give their children relatively complete love, for the purpose of implementing the Opinions of the Supreme People¡¯s Court and the All-China Women¡¯s Federation on Providing Guidance on Family Education, Opinions of the Supreme People¡¯s Court on Carrying out the Work of ¡°Tips for Care for Minors¡± in Divorce Cases Involving Minor Children, guiding parties to handle their marital relationships correctly, caring for minors, promoting the organic connection between judicial protection and family protection, and giving a full play to the important role of family education in the growth of minors. This initiative will be sent to the parties involved in support-related cases along with the case in the future.

Ding Xiangyang, a deputy to the Shanghai Municipal People¡¯s Congress, stated that caring for minors is our bounden social responsibility. The Jinshan District People¡¯s Court has promptly responded to the needs of minors, put the active justice into practice, released white papers and typical cases on cases involving support of minors, and played a positive role in protecting the rights and interests of minors. The initiative presents the judicial and humanistic care of the people¡¯s court for minors and is of great significance in guiding divorced parents to raise and educate their children, which deserves the full confirmation.

The Jinshan District People¡¯s Court will continue to actively perform its duties in accordance with the law for future, properly handle cases of disputes involving minors, protect the future in accordance with the law, and provide a protective umbrella for minors and work together with the whole society to help the healthy growth of minors and create a good social environment for them.