The Study Of China’s Visitation Right System

In recent years, with the continuous growth in the number of divorce in China,family breakdown has resulted in minor children physical and mental health problems,which have caused the social attention, but the parties of the divorce still haveshowed disregard for the interests of the children. The author found that thephenomenon that husband and wife ignored visit children after divorce is verycommon in the divorce case investigation of the certain city of Jilin province. Divorceis not just a private affair between family members; it will also become the object oflegal regulation if it is infringe the interests of the children. The maintenance ofparents, other family members as well as social interests for their children should notonly stay in the level of material benefits, more should pay attention to that whetherchildren’s mental interests are satisfied. Divorce to children’s impact not only reflectson economy, also reflects in the relative emotional. Emotional connection betweenrelatives can make the minor children and relatives who do not live with children getspiritual solace. The concern of the visitation right system is to get spiritualconsolation between visitors and interviewee through the exercise of the rights.Since2001Marriage Law established the system of visitation right, meeting andinteraction between the minor children in a divorced families and their non-custodialparents have been guaranteed through legal channels. However, only some principleprovisions were set for the system of visitation right at the beginning of thelegislation, it is inevitable that the legal provisions may not serve the social reality inthe background of ever-changing judicial practice, causing difficulties in giving fullplay of the system of visitation right in legislation. To solve problems encountered inthe current judicial practice, first we must find the problems of representative cases;then make analysis of these problems to find out the nature of the problems; finally, toexplore the reasons for the problems identified, and put forward suggestionsaccording to the reasons. This article follows this thought. In this paper, the structure can be divided into five parts. It begins with thenature and function of the visitation system as a logical starting point, so as to sort outthe concept and characteristics of visitation right. Through the discussion of the basictheory of visitation right, in this paper visitation right is defined as the right to seekspiritual consolation in terms of the nature and function. Then analysis is made interms of the current legislation of system of visitation right, which covers five aspects:exercise principle of visitation right, subject qualification of visitation right, exercisestyle of visitation right, suspend and resume of visitation right, and act under coercion,laying the foundation for the later proposed legislation improvement. With a cleargrasp of the current legislation, observation is conducted for the problems in thejudicial practice of the system of visitation right. Three classic cases are used toillustrate the difficulties currently encountered in the system, pointing out theprinciple of the best interests of children is of universal significance in the system ofvisitation right. On the basis of the discovery of the problem, the paper offersexplanations of the reasons causing the problems in the cases with legislative andjudicial perspectives, hence completing the analysis of the problems. In the end of thepaper, legislative and judicial suggestions are made to improve the system ofvisitation right in China on the basis of previous analysis of reasons causing theseproblems.