On June, 2020, the Ministry of Justice announced the plan to amend the Civil Code with respect to the age of majority and discriminatory provisions against women. On December 25 of the same year, the Legislative Yuan passed the amendment to the Civil Code, and, in an effort to minimize the impact of such a change to society, the amendment is scheduled to be effective on January 1st, 2023. The key points and reasons for this amendment are as follows:

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1. The age of majority is lowered from 20 to 18.

 The key point of this amendment is to change the age of majority as prescribed in Article 12 of the Civil Code from 20 to 18 in order to correspond to the physical and psychological development of today’s youths and protect their rights. This is also a move to be in line with international norms. The amended age of majority as prescribed in the Civil Code will be the same as the age of full responsibility as prescribed in the Criminal Code and administrative laws.

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2. Age for engagement and age for marriage are amended to be the same for male and female

     Based on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (“CEDAW”), the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action (“VDPA”), and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (“CRC”), in order to ensure the health of minors and to protect their education, career,  development and independence, the age at which one can be engaged for a marriage has been amended to 17 for both male and female, and the age at which one can be married has been amended to 18 for both male and female.

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3. Supporting regulations are to be implemented prior and after the enforcement of this amendment.

 At the same time, the Legislative Yuan also enact regulations to support the change of the age of majority in the Civil Code to curb the apprehension regarding change of vested rights and interests prior to and after the enforcement of the amendment. With respect to the rights or benefits (e.g., pension, survivor’s annuity, stipulated child support after the parents’ divorce, etc.) which have been provided by law or administrative disposition, ruled by the court, or stipulated in a contract to be enjoyed by the minor until the age of 20 or the age of majority prior to the enforcement of the amendment, after the amendment becomes effective, such rights or benefits can still be enjoyed by the minor until the age of 20. In addition, with respect to those who have been married prior to the enforcement of this amendment and has yet to turn 18 after the amendment becomes effective, the supporting regulations expressly provide that their requirements for marriage and their relevant statuses will not be affected by this amendment so that their rights may be protected (See Article 3-1 of the Enforcement Act of the Part of General Principles of the Civil Code and Article 4-2 of the Enforcement Law for Part IV, Family Law of the Civil Code).

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4. Amending laws related to this amendment

     In response to the lowering of age of majority in the Civil Code and to avoid confusion in applications and endow the due rights and obligations to citizens 18 and above, on December 29, 2020, the Legislative Yuan passed many corresponding laws, including the Nationality Act, the Civil Associations Act, the Commercial Group Act, the Assembly and Parade Act, the Securities and Exchange Act, the Income Tax Act, the Estate and Gift Tax Act, the Immigration Act, the Private Security Service Act, and the Civil Defense Act, amending the express language of “age of twenty” in such laws to “age of majority.” That is, after Article 12 of the Civil Code is enforced, those who at the age of eighteen  or above will have the right to be a responsible person of a company or organize the civil associations and have the obligations to receive civil defense training. At the same time, the tax-free amount for gifts they receive and their status as a dependent of a taxpayer will also be affected.

(Author: Liang-Yu Kuo, Intern Attorney)

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