The Constitutional Significance and Protection of Family

• Main Authors: Chi-hung Chen, 陳琦紘
• Other Authors: none
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2008
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/76374269599610114412

碩士 === 東吳大學 === 法律學系 === 97 === The Constitution is the contract between any individuals and the state. It protects the individual rights from infringement, and constrain the state power from intemperance. "Family" has been an intermediate group between the individuals and the state and is such a hinge under the burden of certain function in the field of public law. It is also the most important place where individuals achieve his/her own self-actualization. However, there is no expressed provision in the Constitution to protect family. On the contrary, the description of the family system under the Constitutional Norms could only be accumulated by the Judicial Yuan Interpretations, which were made by the Justices of the Constitutional Court through years. Facing the more variety of lifestyle in the society and the more diversity in the way how people communicate, whether the family system under the Constitutional Norms, which interpreted by the Justices of the Constitutional Court, shall cling to the traditional order, or will provide newly protection so that to keep the room for the diversity and variety for families, would be the greatest challenges while the Justices make the choice. This essay holds that the mainstream, which is for the protection of family system under Constitutional Norms to be based on the marital relationship, should be abandoned so that the subject in the protection of family system be back to individuals. It is the rights of individuals either to form a family, or not to form a family, and no matter either to form a family based on marital relationship, or to form a family not based on marital relationship. It is the rights to choose family members as well as the desired family life, to choose his/her own way of life, and to achieve his/her own self-actualization. This is the most suitable way to realize the freedom in one’s personality and properly correspond to the value within the protection of family system under Constitutional Norms.