협의이혼제도 개선안에 대한 소고

The Reform of the Procedure of Consensual Divorce

&nbsp;&nbsp;Most couples who want to get divorced end their marriages through the procedure of consensual divorce. The procedure allows the couples to be divorced easily just by mutual consent, but does not have any systematic devices for the interests of children after their parents&quot; divorce. So, it needs to reform the procedure of consensual divorce for the promotion of the best interests of children.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;There are two legislative bills on the reform of procedure of the divorce. One is suggested by The Ministry of Justice January 2006 and the other, submitted by 37 members of the National Assembly November 16, 2005 based on the draft proposed by the committee of The Family Court of Seoul District, currently pending in the National Assembly. The two bills, in common, suggest the introduction of ① reflection and consideration period, ② counseling or information sessions and ③ requirement of agreements on parenting responsibilities after divorce as the methods that reinforce the requisites of consensual divorce.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;However, the two bills differ in the way of introduction of these methods in the concrete. The bill suggested by The Ministry of Justice puts weight on requirement of agreements on parenting responsibilities after divorce. It also introduces ① reflection and consideration period, ② information sessions, and ③ recommendation of counseling as the devices to assist move parties towards custody agreement. Though, the other bill submitted by 37 members of the National Assembly focus on the introduction and revitalization of counseling, which is the mandatory for divorcing parents. It is to provide mechanisms for early intervention in a troubled marriages and promote continuing contact between parent and work co-operatively.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;The author basically agree on introduction of ① reflection and consideration period, ② mandatory counseling for the parents or mandatory parenting education programmes, and ③ requirement of agreements on parenting responsibilities after divorce. The author also suggest unifying of the procedure of divorce regardless mutual consent and expand the role of The Family Court as one-stop center to promote the welfare of the people who need the services provided by The Family Court.