采集公民民族信息的宪法界限

The Constitutional Limit to the Collection of Citizen's Ethnical Information

除宪法规定的平等原则外,我国法律法规对采集和使用公民的民族信息未做任何具体限制。在各种需要填写个人信息的表格中,民族信息往往都是必填项。实事求是地重新评估现有民族识别和民族信息采集体制的利与弊,是改革现行民族关系法制体系的基础。采集公民民族信息的行为,在一些法治比较发达的多民族国家是受法律不同程度限制的,其中有的国家完全禁止采集公民的民族信息。采集公民民族信息的主要用途是根据民族对公民进行分类并差别对待。无限制地采集公民民族信息并差别对待,有违法律面前人人平等的宪法原则,对国家统一和民族团结也弊多利少。中国平衡发展需要正视区域差异,淡化民族差异。依据宪法有关规定和精神采取立法措施限制采集公民民族信息,十分必要。

China＇s laws and regulations impose no specific restrictions on the collection or use of the ethnical information of citizens except the constitutional provision that citizens of any ethnicity are all equal. Disclosure of ethnical information is mandatory in various kinds of forms that are designed to collect citizen＇s personal information. A realistic and critical reassessment of the pros and cons of compulsory disclosure or collection of ethnical identification and ethnical information is a foundation of reforming the current inter--ethnical relations law. Collection of ethnical information is restricted by law to varying de- grees in many multi--ethnic countries with a mature rule--of--law system, and some of these countries completely prohibit the collection thereof. The main use and purpose of collecting ethnical information is to differentiate citizens according to their ethnicity and hence treat them differently. Unlimited collection of ethnical information and the ensuing ethnical discrimination violates the constitutional principle that all people are equal before law, and also does more harm than good for national solidarity and ethnical unity. The balanced development in China necessitates the need to properly address regional differences and dilute ethnical differentiations. It is necessary to adopt legislative measures to impose restrictions on or limit to the collection of citizen＇s ethnical information pursuant to the provisions and the spirit of the Constitution.