论欧盟家事诉讼中的不方便法院原则——以Child and Family Agency案为中心

The Forum Non-Convenience Doctrine in the EU Family Lawsuits:In the Case of Child and Family Agency

为了确保尊重儿童的基本权利和实现儿童利益最大化,2003年《布鲁塞尔条例Ⅱa》第15条对父母责任事项规定了不方便法院条款。欧盟不方便法院原则的特殊性包括:一是适用对象的特殊性,主要适用于涉外父母责任诉讼,并逐步延伸至涉外婚姻事项;二是考量因素之特殊性,将儿童利益最大化原则置于主要的考量因素,而且排除对替代法院实体性规则和儿童之外其他人迁徙自由权的考量。欧盟家事诉讼中不方便法院原则的进步性在于以下三点:第一,赋予不方便法院原则保护儿童最大利益之人权保护功能;第二,体现了对相互信任原则的尊重;第三,呈现出谨慎适用的趋势以防止不方便法院原则的滥用。但也存在着管辖权移送范围、适用对象、儿童利益最大化的裁量等诸多局限性及适用困境。

In order to ensure that the basic rights of children are respected and to achieve the best interests of children,“Article15”of the Brussels IIa Regulation provided forum non-convenience clauses on parental responsibility matters.Particularities of the EU forum non-convenience doctrine include:(1)the specificity of the applicable object,which is mainly applicable to the international parental liability lawsuits and is gradually extended to international marriage matters;(2)the specificity of considerations,in which the principle of the best interests of children is put as the main consideration,excluding the factors of substantive rules of alternative courts and the right to freedom of movement other than children.The advancement of the forum non-convenience doctrine in the EU family lawsuits lies in the following three aspects:firstly,the EU forum non-convenience principle is endowed with the function of protecting the best interests of children;secondly,it shows respect for the principle of mutual trust;thirdly,it presents a cautious trend to prevent the abuse of this doctrine.But“Article15”of the Brussels IIa Regulation also has many limitations,such as the scope of jurisdiction transfer,the applicable object,the discretion of the best interests of children and so on.