儿童最大利益原则的中国实践——以离异子女姓名变更规范重构为中心

China’s Practice of the Best Interests of the Child Principle

在离异子女姓名变更问题上,最高人民法院、公安部及各地公安机关均要求父母一致同意才能办理变更登记。现行规定显著违反儿童最大利益原则,使得广大离异子女因难以变更姓名,而给其日常生活及入学带来诸多困扰,并严重影响到他们身心的健康成长。监护(亲权)的现代变迁已经使得维护儿童最大利益为其行使之宗旨,父母一致同意本质上是监护(亲权)高于离异子女自身权益的不合时宜之规定。与此同时,离异子女变更姓名需父母一致同意之规定与婚姻法第22条之规范意旨相抵触。是故,应当遵循儿童最大利益原则对离异子女姓名变更规范予以重构,授予直接抚养人单方面变更离异子女姓名的权利,同时赋予八周岁以上的离异子女对其姓名变更同意权,并规定姓名变更以一次为限,以防止直接抚养人滥用姓名变更权。民法典正处于编纂之中,全国人大应以此为契机在民法典婚姻家庭编中对离异子女姓名变更事项进行立法重构,以践行儿童最大利益原则。

On the issue of name change of children in divorced homes(CDH),the Supreme Court,the Ministry of Public Security and the local public security organs all require the consensus of the parents to register the new name.The current regulations obviously violate the principle of the best interests of child established by the United Nations,which makes it difficult for CDH to change their names,and brings too much trouble to their daily life and school enrollment,and seriously affects their health physically and mentally.The modern change of guardianship(parental rights)has made it its aim to safeguard children's best interests.Parental unanimity is an anachronistic rule,which makes parental guardianship(parental rights)higher than the CDH's own rights and interests.At the same time,the requirement that CDH change their names with the consent of their parents is inconsistent with the normative intent of Article 22of the Marriage Law.Therefore,we should follow the principle of children's best interests to reconstruct the norm governing the name change of CDH,grant the parent who brings up the child the right to unilaterally change the name of CDH,and at the same time give CDH over eight years of age the right to consent to their name change,and stipulate that the name change should be limited to one time,so as to prevent the abuse of the right of name change by their parents.In the process of formulating China's civil code,the NPC should make use of these legislative opportunities to reconstruct the provisions on the name change of CDH in the section of marriage and family in the civil code,so as to practice the principle of the best interests of child.