我国儿童人权保护的法治化进程、贡献及展望

The Process,Contribution and Outlook of the Rule of Law on Children's Human Rights Protection in China

对我国儿童人权的立法考察不仅可以呈现儿童人权保护法治化的发展历程,还能挖掘法治对于推动儿童人权事业所作出的贡献。以儿童为中心的专门立法为标志,可以将儿童人权保护的法治化进程划分为摸索确立期、体系形成期和深化拓展期。摸索确立期以《未成年人保护法》的出台为标志,这是我国首部以保护未成年人为主旨的立法,在中国儿童人权法治建设中具有划时代的意义。体系形成期以《预防未成年人犯罪法》的出台为标志,通过对《未成年人保护法》进行补充,为儿童建构出一种新型的特殊保护方式,形成了儿童人权保护法治体系的基本框架,是儿童人权保护法治化的重大发展。深化拓展期以《家庭教育促进法》的出台为标志,拓展了儿童保护的立法范畴,将儿童保护立法从以儿童为中心扩展至家庭领域,这也意味着我国儿童人权保护法治体系有了新的拓展。未来儿童人权保护的法治化,不仅需要不断完善既有法律,还需要依循儿童身心发展特征,坚守儿童利益最大化原则,以进一步拓展未成年人人权立法空间,推动儿童人权法的法典化,为儿童人权保护事业提供中国经验。

An examination of the legislation on children's human rights in China cannot only present the history of the rule of law on children's human rights,but also uncover its contribution in promoting this cause.Marked by special child-centered legislation,the process of the rule of law on children's human rights can be divided into three basic stages of development:the exploration and establishment stage,the system formation stage and the deepening and expansion stage.The first is the exploration and establishment stage marked by the promulgation of Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Minors.This stage went through the process from exploring solutions to the problem of juvenile delinquency after the reform and opening-up,to the establishment of the mechanism for child protection,and then to the formulation of Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Minors.Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Minors is the first piece of legislation that focuses on protecting minors since the founding of the People's Republic of China and is of epoch-making significance in the building of the rule of law on children's human rights in China.Not only did it establish a modern concept of child protection in legislation,and thus promote a fundamental change in the legal status of children,but it also constructed a relatively mature system and mechanism for the protection of children's human rights.The second stage is the system formation stage marked by the promulgation of Law of the People's Republic of China on Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency,which shows the development of moving from one piece of special legislation to two pieces.This stage formed the basic framework of the legislation system for children's human rights,and was a major advancement in the rule of law on children's human rights.It resolved the legislative plight that mixed the prevention of juvenile delinquency with juvenile protection and constructed a legal system for children's human rights with protection and prevention in parallel.Through the system construction of juvenile justice,a rule of law system that separated minors from adults began to take shape.The third stage is the deepening and expansion stage marked by the promulgation of Family Education Promotion Law of the People's Republic of China,showing the development of moving from two pieces of special legislation to three pieces.This stage witnessed the deepening and expansion of various mechanisms for the protection of children's human rights through substantial amendments to the specifics of Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Minors and Law of the People's Republic of China on Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency.Family Education Promotion Law of the People's Republic of China expanded the legislative scope of child protection,extending child protection legislation from a child-centered approach to a family-based one and establishing new ideas and paths for the protection of children's human rights.The rule of law on children's human rights in the future requires,on the one hand,the resolution of many plights and problems in its building process and the continuous improvement of the existing legal system;and on the other hand,it needs to follow the characteristics of children's physical and mental development and adhere to the principle of maximizing children's interests,so as to further expand the legislative space for children's human rights,establish the juvenile justice system that separates minors from adults,unify the rule of law system on children's human rights and push for its codification.In this way,China's experience in the cause of protecting children's human rights can be shared with the rest of the world.