兒童權利公約對少年事件處理法之影響

The Impact of the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Juvenile Delinquency Act

我國為履行兒童權利公約，制定兒童權利公約施行法，使兒童權利公約之兒童人權內容具有我國法律效力。施行法制定實施後，司法院已依施行法之規定，依兒童權利公約之意旨修正少年事件處理法第3條有關曝險少年部分，且於108年、112年間修法時，亦多有引用兒童權利公約內容作為修法之立法理由，足見兒童權利公約之內容已為我國立法之基準及參考。在實務適用上，兒童權利公約內容雖因施行法之制定而在我國具有法律效力，惟其法律位階與少年事件處理法間究竟如何適用，非無爭議，本文認為其位階應高於少年事件處理法，以引領少年事件處理法與國際兒童人權接軌。而兒童權利公約之內容，仍須透過憲法解釋、各級法院之解釋適用，始能讓兒童權利公約之內容落實於我國。

To fulfill the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), Taiwan enacted the“Act of the Convention on the Rights of the Child”, giving the child rights contained in the CRC domestic legal effect. Following the implementation of the Act, the Judicial Yuan, based on the spirit of the Act, revised Article 3 of the“Juvenile Delinquency Act”regarding exposed minors. Furthermore, the amendments to the Act which took place in 2019 and 2023 cited the content of the CRC extensively as legislative justification. This demonstrates that the content of the CRC has become an important standard and reference for legislation in Taiwan. While the implementation of the Act has given the CRC domestic legal effect, there are still disputes regarding the legal hierarchy and application between the CRC and the Juvenile Delinquency Act. This article argues that the CRC should have a higher legal hierarchy than the Juvenile Delinquency Act in order to align the latter with international children’s human rights. The content of the CRC still needs to be implemented through constitutional interpretation and application by courts at all levels in order to be truly actualized in Taiwan.