외국인아동의 출생등록을 위한 입법에 관한 연구

Abstract

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child stipulates that every child has the right to birth registration, recognizing it as a basic right of the child under international human rights treaties. However, Korea, as a State Party to the Convention, has yet to implement a universal birth registration system. In June 2020, the Supreme Court of Korea confirmed that the right to birth registration is a fundamental right for children born as Korean nationals, and in March 2023, the Constitutional Court delivered a decision of unconstitutionality regarding the provisions of the Act on Registration of Family Relations related to birth registration. Following this, the Act was amended to improve the birth registration system for Korean children and newly introduced a birth notification system, which entered into force on July 19, 2024. However, the amended law applies only to children with Korean nationality, and thus, foreign children are remain excluded from the birth registration system. This article argues that foreign children born in Korea should also be registered at birth without delay, and that the legislature must establish a legal basis to enable foreign children to be registered in the same manner as Korean children. To this end, it first briefly reviews the legislative environment and necessity concerning the birth registration of foreign children, including the decisions of the Constitutional Court and examples of foreign legislation. Second, it introduces legislative bills submitted from the 19th to 22nd sessions of the National Assembly and the corresponding responses within the government. Third, it contends that the grounds for opposing the enactment of a birth registration law for foreign children are weak. Lastly, it seeks to outline the key elements that should be included if a law on birth registration for foreign children were to be enacted.