2002년 미국 통일친자법 제정의 의미와 그 내용

The Meaning in the Enactment and the Contents of the Uniform Parentage Act 2002 in USA

The Uniform Parentage Act 2000 was approved by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws in 2000, and last amended or revised in 2002 in America. The reasons, which needs amendments of Uniform Parentage Act of 1973 are follows: firstly, the incredible scientific advances in parentage testing since 1973 warrant a thoroughgoing revision of the Act. Until recently, identifying a child's genetic mother was the person who gave birth to the child, and if the child was born to a married couple, fatherhood was presumed to be the mother's husband. Thus, the major focus of law was on establishing paternity for nonmarital children. But, scientific development made it possible that through assisted reproduction, the woman who gives birth may not be the child's genetic mother. Genetic testing can show to a virtual certainty that a husband is not the genetic father of his wife's child. These scientific advances have created the need for a more sophisticated view of both maternity and paternity.: secondly, as the nonmarital birth rate has soared, federal law in America has places increasing emphasis on the importance of the state's establishing paternity for children born to unmarried parents.: thirdly, the Act 1973 has many problems; for example, UPA(1973) is entirely silent regarding the relationship between a divorced and a determination of parentage. Case law has not always reached consistent results in construing UPA 1973. As a result, confusion appeared in case law. Thus, recognizing the need to help states develop a statutory framework to address the difficult public policy issues and meet the federal .1an<lards, in 1997 the National Conference Commissioners on Uniform State Laws(NCCUSL) formed a drafting committee to revise the existing Uniform Parentage Act (UPA) 1973. In addition to addressing the establishment of paternity for marital and nonmarital children, the drafting committee decided to look at the provisions of two other uniform acts relating to aspects of paternity determination and incorporate them into the new Uniform Act(UP A(2000)); they are the Uniform Putative and Unknown Fathers Act and the Uniform Status of Children of Assisted Conception Act. UPA contains all of the provisions regarding paternity of non marital children that states need in order to be eligible for federal funding for their child support and TANF programs. In addition, it provides guidance in areas like rescission of acknowledgements, and the establishment of paternity registries, where the federal law is silent. It also goes beyond the federal requirements and deals with parentage of marital children and children conceived through means other than sexual intercourse. UPA 2000 was approved by NCCUSL on Aug. I, 2000, and amended in 2002. The amendments of 2002 are the end-result of objections lodged by the American Bar Association Section Individual Rights and Responsibilities and the ABA Committee on the Unmet Legal Needs of Children, based on the view that in certain respects the 2000 version did not adequately treat a child of unmarried parents equally with a child of married parents. Because equal treatment a child of unmarried parents was a hallmark of the 1973 Act, the objections caused the drafters of the 2000 version to reconsider certain sections of Act. Through extended discussion and a meeting of representatives of all the entires involved, a determination was made that the objections had merit. As a result of this process, the amendments shown in this Act were presented by mail ballot to the Commissioners and unanimously approved in November 2002. Texas and Washington adapted the UPA 2000(2002). I will introduce in this paper, the meaning of Uniform Act in America, the need for the amendment of UPA 1973, the distinguishing characteristic of the Act and a brief overview, followed by several examples of how it works. The reason I introduce the Act is that it provides some important and reasonable