면접교섭권자의 범위확대를 위한 해석과 그 한계 ―일본민법과의 비교를 중심으로―

Korean Civil Law does not have any provisions on the visitation right of the person other than parents and grandparent. But, it does not need to be viewed as admitting the visitation right only to parents and grandparents. Right to access and communicate with a member of family is guaranteed by the Constitution. It is the very and urgent time that children need an intimate relationship, so that visitation of grandparents, brothers and sisters and other relatives is useful for the children who are in emotionally vulnerable states due to a loss of parents. Thus, the visitation rights of grandparent etc. can be recognized by the interpretation of the existing provisions. Of course, this interpretation can be criticized for exceeding the limits of interpretation and for infringing parental rights. Nevertheless, given that the right must be recognized for the best interest of the child, it should be recognized by relatives other than the parents and grandparents, if appropriate for the best interest of the child. Ultimately, it is desirable to amend the legislation to allow the visitation rights to a third party. Even in such a case, it should be recognized to the extent that the parental rights of parents are violated to the minimum extent necessary, and above all, the first criterion for acknowledging the rights to third parties should be the welfare of the child.