民初大理院民事裁判中的“条理”

On Legal Resource of Tiaoli in Civil Justice of the Supreme Court in the Early Republic of China

民初在无民法典的特殊历史条件下,“条理”是大理院民事裁判中位居第三顺位但适用最多的法源,它包括《大清民律草案》、一般法律原则、外国立法例、传统人情义理、学说和判例。大理院对“条理”的适用主要包括对旧律的改造和新式法理的推行两种方式,其蕴含的思想为强化私法自治原则、重视经济流通及公共秩序、尊重传统义理和伦理道德。作为法源意义的“条理”,与法理、情理并无本质不同。对其意涵的把握,应以补充制定法、习惯的不足之担当为出发点,以民法整体法律秩序所业已体现或潜存之法律原则和人的正常认知能够理解的义理人情为界限,不能广及抽象模糊之自然法理或法律一般原理,更不可推及空泛无比的事理和伦理。大理院对“条理”的适用,一方面带来了新法理,另一方面亦顾及传统的义理和伦理道德,十多年间斟酌中外法理的历程,为《中华民国民法》的制定奠定了坚实的基础。“条理”在民法近代化进程中发挥着承前启后的作用。

Under the special historical conditions of the absence of civil code in the early Republic of China,“Tiaoli”was the third but the most applicable law resource in the civil judgment of the Supreme Court,which included the Draft Civil Law of the Qing Dynasty,foreign legislation,general legal principles,traditional principles and ethics,doctrinal opinions and precedents.The application of“Tiaoli”in Supreme Court mainly included two ways:the reform of the traditional laws and the implementation of the western jurisprudence.It’s thoughts were embodied in strengthening the principle of autonomy of private law,attach importance to economic circulation and public order,and respecting traditional principles and ethics.As the source of civil law,“Tiaoli”was not fundamentally different from jurisprudence and reason.The grasp of its meaning should be based on the legal principles embodied or latent in the overall legal order of civil law and the reasonable human feelings that can be understood by the normal cognition of human beings which can not be extended to the abstract and vague natural jurisprudence or general principles of law,let alone the vague common sense and ethics.The application of“Tiaoli”brought new jurisprudence on one hand,but also took into account the traditional principles of justice and ethics.Over the ten years,the experience and achievements of Chinese and Western jurisprudence have been considered,laying a solid foundation for the enactment of the Civil Code.“Tiaoli”played a role of connecting the past to the future in the process of modernization of civil law.