论继承权丧失制度--以我国《继承法》第7条的修改为中心

On the Forfeiture of the Succession Right——Modification of Article 7 of Law on Succession of the People's Republic of China

继承权丧失制度是"任何人不得于其不法行为中获利原则"的体现,是对继承人不法或不道德行为的一种民事制裁。既不能纵容继承人的不法或不道德行为,也不能对继承人过于严苛,同时应充分尊重被继承人的意思。建议增加"以欺诈或胁迫手段迫使、妨害被继承人订立、变更或撤销遗嘱的"作为相对丧失继承权的法定事由。同时,若继承人遗弃被继承人或虐待被继承人情节严重的,由当然相对丧失继承权改为须经被继承人表示丧失继承权。

The forfeiture of the succession right adheres to the ＂principle that no one shall profit from his illegal behavior＂, and it is a civil sanction against the illegal or immoral behaviors of successors. Therefore, it is suggested to neither condone the illegal or immoral behaviors of the successor, nor to be too harsh on them ; meanwhile, the intention of the decedent should be fully respected. This paper proposes adding such a provi- sion of ＂successors who force or hinder the decedents in concluding, changing or revoking the will by means of fraud or coercion＂ as a legal cause of relatively forfeiting the succession right. Moreover, with regard to successors who abandon or mistreat the decedent under serious circumstance, the prior provision of automatic relative forfeiture of succession right should be modified as being forfeited by expression of the decedent.