论民事诉讼的真实义务

Truth Obligation of Civil Litigation

真实义务是诚实信用原则在民事诉讼领域的具体化形态之一,虽然甄别当事人是否违反真实义务及对违反真实义务惩处方面存在一定难度,但司法正义是不容许当事人径直说谎、愚弄法院、混淆真实的。故而,真实义务成文法化回应了社会诉求,并修正了辩论主义僵化之缺陷;真实义务不仅可以有效提高诉讼效率,降低诉讼成本,使法院获得一减轻真实发现困难之方法,而且保障司法裁决基础之事实真实化,从而提升司法权威及社会公信力。因此,我国应当设立真实义务,使民众求真的诉讼道德要求转化为法律义务,这既符合中国民众普遍的法律意识观念的认识,也使诚实信用原则不枉为具文。

Truth obligation is an embodiment of integrity principle in the realm of civil litigation. While it is difficult to tell whether the litigant violates truth obligation and what kind of penalty should be reserved for the violation against truth obligation, judicial justice does not allow any litigant to lie and fool the court. The codification of truth obligation, as a response to the demands of society, will correct the rigidity of adversary system. Truth obligation will not only increase the efficiency of litigation, lower its cost, and alleviate the difficulty for the court to find out the truth, but also ensure the authenticity of the facts upon which the court makes its judicial decisions, and promote the court＇s judicial authority and social credibility. As a result, China should codify truth obligation, changing people＇s moral requirement for truth in litigation into an legal obligation. This practice is in agreement with Chinese people＇s overall conception of law, and will attach real significance to integrity principle in litigation.