美国民事诉讼中当事人强制合并制度评介与思考

On Compulsory Combination System of Litigants in American Civil Procedure Law: Reviews and Reflections

当事人强制合并制度之强制性源于美国民事法律中的公平公正原则,只要符合强制合并程序的启动条件,法院都应当充分利用程序手段将某一案外人纳入一个已经启动的诉讼,这与美国民事法律中衡平法的盛行息息相关。虽然从表面上看,强制合并是对当事人处分原则的一种背离,实际是法院对当事人权利义务行使方式的引导,在这一过程中,引导尺度和时机是最为关键的要素。面对日趋复杂的社会矛盾以及纠纷解决机制的多元化发展趋势,美国民事司法系统一直试图通过程序法上的调整来整合当事人之间的关系,进而简化诉讼运行过程,这不但有利于法官全面理清案情,方便后续审理,也对提高案件审理效率,减少重复诉讼发生具有重要意义。

The compulsion of compulsory combination system of the parties has been originated from the principle of fairness and justice in American Civil Law. As long as it meets the starting conditions of the compulsory combination procedure,the court shall make full use of the procedural measures to incorporate an outsider into an existing lawsuit in an orderly manner. This is closely related to the prevalence of equity in American Civil Law. Superficially,compulsory combination is a kind of deviation from the principle of the party＇s disposition,but in fact it is the guidance of the court＇s action on the rights and obligations of the parties. In this process,the scale and timing of guidance are the most critical factors. Facing the increasingly complex social contradictions and the diversified development of dispute resolution mechanism,the American civil judicial system has tried to integrate the relationship between parties through procedural guidance,thus simplifying the process of litigation. It not only helps the judge to sort out the case in detail and to facilitate the subsequent trial,but also improves the efficiency of the case and reduces the occurrence of repeated litigation.