刑事案卷与文字关系的历史及启示——基于清代案卷材料运用的考察

Files and Words:A Study of the Use of Criminal Case Files in the Qing Dynasty

在清代,官方制作的案卷材料尤其口供笔录之所以得到普遍运用,并渐成一种惯习,于文字记录的案卷材料所具有的独特作用有着密切关系。清代案卷材料统一文字的使用,消除了各地区域性方言、族语、俗语等对案情信息传递、理解和接受所带来的障碍。成文的口供笔录既有对他人陈述的自然记录形成的供状,又有对他人口头陈述加工基础上所形成的招状。后一种材料是运用文字组织、加工和整理案件信息的功能,对他人口述事实在格式和内容上的再"创造",虽存在运用的一定风险,但总体上仍能保持基本的真实性,其证据的利用价值在于书写应遵循的文法句式。清代案卷材料的官僚属性,决定了材料的可信赖性。从借鉴历史经验的角度看,当代中国刑事案卷的有效运行,首先在于完善刑事案卷的制作规范。

The fact that the criminal case files,especially transcripts,were used extensively in the Qing Dynasty has a lot to do with the way words were used to record these cases.The barring of dialects,ethnic language,and slangy expressions from the case files helped to remove the obstacles in information transmission,comprehension and acceptance.The written transcripts contained records of oral accounts of the cases both by the suspects and the witnesses.The records were literally"processed"to convey information in a more organized and eligible way.They were in fact"recreated",in form and content,on the basis of the oral accounts.Though there was some risk in their use,they were on the whole authentic.They were reliable because they followed a regular format of writing both in grammar and sentence pattern adopted by officials nationwide.One lesson we can learn from this is that our criminal case files today must be compiled by following regular procedures and norms if they are to be used effectively.