近代中国女性执律师业的确立考论——兼论南京政府律师制度的“法统”传承

The Establishment of Female Lawyer System in Modern China and the Inheritance of Lawyer System of the Nanjing Government

1912年北京政府颁布的《律师暂行章程》,规定男子才有资格担任律师,禁止女性执律师业。众多学者认为,近代中国允许女性执律师业,肇始于1927年南京政府颁行的《律师章程》;这项制度或传承于北洋政府,或因1920年代中期妇女运动之推动。实际上这是不准确的。有资料表明,辛亥革命后广东即规定"中华民国国民"可担任律师;1919年2月,设在广州的中华民国军政府颁行《律师章程》,规定"中华民国人民"可任律师。而北洋政府,直至覆灭仍维持对女性执律师业的禁条。从"法统"传承看,南京政府的女律师制度是对南方政府的继承。研究中国女律师制度确立的社会背景,不能局限于20世纪20年代中期的妇女运动,而应上溯至五四运动前的辛亥革命时期。

In 1912,the Beijing government promulgated the Provisional Regulations for Lawyers,which stipulates that only"men"are eligible to be lawyers and prohibits women from practicing law.Many scholars believe that the Regulations for Lawyers issued by the Nanjing government in 1927 signals the beginning of allowing women to practice law in modern China and that such regulations were either inherited from the Beiyang government or promoted by women’s movement in the mid 1920 s.In fact,this is not true.Some documents show that after the Revolution of 1911,it was stipulated in Guangdong that"citizens of the Republic of China"are eligible to be lawyers and that in February 1919,the military government of the Republic of China in Guangzhou issued the Regulations for Lawyers,stipulating that"people of the Republic of China"can act as lawyers.The Beiyang government maintained the ban on female lawyers to its end.From the perspective of inheritance of legal system,female lawyer system of the Nanjing government was inherited from the"Southern Government".Study on social background of the establishment of female lawyer system in China should not be confined to the women’s movement in the mid 1920 s and can be traced back to the Revolution of 1911 before the May Fourth Movement.