元丰改制后宋代户部的民事司法职掌

Analysis of the Civil Judicial Duties of the Ministry of Revenue in the Song Dynasty After Yuanfeng Restructuring

宋代中央的民事司法职能并非归属于刑部、大理寺、审刑院等专门司法机关,元丰改制前该项职事主要由三司、御史台兼掌,自元丰改制户部职权恢复之后,宋代中央有关民事司法的事务就由户部和御史台掌握。根据史籍中有关宋代户部民事司法职能的具体记载以及现存的宋代民事诉讼案例所反映的情况来看,元丰改制后户部职掌的民事诉讼类型主要包括田产纠纷、立户分财与户绝继嗣纠纷、婚嫁纠纷等。户部既可以直接受理民事诉讼案件,也可承接他司转呈的相关案件,其受理的民事案件主要通过行下的方式审理,也有部分案件转呈御史台审理。户部也可直接审理民事诉讼案件。另外,部分由御史台行下审理的民事诉讼案件,在审结之后仍需申明户部。

The civil judicial function of the central government in the Song Dynasty was not performed by specialized judicial organs like the Ministry of Justice(Xingbu), the Court of Judicial Review(Dalisi) or the Case Review Court(Shenxingyuan). Prior to the Yuanfeng Reform, such a function was concurrently executed by the Three Bureaus(Sansi) and the Censorate(Yushi Tai). After the Ministry of Revenue(Hubu) resumed its power thanks to the Yuanfeng Reform, civil judicial affairs at the central government level in the Song Dynasty started to fall into the hands of the Ministry of Revenue and the Censorate. According to specific records on civil judicial function performed by the Ministry of Revenue in historical records of the Song Dynasty, as well as what are reflected by civil proceedings of the dynasty documented by existing literature, the types of civil litigations controlled by the Ministry of Revenue can come down to the real estate property disputes, separation and division of property and descent disputes, marriage disputes, etc., which are basically consistent with the conditions reflected in judicial cases recorded in the historical materials. The Ministry of Revenue can directly accept civil litigation cases, and can also undertake relevant cases transferred by other departments. The civil cases accepted by it are mainly heard through sending the cases to its subordinate agencies, and some cases are transferred to the Censorate for trial. The Ministry of Revenue can also hear civil litigation cases directly. In addition, some civil litigation cases heard by the Censorate should still be stated to the Ministry of Revenue after the conclusion.