捍卫“法的自主性”:语境、意义和悖论

Defending the Autonomy of Law:Context,Meaning and Paradox

法的现代性及其法治理想要求捍卫法的自主性。在中国法学语境里,法的自主性犹如一项“斯芬克斯之谜”。围绕法治谜面,中国法学曾形成三次争论,分别是法律移植与本土资源之争、精英司法与民粹司法之争、法教义学与社科法学之争。这三次争论分别在法律规则、司法运作和法律论证的不同层面触及法的自主性问题。不过,这些争论却一再遮蔽法的自主性问题。从系统论法学来看,法的自主性以法律系统的分出为前提。法律系统的分出包括三个维度:时间维度、社会维度和事物维度。时间维度指向法律运作的封闭性,社会维度指向法律制度的反身性,事物维度指向法律系统的同一性。因此,法的自主性以法律运作的封闭性、法律制度的反身性和法律系统的同一性为基础。当法的自主性摇摆在神话与现实之间时,这个问题就以悖论的方式呈现自身。对此,系统论法学提出了自我描述与异己描述的区分,并将其作为展开法的自主性悖论之条件。基于这个区分,法理论对法的自主性之描述,属于法律系统的自我描述。因此,面对法的自主性悖论,法理论必须承担去悖论化的任务。同时,这个任务揭示了法理论的功能就是反思和捍卫法的自主性。

The modernity of law and its idea of the rule of law demand to defend the autonomy of law.In the context of Chinese jurisprudence,the autonomy of law is like the riddle of the Sphinx.For the question on what the rule of law is,there have been three major debates in the field of Chinese jurisprudence.They are the debate between legal transplantation theory and local resources theory,judicial professionalism and judicial popularism,and the doctrine of law and social sciences of law.The autonomy of law is discussed in these three debates at different levels,i.e.,the legal rule level,the administration of justice level and the legal argumentation level.However,these debates have repeatedly concealed the question on the autonomy of law.From the perspective of systems theory of law,the autonomy of law is premised on the differentiation of the legal system,which includes three dimensions,i.e.,the temporal dimension,the social dimension,and the material dimension.The temporal dimension refers to the closedness of legal operation.The social dimension refers to the reflexivity of the institution of law.The material dimension refers to the identity of the legal system.Therefore,the autonomy of law is based on the closedness of legal operation,the reflexivity of the institution of law and the identity of the legal system.Swinging between myth and reality,the problem of the autonomy of law become a paradox.In this regard,the systems theory of law puts forward the distinction between self-description and external-description,and this distinction is regarded as the condition to unfold the paradox of the autonomy of law.Based on this distinction,the description of the autonomy of law by legal theory belongs to the self-description of the legal system.Therefore,regarding the paradox of the autonomy of law,legal theory must undertake the task of deparadoxization.At the meanwhile,this task reveals that the function of legal theory is to reflect on and defend the autonomy of law.