论近代中国司法界的肇端及演进

On the Origin and Evolution of the Judicial Field in Modern China

“司法界”由“司法”与“界”两部分构成。字形意义上的“司法”,在中国古代已经产生。而作为在宪政体制下与行政和立法相对的司法,则在清末以后才出现。“界”的实质含义在古今之间并无多大区别,都具有范围、边限之意。通过多个数据库的搜索对比发现,“司法界”一词的使用从无到有以至盛行,大致以宣统三年(1911)为界。宣统二年(1910)前后的一系列法制改革措施的规定与实施,如《法院编制法》的制定、第一次全国规模的司法官考试的开展等,为司法界搭建了一个制度性的骨架,也与“司法界”语词出现的大致年份相互印证。自司法界在语词和实体上生成之后,其逐渐演进为一种稳固并为法律人所易辨别并拥护的场域空间。这样一种演进的趋向,是司法社群在人际交往中不断明晰自己身份,并与政界的对照之下进行的。

The“judicial circle”is composed of two parts:“judicial”and“sphere”.“Judicial”in the glyph sense has been produced in ancient China.Judiciary,as opposed to administration and legislation under the constitutional government system,appeared after the late Qing Dynasty.The real meaning of“boundary”does not differ much between ancient and modern times,and it has the meaning of scope and boundaries.Through the comparison of multiple databases,it was found that the use of the term“judicial community”from scratch to prevalence is roughly based on the three years of Xuantong.A series of legal reform measures were promulgated and implemented around the second year of Xuantong,such as the enactment of the Law on the Establishment of the Court and the launch of the first national judicial examinations.The approximate year in which the term“judicial community”appears has corroborated each other.Since the judicial community generated words and entities,it has gradually evolved into a solid space that is easily recognized and supported by legal persons.Such an evolutionary trend is being carried out by the judicial community in the course of interpersonal communication,and in contrast with the political world.