大学法人在中世纪的起源、特征与意义

The Origin, Characteristics and Significance of University Corporation in Middle Age

现代大学是在法律上能够享有权利和承担义务的"法人"。现代西方大学起源于欧洲中世纪大学,现代大学的法人传统也源自中世纪的法人观念。这种法人观念源自罗马法的人法,在中世纪教会法中得以确立下来,具有神圣性、超越性和永续性。中世纪的学者团体经过艰苦卓绝的斗争获得了法人身份和地位,建立了大学。中世纪大学的法人身份,不仅是大学能够在欧洲中世纪及近代早期复杂的社会环境中生存下来并且发展壮大的重要原因,也是西方大学学术自由和大学自治的根基所在,为大学近千年的稳定发展奠定了坚实的制度基础和法律基础。探索大学法人的起源,有助于更好理解今天的法人概念,也有助于更好地探索现代大学的本质与特征。

Modern universities are the corporations who can enjoy the rights and obligations of the law.Modern western universities originated from the European Medieval Universities.The corporation tradition of modern universities also derived from the concept of corporation in the Middle Ages.This concept of corporation originated from the human law of Roman law and was established in the medieval church law,obtaining the characteristics of sacredness,transcendence and sustainability.The medieval scholar groups obtained the status of the corporation through the arduous struggles and established the medieval universities.The corporation identity of a university in Middle Ages was not only an important reason for the survival of universities in the medieval and early modern complex social environment,but also the foundation of academic freedom and university autonomy.It laid a solid institutional and legal foundation for the steady development of universities in the past millennium.The exploration of the origin of the university corporations can help us better understand the concept of the corporation today,and also help us to better explore the nature and characteristics of the modern universities.