中日甲午高升号事件的国际法分析

An Analysis of the International Law of Gaosheng Ship Incident in Sino-Japanese War

19世纪国际法围绕"文明"主线展开叙述。甲午战争被同时期主流国际法学者描绘成是文明(日本)与野蛮(中国)的战争。高升号事件发生后,日本积极发表国际法论著为自身行为辩护,其立场获得西方著名国际法学者的认可和支持,英国亦最终裁定由中方对此案负责;而中国则鲜有发布与此案有关的国际法研究。但经过对高升号事件所涉及的国际法问题进行全面分析可知,日方立论并不成立,其击沉高升号且未对落水中国士兵施救的行为是违反国际法的,而英国最终裁定由中方负责也存在明显的逻辑漏洞。日本为获"文明国家"认可所做的努力、英国的战略考量以及19世纪国际法自身的缺陷等都是英国最终转向日本的原因。高升号事件对国际法的发展以及20世纪国际秩序的稳定造成了严重的消极影响。

International law in the 19 th century was narrated around the main line of'civilization'. The SinoJapanese war was portrayed by contemporary mainstream scholars of international law as a war between civilization(Japan) and barbarism(China). After the incident, Japan actively published articles on international law to defend its actions, and its position was recognized and supported by famous western scholars of international law. British finally decided that China should hold responsible. On the other hand, China has rarely published research on international law related to the case. This paper makes a comprehensive analysis of the international law issues involved in Gaosheng ship incident, and holds that the argument made by the Japanese side is false. What’s more, the act of sinking Gaosheng ship without rescuing the drowning Chinese soldiers is a violation of international law, and British’s final decision that China should be held responsible also has obvious logic loopholes. Japanese efforts to be recognized as a'civilized country', Britain’s strategic considerations and the defects of international law in the 19 th century are the reasons why Britain finally turned to Japan. The Gaosheng ship incident had a serious negative impact on the development of international law and the stability of the international order in the 20 th century.