《大清现行刑律》与民初民事法源——大理院对“现行律民事有效部分”的适用

“现行律民事有效部分”是民初一种主要而又特殊的民事法源,源自《大清现行刑律》,但在立法层面,《大清现行刑律》从“刑律”到“民法”转变的任务并未完成,即未形成统一法律文本样态的“现行律民事有效部分”。司法机关适用该法源时面临着三大难题：无统一明确的内容该如何适用？相关律(例)文未去刑罚化如何用于民事审判？旧的律(例)文如何适应新的社会情势和法律制度？大理院以判例和解释例,确认并明确了“现行律民事有效部分”的内容范围,从原刑律条款转化出民事效果,并通过法律解释、类推适用和假借等方式,保证了其在民初司法实践中的正常适用;经由法律概念的对接、民法理论的融合和权利观念的渗透,实现了对“现行律民事有效部分”的创新,使其成为中国民法近代化历程中新旧之法融合的一个节点和枢纽,构成近代中国法制史上的重要一环。

The Great Qing Current Criminal Law and the Legal Source of Civil Law in the Early Republic of China

As the main but peculiar legal source of civil law in the early Republic of China, The Effective Section of the Current Criminal Law on Civil Affairs derived from The Great Qing Current Criminal Law, and had been implemented for over 20 years in the early Republic of China. However, three judicial difficulties remained in the civil trial practices when legislative transformation from the criminal law to the civil one stayed stagnated. First of all, there was no unified and explicit provisions. Secondly, the provisions had not yet been decriminalized. Finally, how did the antique laws and ordinates correspond to the new social circumstances and legal system?Through judgments and interpretations, Dali Yuan clarified the range of The Effective Section of the Current Criminal Law on Civil Affairs and transformed the provisions from criminal rules to civil ones. Meanwhile, through legal interpretation, analogy and concept referral, Dali Yuan not only ensured the proper function of The Effective Section of the Current Criminal Law on Civil Affairs in the judicial practice during the early Republic, but also innovated the code by concept comparison, theory reconcile and the penetration of right concept. The Effective Section of the Current Criminal Law on Civil Affairs is the transformation bridge of Chinese civil legal system, which stretched from the imperial period to 20th century.