诉讼法典要不要规定基本原则——以现行《民事诉讼法》为分析对象

从各主要国家的立法例考察,直接在法典中设专章或专门条文规定基本原则的不是主流做法。由于受苏联法律的影响,在法典的卷首规定基本原则成了新中国立法的定式,但事实上这是过高甚至误解了基本原则的功能。基本原则只具有指导立法的功能,不能承载规制诉讼主体的行为准则和司法准则的功能。同时,诉讼法典规定基本原则,与程序法定主义和严格规则主义相冲突;加大了立法成本和将来修改法典的难度;为最高司法机关制定司法解释提供了所谓的法律依据和空间;也把目前学界在基本原则上的重大分歧带进法典中去。因此,在利弊权衡之下,我国可以考虑将基本原则从法典中撤出作为其立法体例的另一种思路。

Should Basic Principles Be Described Expressly in the Procedural Codes: Based on an Analysis of the Civil Procedural Code

From the perspective of the law enactment in the influential countries,the basic principles of their legislations are seldom described expressly by way of a special chapter or a clause.Due to the influence of the former Soviet Union,all legislations of New China contain a principle at their very beginning.In fact,it is,to some extent,over-evaluation or even misunderstanding of the function of the basic principles.A basic principle can only guide people to make laws rather than regulate the tests of the acts of litigants and judicial criteria.Further,ascertaining a principle by way of describing it expressly in a procedural code contravenes the legality of procedures and the doctrine of strictness of rules.It increases the cost of law enactment,aggravates the difficulty in amending the code and renders so-called grounds and much room to the Supreme Court for judicial interpretations.It also foments the vital academic disputes of the code.Thus,it seems wise for China not to provide expressly the basic principle as a separate section or chapter in our legislations.