論民初親屬會議制度的立法與司法──以大理院判決為中心

On the Legislation and Judiciary of Family Council System in Early Republican China: Focusing on the Judgments of the Dali Yuan

在中國，宗族自治以處理家族事務的傳統由來已久，清末第一次民律草案所規定的親屬會議制度則是將這種傳統加以法制化的初步嘗試。此一制度源自歐陸，日本於明治維新時繼受，清末變法制訂新式民法時引進中國，制度之設計原本以處理收養及監護事務為主要任務，但引進中國之後，則大大擴充其職權，使其富有中國特色。民律第一次草案雖未正式施行，但在民初時期擔當司法終審職責的大理院，以第一次民律草案的規定為實質法源並加以部分改造，用以審理親族間為了處理家事事件之集會產生的法律爭訟。大理院在程序面放寬親屬會議的組織與召開方式，而從嚴核定決議的正當性；在實體面則將傳統上會以宗族集會形式議決的各種事項，諸如監護、遺產管理、承繼等都承認為親屬會議的職權。諸般作為成果豐碩，不僅促進民初法制發展，亦影響後續民法草案的編纂乃至於現行民法的立法，例如在現行民法，親屬會議由親屬自行召集，以及被繼承人生前繼續扶養者有遺產酌給請求權，正是直接或間接源自大理院的司法實踐。儘管在當代由於社會變遷，親屬會議的功能逐漸式微，大部分被法院取代，但民初大理院與親屬會議有關的司法實踐，還是值得吾人研究並探討其與現行規定的關係。

In China, the tradition of clan autonomy in handling family affairs has deep historical roots. The Family Council system, as stipulated in the first draft of the Civil Code at the end of the Qing Dynasty, represented an early effort to formalize this customary practice within a statutory framework. During the early Republican period, the Grand Court of Judicature (Dali Yuan), which served as the final judicial authority, treated the provisions of the first Civil Code draft as substantive sources of law, making contextual adjustments to adjudicate legal disputes arising from family gatherings convened to handle domestic affairs. This adjudicative approach produced notable doctrinal and practical outcomes.
The various actions of the Grand Court of Judicature played a pivotal role in the development of the legal system in the early Republican period and exerted a lasting influence on subsequent civil law legislation, including the current Civil Code. For instance, the current Civil Code provisions allowing the Family Council to be convened by family members and granting inheritance allocation claims to those who continued to support the decedent during their lifetime can be traced, directly or indirectly, to the judicial practices of the Grand Court of Judicature.
Although the function of the Family Council has gradually declined in contemporary society due to broader social transformation and the expansion of formal judicial institutions, the judicial practices of the Grand Court of Judicature concerning the Family Council continue to merit careful scholarly examination, particularly with respect to their doctrinal continuity and normative relationship with current legal provisions.