Challenging Authoritarianism through Law: Potentials and Limit

在專制國家進行法律改革的潛力和限制是一項有趣的議題。學者和實務界爭論司法改革是否能軟化專制體系的界線,並最終解放之,抑或反而確立專制統治。本文企圖透過審視中國人權律師在保障並促進人權方面的努力,以及他們的司法積極性對中國政治和法治發展的影響,來討論此一議題。中國共產黨既然容許律師的自主性,如今他們必須面對這些律師的挑戰。

The potentials and limit of legal reform in an authoritarian state is a fascinating issue. Scholars and practitioners have argued whether legal reform can soften the edge of an authoritarian system and eventually liberalize it, or whether the legal reform would simply further entrench the authoritarian rule. This paper attempts to contribute to this debate by examining the efforts of activist lawyers in China in mobilizing law to protect and promote rights, and the implications of their legal activism on China's political and legal development. The Communist Party has created an autonomous profession of lawyers and now has to live with the challenges it poses.