臺灣女性司法人員的歷史初探

Woman Judges and Prosecutors in Taiwan: A History

本文基於對女性專業歷史、性別文化和女性主義法學研究的回顧與展望，以參與偵查審判之女性為對象，蒐羅檔案、口訪和文獻資料，分析二次大戰後臺灣女司法官的出現與倍增、教育培訓、職涯抉擇和執法經驗等課題，並論證其中的性別意義。初步考察獲致幾點結論。首先，臺灣女性參與司法專業，較之日韓等國早見且量大。女性或因家學淵源和公義理念，或因公職安定且地位崇高，七十年來超過千人投身其中，是女性專業史上值得重視的現象。其次，就職涯選擇言，戰後本地培訓出身者，較之早期渡海而來的前輩，更清楚地呈現重推輕檢，民多於刑的現象，顯示傳統的性別分工和特定職場的陽剛氣質皆影響深遠，直到近年才稍見改變。再則，社會雖期待女司法官同性相助，但在「法官不語」和中立客觀的大纛之下，透過裁判書類救助女性當事人者僅屬偶見。女司法官的性別意識多表現於提攜同性後輩、奧援女性下屬，或組成社團、交流經驗等方面。在戒嚴時期、考試取才的機制下，女司法官間或撰文演講、分享法學知識，以啟蒙教育女性讀者。至若從女性主義角度反思法律條文或司法環境，乃至倡議修法改革者，則是一九八○年代末至一九九○年代初政治鬆綁、社會風氣大開之後的事了。

This article examines women judges and prosecutors in post-war Taiwan based on the author’s understanding of current research on women’s professional history, gender culture and feminist legal studies in Taiwan. Oral histories, memoirs, biographical reports and governmental documents are collected and analyzed to show the emergence and growing numbers of women judges and prosecutors, their professional choices in the legal fields, and possible (or lack of) feminist conceptions expressed in their practices. Three conclusions are reached. First, Taiwanese women entered legal practices later than they took up other professional occupations, most likely due to the different characteristics between legal judgment and traditional gender roles. In the past seven decades, however, more than one thousand women chose legal professions because of reasons ranging from inspiration of senior family members and ideals to pursue righteousness, to seeking security in governmental jobs. Secondly, most women preferred the positions of judges to prosecutors, and women judges favored civil courts over criminal cases in their career planning. Affiliations with family issues in civil cases and masculinity in the prosecutors’ working environment may have contributed to the gender division of professional choices. Thirdly, women judges and prosecutors expressed their feminist ideas, if any, often through a kind of sisterhood in which senior judges supported junior ones and supervisors advocated for their subordinates. The continuous interactions and social gatherings among women judges of different age groups eventually formed the basis for the Taiwan Chapter of the International Association of Women Judges and Prosecutors. Since they were recruited to their posts through national examination and worked in a martial law era before 1987, women legal professionals rarely challenged existing litigation institutions or judicial systems. While a handful showed feminist sentiments through their court documents, most abided by the positivist objectivism in their practices. Some did share their legal knowledge through speeches and publications to inform and to help their sisters in society. However, it was not until the late 1980s and early 1990s, when political and social movements transformed Taiwan, that women judges and prosecutors began to speak out and act on their feminist concerns.