我國刑事被告防禦權保障制度變遷分析

Analysis of the Changes of the Defense Rights for Criminal Defendants Protection System in Taiwan

中華民國憲法於1947年施行，即在第16條明文保障人民訴訟權，第8條亦規範人身自由應受保障；而1928年制定的刑事訴訟法第1條則明定「犯罪非依本法及其他關於刑事訴訟之特別法，不得追訴及處罰」，可見當時已存在刑事被告人權保障觀念。然而，在戒嚴與動員戡亂體制下，國家多有不當侵害刑事被告人權之情事，且刑事訴訟法自1968年僅小幅度修正，並未涉及防禦權制度之重大調整。直至1987年解除戒嚴及1991年廢止動員戡亂時期臨時條款後，刑事訴訟法方出現較大幅度變動。本文採取歷史制度主義，運用路徑依賴與關鍵時刻理論，分析政府政策、司法院大法官解釋、人民觀念、法制變革與法律實踐等變項，檢視各時期刑事被告防禦權保障制度之功能是否發揮、制度變動之原因及影響因素，並探討制度變遷集中於政治轉型後的原因，以及觀念對制度變遷的影響。

The Constitution of the Republic of China, enacted in 1947, explicitly guaranteed the right to litigation (Art. 16) and the protection of personal liberty (Art. 8). Similarly, the 1928 Code of Criminal Procedure stipulated that no crime could be prosecuted or punished except under the law, reflecting an early awareness of defendants’rights. However, under martial law and the Temporary Provisions, state violations of defendants’rights were frequent, and the 1968 amendment to the Code brought no major changes to defense rights. Significant reforms only emerged after the lifting of martial law in 1987 and the termination of the Temporary Provisions in 1991.
This study adopts historical institutionalism, employing the concepts of path dependence and critical junctures to analyze five variables—government policy, Constitutional Court interpretations, public perceptions, legal reforms, and legal practices. It examines whether defendants’rights protections functioned effectively across different periods, identifies the causes and influences of institutional change, explains why reforms concentrated after democratic transition, and explores how shifting societal values shaped these developments.