選擇確定原則於我國司法實務適用情形之研究

A Study on the Application of the Principle of“Alternative Finding of Guilt”in Our Judicial Practice

現代法治國原則下，關於犯罪事實的認定，當法院窮盡一切調查能事，對於構成要件所要求的重要事實存否仍有懷疑，就必須對被告做有利的認定。然而，若對所有「事實真相不明」的案件，都毫無例外地援用罪疑唯輕原則，可能在某些個案中讓被告逃脫法律制裁，違背公平正義。為了解決這個問題，德國實務發展出「選擇確定」（Wahlfeststellung）這個機制，就某些個案，雖無法確切證明個別犯罪事實的存在，但諸多證據顯示，被告必犯其中一罪，在特定條件下，允許法院就犯罪事實做擇一有罪判決。該機制在德國學界迄今已被討論了超過一世紀，其作為罪疑唯輕原則的補充與例外，對於法治國真實發現與個案判決公平正義的追求，實有其重要性。
為了解我國司法刑事司法實務面對案件事實不明時的處理方式，是否也有選擇確定裁判規則之適用，本文搜尋自民國89年起的司法判決，就涉及該機制、寥寥可數的23個判決，根據選擇確定的理論加以整理分類，並就其中一些判決評析其妥適性，並提出另類可能的裁判方式。文末並嘗試建構未來司法實務適用選擇確定機制可能的立法模式，藉此期能拋磚引玉，喚起實務對選擇確定此議題的重視與學界後續相關研究的投入。

Under the principle of modern rule of law, it must make a judgment in favor of the defendant, when the court, after exhausting all means of investigation, still has doubts about the existence of key facts required by the elements of a crime. However, if the principle of“in dubio pro reo”is applied without exception to all cases where the facts are unclear, it could allow the defendant to escape legal sanctions in certain cases. And this may violate fairness and justice. To solve this problem, Germany has developed the mechanism of“alternative Finding of Guilt”(Wahlfeststellung) in legal practice. In certain cases, although it is not possible to conclusively prove the existence of a specific criminal act, the evidence strongly indicates that the defendant must have committed one of the crimes. Under certain conditions, the court is allowed to render a guilty verdict for one of the crimes. This mechanism has been discussed in German academia for over a century. As a supplement and exception to the principle of in dubio pro reo, it plays a significant role to uncover the truth of the facts and to pursue fairness and justice in legal judgments.
In order to understand how Taiwan’s criminal judicial practice handles cases when the facts are unclear and whether the alternative verdict rule is applicable, this paper reviews judicial judgments in the past 25 years. Among the few relevant cases, 22 judgments involving the theory of alternative verdicts were identified and categorized. Some of these judgments were analyzed for their appropriateness, and some alternative and possible methods of judgements were also proposed. Through the discussion in this paper, it is intended to raise awareness of this issue of“alternative Finding of Guilt”for the legal practitioners, as well as to encourage further academic research on the subject.