祭祀公業派下權之繼承與平等權之研究──評憲法法庭112年憲判字第1號判決

A Study on the Inheritance and Equality of Succession Right of the Ancestor Worship Guild─Commentary on No.1 Judgment of the Constitution Court in 2023

祭祀公業派下權之重點在於子孫是否認同並參與祭祀祖先之活動，而非受限於子孫的性別與姓氏。所以僅男系子孫始得成為祭祀公業派下員之傳統論點，已因社會變遷失其存在基礎。祖先應該由有意願慎終追遠之子孫來祭拜，而非單純依性別來限制，故有關派下員資格不論是否有規約存在，皆應依民法規定之繼承事實，不分性別當然取得。
另外，關於女系子孫過去以來所失之財產上利益，由於派下現員係因相信現行法之規定已善意取得之財產，即有現行祭祀公業條例之「信賴基礎」，故具有受「信賴保護」之正當利益，故派下現員於祭祀公業條例修正前已取得之權利，應不受影響。如此解釋，可以避免當事人之間為爭執是否仍有「現受利益」而興訟不斷，值得採用。

The essence of the succession right of the ancestor worship guild is the willingness of a descendant to approve and participate in the activities of ancestor worship rather than concerns over the gender identities or surname of the descendants. Therefore, the tradition practice that only a male decedent can serve as the successor of the worship guild has lost its legitimacy in the contemporary society. Ancestor worship should be carried out by sincere offspring with willingness without any limits based on gender considerations. Accordingly, the qualifications of a successor of ancestor worship shall be decided by the Civil Code without gender exceptions.
Moreover, the property benefits that a female descendant has been deprived of by the old practice should be deemed as “legal interests” to be protected under the present law. In other words, the said deprived benefits of a female descendant shall still be protected by the amended “Act for Ancestor Worship” under the principle of legitimate expectation, and thus a concerned female descendant should retain the property benefits she should have had enjoyed under the old law. This paper thus argues that the succession rights acquired by (female) members of a worship guild before the amendment of the said Act shall not be affected. It may avoid unnecessary disputes or litigations between the parties as to whether there are “present interests” to urge for.