死者之手：臺灣的遺囑法律史（1683-1945）

Abstract

本文考察了臺灣從清治時期至日治時期（1683-1945），「遺囑」作為一種代間財產移轉時的工具或制度，究竟發生了哪些功能上或概念上的變化。同時，本文也藉由比較清治時期與日治時期的遺囑制度，探討這些異同所代表的意義。 在清治時期，遺囑指的是「尊長對子孫留下的遺命」。在傳統中國法中，漢人家族內的尊長對於子孫與家產擁有管理與支配的權力。因此，尊長的遺囑可以就喪葬、家產分配、立繼等等所有家族內部事務作出指示。當清治臺灣的漢人家族內部因為爭產而發生糾紛，並至衙門請求地方官員處理時，若有書面的遺囑或其他分家文書作為憑證，這些分家文書即可能是地方官員在斷案時的依據之一。 到了日治時期，在舊慣調查與法院判決所建立的遺囑習慣法之影響下，臺灣的遺囑意義逐漸由清治的「尊長就家族內部事務對子孫留下的遺命」，轉變成如同日本明治民法中的遺言（「一個人以在自己死亡後發生法律上效力為目的所作的意思表示」）那樣的「現代型遺囑」。日本民法中的單獨行為、見證之要式等等關於遺言的規定，也逐漸開始成為臺灣遺囑內涵的一部份。 臺灣的遺囑從清治到日治時期所發生的變化，也反映出清朝與日本帝國這兩個不同的統治集團，在國家法秩序與國家治理方式上的差異。在清治時期，以遺囑決定家族內部事務的權力掌握在家族中的尊長手中。而在日治時期，當國家開始對遺囑設下種種規範上的限制，實際上也就造成了對尊長權力的限制。因此，我們也可以從遺囑的變化中，觀察到尊長與國家在家族內部事務的掌控權力上所呈現出的消長關係。

This essay elaborates on the legal history of wills in Taiwan from 1683 to 1945. Wills, as a tool of the intergenerational property transfer, has changed in its concepts and the functions from Qing Dynasty to Japanese Colonial Era in Taiwan. In Qing Dynasty, wills in Taiwan represented the command made by the head of a family for his descendants. Under the rule of Traditional Chinese law, the head of a family was vested with the authority toward his offspring and family property. Hence, the will of the head of a family could exert binding instruction on family internal affairs such as burial, distribution of family property and inheritor designation. Wills or other comparable documents could be one of the judging bases when officials decided on the dispute of family internal affairs. Under Japanese ruling since 1895, wills in Taiwan, under the influence of the Old Customs Investigation and jurisprudence, had become to resemble the modern wills under Meiji Civil Law. Simultaneously, unilateral acts and witness, which were the feature of the wills under Meiji Civil Law, had integrated into the wills in Taiwan. The development of wills in Taiwan reflects the difference on governance and legal system between two regimes. During the Qing Dynasty, the power over family internal affairs was preserved to the head of the family, while in Japanese Colonization Era , the government set several regulatory limitations on the wills, reducing the power of the head of the family. Thus, it can be observed in the development of wills in Taiwan: the change of the power between the head of a family and the government.