Northern Song Dynasty Justice

In the past, Zhang Fei's verdicts were like rain after a long drought to the common people, always getting applause and flowers, but this time the verdict was relatively quiet inside and outside the court, which seemed to be beyond Xu Zhiqian's expectation, she couldn't help but look up. I went, but seeing the people outside the courtyard, they were all a little disappointed.

The reason is very simple. Tax evasion is not the exclusive property of landlords. People also evade taxes, especially the deed tax, because for the common people, this is a tax that is easier to avoid. Unlike the two taxes, as long as you have a household registration, you basically cannot escape. of.

You must know that land transactions were very frequent in the Northern Song Dynasty. If it was limited to transactions between landlords, it would not be so frequent. There are also many ordinary people who earn a little money through their efforts in industry, agriculture and commerce, and then buy land. It will also increase the difficulty for people to get rich.

Their expectation is that the white deed has legal effect, but at the same time, the deed tax will be exempted. If it is not good enough, the deed tax of the previous white deed will be exempted, and everyone will pay the deed tax later.

But I didn't expect that only half of the deed tax would be exempted, and the price would be to pay the deed tax. No matter what, it would cost a sum of money!
This is quite different from their expectations.

But Zhang Fei did not wait for the applause and flowers, he still asked the Procuratorate as usual: "Does the Procuratorate have any objections?"

Su Zhe seemed to be thinking about something. He was slightly startled, glanced at Zhang Fei, hesitated for a moment, then got up and said, "Suppose a rebel buys military armor from the people, and it is in line with the two principles that President Zhang said, then this contract Is it legally binding?"

After thinking for a while, Zhang Fei said, "As long as these two principles are met, they will have legal effect."

As soon as these words came out, everyone was startled, they all looked at Zhang Fei in surprise, are you crazy?

The Four Little King Kong and Xu Zhiqian also looked at Zhang Fei in amazement.

Rebellion still has the force of law?
Su Zhe was also stunned.

Then Zhang Fei continued: "It is precisely because the contract between the two parties is legally binding that the merchant who provided the armor is also an accomplice. If there is enough evidence to prove this point, then this contract will not have legal effect. From a judicial point of view, the two may not belong to a cooperative relationship, and the imperial court can acquit the businessman.

On this issue, the president of the judge can say one more thing. Criminal proceedings are higher than civil proceedings, because the interests of the country and the monarch are higher than personal interests, and treason is a heinous crime, and it is the highest level of crime. Well, the businessman may be innocent in this lawsuit, but he may also face huge losses, because the imperial court will definitely confiscate all the stolen goods. Of course, this is only a possibility. If it really happens, it needs to be analyzed in detail , but the principle remains the same. "

After hearing this, Su Zhe said, "Thank you, President Zhang, for your answer."

After that, he sat back.

Over there, Fan Zhen was also thinking with his eyebrows lowered.

Although they knew this result a long time ago, Zhang Fei's verdict still made them feel both bright and confused.

Because in this judgment, a contractual principle issue is involved.

Although Zhang Fei judged according to the law, in fact, his explanation of the principle of contract is unprecedented, and it is also a content that has never been included in "Song Xingtong".

For example, "Officials have political laws, and the people follow private contracts." The meaning of this sentence is similar to Zhang Fei's explanation, and "Song Xingtong" also expresses this meaning.

However, Zhang Fei regards these two principles as an important basis for whether the contract is legal, or even the only one. This is something that "Song Xingtong" does not have.

Although the political law and the private contract are two parallel lines, the current system is based on officials, and in the end it is the officials who have the final say. If the imperial court decides that the white contract has no legal effect due to tax evasion, everyone will have nothing to say.

No one thinks this is a wrong judgment. In the end, politics and law are still higher than private contracts, and officials are more important than people.

However, after Zhang Fei's explanation, it really became two parallel lines.

This is very critical.

According to Zhang Fei's judgment, whether a contract has legal effect depends only on freedom, fairness, and equality. As long as these points are met, the contract has legal effect, and it has nothing to do with whether it violates political laws. .

Although Fan Zhen explained the legal effect of Bai Qi by using the government to own the political law and the people to follow the private contract, but for him, this was just a reason, not a principle.

This is actually one of the differences between Zhang Fei and current officials.

In fact, the judicial system of the Song Dynasty was relatively complete. To convict a crime, one must refer to the law, that is, the system of divisions.

However, the index of laws and regulations is mostly limited to internal discussions within the government, and external judgments are generally based on Confucian morality, which must be judged as famous, reasonable, and occupy the moral high ground.

Zhang Fei, on the other hand, is more inclined to quote and explain laws and regulations, and morality is just a word when sentencing.

However, what they didn't know was that Zhang Fei's main reason for this lawsuit was not the little deed tax, but the principle of the contract.

Because Zhang Fei wanted to shift the economic center from agriculture to commerce. It can also be said to commercialize agriculture and raise taxes from commerce to avoid direct conflicts with gentry and big landlords.

Since it is to pursue business, the contract law is the most important thing. Only a perfect contract law can promote business development, and it is necessary to investigate and collect evidence with the tax department.

On the third day after the verdict was pronounced, the imperial court published a legal report announcing the detailed principles of the contract.

The principle of freedom of contract.

Principle of good faith.

The principle of fair dealing.

According to these three principles, a specific explanation is given later, that is, it is stipulated that a contract is a kind of agreement, and all matters must be agreed before the contract can be established. In case of doubt, the contract shall be deemed not to have been established.

Advice on contract drafting is also given.

Among them is the most critical one, which is that the imperial court suggests that the two parties or parties who signed the contract should specify the debt obligations in the contract. If they do not specify it, it will be determined by the imperial court.

Procuratorate.

"Attorney General, Attorney General?"

Chen Qi shouted at Su Zhe, who was in a daze with the Fabao in his hand.

Su Zhe was taken aback suddenly, "What did you say?"

Chen Qi was stunned for a moment, then said immediately: "We just want to ask the Chief Prosecutor, what do you think of this contract principle?"

Su Zhe frowned, and suddenly leaned over the desk, took a pen and wrote a pleading paper on a piece of paper, and handed it to Chen Qi, "Send this pleading paper to the imperial court immediately."

Chen Qi blinked, picked up the pleading paper and looked at it, exclaimed: "The chief prosecutor wants to sue the imperial court?"

The rest of the inspectors were also taken aback when they heard this, and surrounded them one after another.

Su Zhe frowned and said: "This contract principle violates the principle that any private contract should be ignored by officials. The contract principle in the legal newspaper will give the imperial court powerful power to intervene in private transactions. We cannot sit idly by, we must exercise our prosecutorial powers."

Wang Shendao: "Even so, shouldn't the Chief Prosecutor communicate with Chief Judge Zhang first?"

Su Zhe hesitated for a moment, then sighed: "I am not as good as Chief Judge Zhang in terms of legal attainments. Since he dared to do this, he naturally has his reasons. If I communicate privately, I'm afraid I will be persuaded by him, but In the eyes of others, it is possible that the procuratorate and the imperial court are in collusion, and it is better to open the trial, which will also let the people know the reasons for this more clearly, and we have to give Chief Judge Zhang a warning that he cannot arbitrarily give legal principles and explanations .”

This is not the first time that Zhang Fei gave explanations and endowed principles. Although he did not change the law, his principles and explanations were equivalent to changing the original meaning of the law.

Officials of the Song Dynasty also attached great importance to the laws and regulations, and they all believed that they should not be changed casually.

Wang Shen nodded slightly, seeming to feel that Su Zhe's consideration was also very reasonable.

As a result, the Procuratorate immediately filed a lawsuit with the imperial court regarding this legal report, accusing the contract principle in the legal report of violating the principle of Ren Yi's private contract and the official's indifference.

The Four Little King Kongs were also taken aback when they heard the news. Is this procuratorate crazy, suing our imperial court?
We are both referees and contestants, what will your procuratorate win?

But Zhang Fei just smiled and said nothing.

Xu Zhiqian asked: "Could it be that President Zhang has expected that the procuratorate will come to sue us?"

The four little Vajras immediately looked at Zhang Fei.

Zhang Fei shook his head and said: "I didn't expect it, I just think that Chief Prosecutor Su's legal knowledge has improved to a higher level, and the progress is faster than you. any doubts."

Cai Bian was surprised: "Is there really something wrong with the content of the Fabao?"

Zhang Fei said: "From a judicial point of view, there is absolutely room for controversy."

Cai Jing asked: "Then how do we deal with it?"

"catch!"

Zhang Fei said with a smile: "The procuratorate's prosecution has more advantages than disadvantages for the public security law. Not only can we benefit a lot from it, but it can also complement our public security law system."

Complementary system?

The Four Little King Kong and Xu Zhiqian looked confused.

At this time, the news that the procuratorate had sued the imperial court had spread, which was really shocking.

Because everyone didn't think there was any problem with this principle. Even if there was a problem, the procuratorate would not directly sue the imperial court. You must know that the procuratorate and the imperial court had always had a tacit understanding before.

What's going on here?
But no matter what happens, this melon must be eaten!

It's just that people didn't expect that this melon is so durable.

This is really a turn of events!
However, after the trial, the imperial court also announced that it had accepted the prosecution from the procuratorate.

Can the royal court be sued?
This is really rare!

This winter is definitely not too cold.

In the gusts of biting cold wind, the common people gathered outside the imperial court, but all of them were hot, their faces were flushed, and they were sweating profusely, which showed how many people had come.

On the contrary, at the VIP table, many officials were shivering from the cold, complaining in their hearts that the imperial court did not prepare a small stove for them, but even though they were shivering from the cold and their feet were cold, no one left.

Because this melon is full of weirdness.

Regardless of whether it was the people outside or the officials inside, they simply did not understand why the procuratorate sued the imperial court for what reason.

Zhang Fei seemed to see through the confusion in their hearts. After the trial, he smiled and asked Su Zhe, "Please also explain the reason for suing the chief judge."

What you said made the people outside the courtyard laugh. Is this okay?

Su Zhe stood up and said solemnly: "According to our procuratorate's investigation, all the contents of this legal report were ordered by Chief Judge Zhang."

When speaking, he held up the Dharma newspaper.

Zhang Fei nodded and said, "That's right, the contents of this legal newspaper were indeed instructed by the chief judge, and the chief judge will be responsible for every word in this article."

Su Zhe continued: "However, our procuratorate believes that the content of this legal report violates the principle of Ren Yi's private contract and the principle that officials should ignore it. It is Chief Judge Zhang's use of the public to seek personal gain in order to expand the power of the imperial court."

Zhang Fei asked: "How do you say that?"

Su Zhe said: "Let's rely on the private contract, and the official will not be reasonable. It does have the meaning of free contract signing, but this is only secondary. The main meaning is that the government should not interfere too much with the debt disputes of the people, not to interfere with the establishment of debt disputes." The original intention of the deed.

If there is a dispute between the private sector, the government can refuse to accept it, and try to let the two parties to the contract rely on the rules of the people to resolve it. The government adheres to this principle, and at most can only recover the principal, not the interest. But moss torture can only be used to force the people to pay back the money, and they cannot even send people to the people's homes to seize property.

Although Chief Judge Zhang helped the soldiers and salt merchants recover the corresponding compensation, including interest, but that only happened under the reconciliation between the two parties.

However, according to the content of this legal report, it is equivalent to giving the imperial court the power to forcibly interfere with the private contract.Especially the last point in the law newspaper, both parties must specify the debt commitment in the contract. As we all know, the current contract only stipulates the distribution of profits, but not the distribution of debts. If there is a dispute, it will be mediation between the two parties and will not be litigated. Going to the government, and now the imperial court requires that this be stated, which proves that the imperial court will intervene in it and use judicial power to deal with debt disputes among the people. "

This ancient contract only stipulates the distribution of profits, not the distribution of debts, because for the ancients, the contract is only the starting point of cooperation and has no end. In layman's terms, if everyone cooperates well, then continue to cooperate, and the cooperation is not happy. , then no cooperation.

This is why the ancient contracts are very short, unlike the contracts of later generations, which will specify under what circumstances, when an accident occurs, and who should bear the debt.

If there is a dispute, the government can ignore it, but it is difficult to ignore it, because there is no clear debt details, and there is no such provision in the law.

But in Beijing, the new contract of Bianjing Law Firm has added regulations on debt distribution.

But that is also a private matter, and the government did not require you to write it like this, because Zhang Fei was not the chief judge at that time, he was just a pen.

But now that the imperial court requires that the debt issue be clearly stated, the government just wants to intervene to bring evidence to the judgment.

Zhang Fei nodded and said: "You are right. The chief judge's request to write down the liability is to provide a basis for the imperial court to enforce the compensation."

There was an uproar immediately outside the courtyard.

Although many people don't know why there is an uproar, maybe they are infected by the debate between the two sides, and they think it is terrible.

Su Zhe said: "But this violates the principle of Ren Yi's private contract and the official's indifference."

The reason why he struggles with this point is because his idea is to limit the power of the government. This is also what the conservatives have always advocated.

Once the government has the power to enforce, the government has a reason to encroach on the rights and interests of the people.

This is actually the same as opposing Wang Anshi's proposition.

What Wang Anshi said was very reasonable, and Sima Guang did not disagree with Wang Anshi's reasoning. What he opposed was the power of the government expanded by Wang Anshi through the new law.

But you can't collect taxes according to the law, but you can lend according to the law.

Collecting taxes, all kinds of transfers and conversions, you can’t get out of the loan, and you are both a referee and an athlete. Who can play against you.

Su Zhe is also worried about this. Once you enforce it, your people will rush to the people's homes and seize everything.

"This does not violate the principle that any private contract should be ignored by officials."

Zhang Fei shook his head, and said, "On the contrary, it's Chief Prosecutor Su's remarks that seem to be overgeneralizing."

Su Zhe asked, "What did Judge Zhang say?"

Zhang Fei said: "Dare to ask Chief Prosecutor Su, the principle that the government should not accept any contract disputes is a strict rule.

Su Zhe shook his head: "That's not true."

Zhang Fei said with a smile: "There is a lot of evidence that can prove that the government has the power to accept contract disputes. It can be seen that the principle of letting the private contract and the government ignore it is not to ask the government not to accept any contract disputes, but to give the government no contract disputes." However, there is also a principle in it, which is to require officials to judge right and wrong according to the contract, not by political law to judge whether it is right or wrong.”

A scholar-official next to him couldn't help asking: "Is there any difference between the two?"

"Have."

Zhang Fei replied for the first time, and explained: "The law is based on morality and pursues fairness and justice, while the contract is for profit. Suppose two businessmen sign a contract, but unfortunately the cooperation fails. If the contract is fulfilled, then One party may go bankrupt, or even commit suicide. In this case, how should the government make a judgment? The private contract is not justified by the government. As long as it conforms to the contract principles of freedom, equality, and fairness, it should be implemented according to the contract.”

Another person said: "Doesn't that mean that this interest is higher than morality?"

Zhang Fei asked back: "Is honesty a moral?"

The man was speechless for a moment.

Su Zhe frowned. He expected that he might not win this lawsuit, but Zhang Fei's explanation of the law still made him feel a sense of frustration.

After Zhang Fei's explanation, the contract is higher than the law, at least equal to the law.

But it seems that there is really such a layer of meaning in it.

Ren Yi's private contract, the first half of the sentence, endows the private contract with great binding force.Officials ignore it, which only means that officials can not accept it, but it does not mean that officials cannot accept it. Many examples can be given to illustrate this point.

Then once the officials accept it, they still have to abide by the private contract, so the contract is equivalent to the law.

This was something Su Zhe had never thought of.

Zhang Fei laughed again: "Actually, the last lawsuit has already proved one point, that is, the contract is legally binding, so breaching the contract is equivalent to breaking the law. Of course, the imperial court has the right to deal with any illegal behavior.

In a sense, a private contract is equal to the law without violating the principle of the contract, because a private contract is a supplement to the civil restraint for the law. "

The second half of the sentence is very critical. In principle, any private contract is a supplement to the law, and the court also meant this. Since it is a supplement to the law, it is naturally equivalent to the law. In the principle of contract, it is a very critical argument, which provides strong support for the imperial court to deal with contract disputes in the future.

Su Zhe was startled, and couldn't help being dumbfounded.

Fan Zhen, who was watching the trial, also frowned, thinking, what a cunning Judge Zhang.

The ancient private contract was just a private contract between two people. Whether it is legally effective or not is hard to say, but the government usually prefers that it does not have legal effect and is just a relationship between two people, so the government does not need to intervene.

It’s just that the last time the tax department filed a complaint, it was a land deed, and the land deed is a very special contract, because this contract will determine the tax attribution. If the land deed does not have legal effect, then the land may not be yours, and the government can do it. Take it back, or ask to return it to the seller.

When Fan Zhen filed a lawsuit, he explained that the land tax belongs to the political law, while the white deed belongs to the transaction between two people. This transaction is valid, and the political law has no right to deny whether the transaction is valid.

However, this legal effect, in Fan Zhen's view, is only a proof that the land belongs to the party concerned.

But this directly provides a reason for the imperial court to enforce.

As long as it has legal effect, the imperial court certainly has the right to intervene. If the imperial court has no right to intervene, it will not have legal effect.

Su Zhe said again: "However, the principle of relying on private contracts and ignoring officials' actions also includes restricting the government from taking the opportunity to seize people's property."

He directly raised the point that he was most worried about, and he also wanted to make the people vigilant about it.

Zhang Fei smiled and nodded and said: "But based on the rule of law, the judiciary must defend the legitimate rights and interests of individuals. A contract that does not violate the principle of contract is a legitimate rights and interests. The judiciary must defend the legitimate rights and interests of both parties.

Later, our imperial court will promulgate specific enforcement laws. In civil lawsuits, the imperial court has no right to confiscate anyone's property, so the imperial court will adopt the form of seizure to bind the property involved in the contract to the original The land will not be moved at all, and then the seized property will be exchanged for the compensation agreed in the contract in the form of rush to buy, and returned to the person agreed in the contract.

But if the compensating party is really unable to make compensation, then the imperial court will resort to forced labor and agree on a compensation method with the other party. Regarding this point, there have been precedents before, and the chief judge will not repeat it too much. "

After finishing speaking, he asked Su Zhe again: "Does Prosecutor Su have any questions?"

Su Zhe frowned and thought for a moment, then said, "Our procuratorate will review President Zhang's mention of the seizure system and conduct a review. If there are problems, we will continue to file a lawsuit."

The implication is that he has already admitted Zhang Fei's explanation that Ren Yi's private contract was ignored by officials.

Zhang Fei smiled and said: "The supervision of the procuratorate is very welcome. Moreover, in order to facilitate the supervision of the procuratorate, our imperial court will set up a hearing method. Whenever the procuratorate has any doubts about the judicial interpretation of the imperial court, our imperial court will hold a hearing." This kind of hearing is for debate. Because our imperial court’s interpretation of any laws and regulations must also comply with judicial regulations, and we will strictly abide by it ourselves.”

Is this all in his expectation?Su Zhe couldn't help but glanced at Zhang Fei in frustration. If I sue you, you should set up a hearing immediately so that I can sue you. You must have been prepared. Are you so good?But he could only say, "Thank you, Judge Zhang."