筆記:Lex iniusta non est lex
最近在寫一些東西,連著幾篇筆記和小主題,不太順利,都有點斷頭,今天更篇筆記,這幾天再陸續上傳些。
拉丁法諺「Lex iniusta non est lex」(不正義的法律不是法律),這句話來概括那些古典自然法學家的基本觀點,例如Aquinas、Augustinus,但在在他們著作中,似乎並不這麼直接地表達。
這兩天在豆瓣上看到一個友鄰的廣播,說他在閱讀《阿奎納政治著作選》(Aquinas Political Writings)時,有一段《神學大全》的譯文感覺翻譯問題,他覺得這個段落應該是在申論「Lex iniusta non est lex」,但他困惑的是,為什麼Aquinas在概括Augustinus的時候,使用了「videtur」(seems),他認為這樣的表達很奇怪(大意是說,在他的理解上,這會導致論述上有實證法和自然法對立的可能)。當然,我沒有去深究這個問題是否可能存在,或打算去探究Auqinas法律哲學中的某些觀點,在此只是就這句格言的出處,做一點字句上的整理,也許改天有機會深究,另外也看到幾篇介紹,羅列如下:
- Kretzmann, N. (1988). Lex Iniusta Non est Lex-Laws on Trial in Aquinas' Court of Conscience. Am. J. Juris., 33, 99.
- Russell, J. S. (2000). Trial by Slogan: Natural Law and Lex Iniusta Non Est Lex. Law and Philosophy, 19(4), 433-449.
以下先後條列Augustinus與Aquinas的原文如下,先列拉丁原文,再放英譯文(),筆者並標亮相關語句:
Aug. - Non ergo lex iusta est, quae dat potestatem vel viatori ut latronem, ne ab eo ipse occidatur, occidat; vel cuipiam viro aut feminae ut violenter sibi stupratorem irruentem ante illatum stuprum, si possit, interimat. Nam militi etiam iubetur lege, ut hostem necet: a qua caede si temperaverit, ab imperatore poenas luit. Num istas leges iniustas, vel potius nullas dicere audebimus? Nam mihi lex esse non videtur, quae iusta non fuerit.Augustinus《De Libero Arbitrio Libri Tres》該段落的英譯文(劍橋版《On the Free Choice of the Will, On Grace and Free Choice, and Other Writings》,p.10):
Augustine: Therefore, the law is unjust which grants permission (a) to a traveler to kill a highway robber, so as not to be killed himself; (b) to any man or woman to slay a rapist in his onslaught, if possible, before enduring rape. indeed, the law bids a soldier to kill the enemy, and if he holds back from this bloodshed he pays the penalties from his com- mander. surely we will not dream of calling these laws unjust – or rather, not to call them “laws” at all, for a law that is not just does not seem to me to be a law.Aquinas《神學大全》(q.94 a.4, c):
Iniustae autem sunt leges dupliciter. Uno modo, per contrarietatem ad bonum humanum, e contrario praedictis, vel ex fine, sicut cum aliquis praesidens leges imponit onerosas subditis non pertinentes ad utilitatem communem, sed magis ad propriam cupiditatem vel gloriam; vel etiam ex auctore, sicut cum aliquis legem fert ultra sibi commissam potestatem; vel etiam ex forma, puta cum inaequaliter onera multitudini dispensantur, etiam si ordinentur ad bonum commune. Et huiusmodi magis sunt violentiae quam leges, quia, sicut Augustinus dicit, in libro de Lib. Arb., lex esse non videtur, quae iusta non fuerit. Unde tales leges non obligant in foro conscientiae, nisi forte propter vitandum scandalum vel turbationem, propter quod etiam homo iuri suo debet cedere, secundum illud Matth. V, qui angariaverit te mille passus, vade cum eo alia duo; et qui abstulerit tibi tunicam, da ei et pallium.Aquinas《神學大全》該段落的英譯文(劍橋版《多瑪斯政治著作選集》,p.144):
But laws may be unjust in two ways. In one way, by being contrary tothe human good because in opposition to the things mentioned above: either from their end, as when some ruler imposes on his subjects burdensome laws which pertain not to the common good, but rather to his own greed or glory; or from their author, as when someone makes a law which goes beyond the power committed to him; or from their form, as when burdens are imposed unequally on the community even if they are directed to the common good. Laws of this kind are more acts of violence than laws; because, as Augustine says in the book De libero arbitrio, ‘a law that is not just seems to be no law at all’. Hence such laws do not bindin the court of conscience, except perhaps in order to avoid scandal or disturbance, for which cause a man should give up even what is rightfully his, according to Matthew 5:40f: ‘If a man take away thy coat, let him havethy cloak also; and whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with himtwain.’
在上面的引文中,根據「不正義的法律不是法律」相關段落的上下文來看,的確可以說是此處的「videtur」似乎是影響不大的,很明確地表達某些不正義的法律不是法律的主張,也許此處的「videtur」是他們慣常的修辭,或嚴謹的包裝說法,大概就是應該80~90%是如此的感覺。
在文本摘要後,這讓我想到關於「惡法非法」的問題,印象中在Finnis《自然法與自然權利》第12章中,Finnis就試著論證「惡法非法」不是自然法理論的主要關切,這也是個蠻有趣的議題就是了。
在文本摘要後,這讓我想到關於「惡法非法」的問題,印象中在Finnis《自然法與自然權利》第12章中,Finnis就試著論證「惡法非法」不是自然法理論的主要關切,這也是個蠻有趣的議題就是了。

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