信託委託人之意願維護：論其權利之可代理性與可繼承性

信託法第8條規定，信託關係不因委託人死亡或喪失行為能力而消滅，故受託人基於委託人過去之意思履行信託契約，委託人欲長期管理其財產之目的得以實現。然信託法卻未明文規定，信託委託人受監護宣告後，其監護人可否代理其行使信託法上之權利，以及當委託人死亡後，其繼承人可否繼承其於信託法上之地位或權利義務。此等問題皆可能成為信託委託人之利害關係人干預信託契約內容之手段，將根本地影響委託人之意思是否能被貫徹。本文認為監護人不得代理本人行使信託法上權利之正當性在於，依身心障礙者權利公約之意旨，本人之意願及選擇應取代其最佳利益，因此監護人依民法第1101條第1項代理受監護宣告人為信託行為時須以其「主觀利益」為優先。本文進一步認為可排除委託人客觀利益之考量，僅於例外絕對無違委託人之意思時，監護人始得代理行使委託人之權利，例如契約另行約定監護人可代理行使委託人權利或是信託法第65條信託關係消滅之信託財產歸屬請求權。而就委託人權利之可繼承性問題，本文參考學者援引之「多數的預設規定理論」，認為委託人設立信託時倘意識到繼承問題，多數應不希望其地位被繼承人繼承以避免信託契約受干預，故委託人地位具一身專屬性，不具可繼承性。本文也進一步將委託人之權利以何人亦得享有該權利與得以單獨或合意方式行使之為分類依據，檢視本文採委託人之權利不具可代理性與可繼承性之見解，均與信託制度中對於受益人權益保護之規定無扞格，且係達成委託人意思凍結之結果。

關鍵字

信託委託人權利；受監護人利益；多數的預設任意規定理論；一身專屬性

並列摘要

Article 8 of the Trust Law stipulates that the trust relationship does not terminate upon the death or incapacity of the settlor. As a result, the trustee can fulfill the trust based on the settlor's past intentions, allowing the settlor's desire for long-term management of their assets to be realized. However, the Trust Law does not explicitly state whether, after the settlor is placed under guardianship, the guardian can act on their behalf to exercise the rights under the Trust Law, nor does it clarify whether the settlor's heirs can inherit their position or rights and obligations after their death. These issues could become means for interested parties to intervene the content of the trust and fundamentally impact whether the settlor's intentions can be implemented. This paper argues that the legitimacy of prohibiting the guardian from acting on behalf of the person under guardianship in exercising rights under the Trust Law lies in the spirit of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, where the person's wishes and choices should take precedence over their best interests. Thus, when the guardian acts on behalf of the person under guardianship in trust, they must prioritize their "subjective interests" in accordance with Article 1101, Paragraph 1 of the Civil Code. Furthermore, this paper suggests that the consideration of the settlor's objective interests can be excluded, and the guardian may only act on behalf of the settlor in exceptional cases where it unequivocally does not violate the settlor's intentions. For example, this could occur when there is a contractual provision allowing the guardian to act on behalf of the settlor or in the circumstances specified in Article 65 of the Trust Law, which deals with the right to request the attribution of trust property upon the termination of the trust relationship. Regarding the issue of the inheritability of the settlor's rights, this paper, after referencing the "Majoritarian Default Rule" as cited by scholars, suggests that if the settlor is aware of the inheritance question when establishing a trust, the majority would not want their position to be inherited by their successors to avoid any interference in the trust. Therefore, the settlor's position is considered not inheritable. Finally, this paper categorizes the settlor's various rights based on whether others also have these rights and whether they can be exercised individually or by mutual agreement. The viewpoints presented in this paper are in line with the trust system's objective of protecting the interests of beneficiaries and, ultimately, ensuring the preservation of the settlor's intentions.