民法消滅時效期間、起算點及障礙事由之研究

民法消滅時效可分為三大部分：起算點、期間及障礙事由。時效起算點，我國民法第128條僅規定「自請求權可行使時起算」。最高法院95年度第16次民事庭會議決議「貳」採取「客觀判斷基準說」，以請求權具「法律上之障礙」作為阻礙時效起算之唯一例外。然客觀判斷基準說不足以保護債權人，特別是債權人主觀不知請求權得行使之情形。因此，宜將債權人主觀知悉納入作為時效起算要件之一，構成雙重判斷基準說。時效期間，於我國民法共有三十二條規定、共十種不同時效期間（或組合）。但多樣性之時效期間設計，並無理由，導致請求權競合下之困擾。時效期間宜予以單純化，若因請求權之性質而有特別賦予短期時效之必要者，始予以保留，但類似之請求權間，仍應盡量為一致性之期間規定，以避免適用之困難。我國現行民法係以時效中斷事由為中心，然時效中斷之效力過強，不宜作為原則性之規定。再者，現行時效障礙事由不足保護債權人，例如當事人就請求權協商，導致諸多違背法律感覺之判決出現。德國法上之時效停止制度，效力對於當事人而言較為公平，宜引進作為民法時效障礙事由體系之一環，並作為時效障礙事由之中心。近來，國際間興起對時效法之革新，2017年法務部為與國際接軌，以委託研究案之形式發表「民法修正之建議草案」，時效法為重要部分。本文認為現為全盤檢討民法消滅時效之最佳時機，故以比較法為基礎，嘗試重新建構我國民法時效期間、起算點及障礙事由。

關鍵字

消滅時效；時效期間；起算點；時效障礙事由；法律上之障礙

並列摘要

The extinctive prescription in the Civil Code can be divided into three categories: commencement, period, and suspension. Regarding the commencement of prescription, article 128 of the Civil Code of Taiwan only stipulates that “[E]xtinctive prescription starts from the moment when the claim may be exercised”. The second item of the 16th Resolution of 2007 of the Supreme Court adopts the “objective judging standard”, stipulating that the extinctive prescription will not start only if the claim has “legal defect”. However, the “objective judging standard” will be unfair in cases where creditor does not know the claim can be exercised. Therefore, the commencement should start when the creditor acknowledges it. In other words, adopting the “double judging standard” is the better choice. There are thirty-two articles and ten categories of period in the Civil Code of Taiwan. However, there is no reason for such a classification. The period should be simplified, and the short period should be kept only because of the nature of specific claims. However, the period of similar claims should be unified, in order to avoid difficulties on applying it. The interruption is the core concept of the suspension of prescription of the Civil Code. The effect is too strong, and therefore is not proper to be the principle rule. Also, the causes of suspension are not enough to protect creditors; for example, the parties may negotiate on the claim, and as a result, many judgements are against the sense of justice. Compared to our suspension system, the system in German law is fairer for parties. It should be adopted as a part of our suspension system, and as the core of the system. Recently, the reformation of extinctive prescription has gained international popularity. In 2017, in order to keep pace with the global trend, the Ministry of Justice published the draft amendments to the Civil Code in the form of research project. Extinctive prescription was an important part in this draft. Therefore, the present study maintains that it is now the best time to review the extinctive prescription system in our Civil Code holistically. Hence, from the perspective of comparative law, the study tries to rebuild the commencement, period, and suspension of extinctive prescription in the Civil Code.