布萊克史東法律思想中的自然法學與政治體理論

Natural Jurisprudence and Theory of Body Politics in William Blackstone's Legal Thought

趙一穎(Chao Yi-Ying)

指導教授 ： 江玉林

國立政治大學/法學院/法律學系/碩士(2022年)

https://doi.org/10.6814/NCCU202200749

摘要

本論文是以布萊克史東為主角的法律思想史研究，特別側重於布萊克史東法律思想裡的自然法學與政治體理論兩個部分。在材料上，本文主要分析的是布萊克史東最重要的作品：《英國法釋義》。
本文主張兩個論點：首先，布萊克史東的自然法學並非僅是裝飾性或框架性的，而是作為其實證法解釋的指引理論，雖然布萊克史東的實證法解釋仍然以英格蘭共同法現有的規定為主，布萊克史東的自然法論仍扮演的補充性解釋的角色。在中世紀到近代自然法的發展脈絡裡，布萊克史東主要承襲新教自然法論，其融合了普芬道夫式的自然社會性和霍布斯的自然權利觀，進而形成以同意為基礎的社會契約論。布萊克史東也用英格蘭人的絕對權利來實證化自然權利的內涵，並將英格蘭共同法上的救濟途徑連結到對英格蘭人權利的保障。再者，本文認為布萊克史東的政治體理論是對中世紀政治體理論的創造性轉化，尤其在三個面向——權力分立、絕對議會主權和有限王權。布萊克史東承襲英格蘭古代憲法辯論下對王權非絕對的理解，進而主張議會才是英格蘭王國最高的主權機關，而國王和上下議院共同構成這個最高的主權機構。
在結構上，本文第一章是對英格蘭法律史和法律職業史簡要的回顧，並試圖將布萊克史東的生平放置在英格蘭法律和法律職業發展的脈絡中，第二章則回顧了從中世紀到兩次大革命的自然法與自然權利理論的思想史發展。第三章和第四章分別處理布萊克史東的自然法學與政治體理論：第三章討論從布萊克史東的自然法與社會構成的關係到在政治社會中不同的實證權利，並討論布萊克史東對英格蘭封建法和財產權的看法。第四章討論政治體與主權理論的脈絡發展，並指出布萊克史東的政治體理論承襲庫克的古代憲法和議會主權論，並主張有限王權。最後第五章則簡要的回顧布萊克史東對英國和美國法學後續所產生的影響，進而反思我們如何在當代定位布萊克史東的法律思想。

關鍵字

布萊克史東 ； 英格蘭共同法 ； 普通法 ； 自然法 ； 政治體理論 ； 有限王權 ； 英格蘭法律史 ； 自然權利

並列摘要

The thesis studies William Blackstone’s legal thought, primarily focusing on his natural jurisprudence and theory of body politics in his Commentaries of Laws of England (1765-1769).

In this thesis, I argue for two main arguments: First, natural jurisprudence plays a substantive role in Blackstone’s legal thought. Many previous studies suggest Blackstone’s concept of natural law is only a framework for his legal thought. In contrast, I argue that although Blackstone maintained the priority of positive law (including statutes and common law) in juridical interpretation, his conception of natural law serves as both the boundaries of positive law and the complement legal source for the lawless situation. In the evolution of natural law and natural rights theory from medieval to early modern Europe, Blackstone’s natural jurisprudence combines’ Pufendorfian natural sociability and Hobbesian conception of natural rights, both formulate Blackstone’s consent-based social generic theory. Additionally, Blackstone utilizes the concept of ‘absolute rights of Englishmen’ to mediate natural rights and civil remedies. Therefore, Blackstone’s rights theory succeeds to ‘positivize’ the natural rights discourse and integrating them into the English common law tradition.

Second, I argue that Blackstone’s theory of body politics is a creative transformation from the medieval understanding of body politics to a relatively modern one. It is explicitly expressed in three aspects: the Anglo-tradition separation of power, the absolute parliamentary sovereignty, and limited kingship. Inherited Edward Coke’s arguments in the seventeenth-century debate on the ancient constitution, Blackstone upheld that the king's power is not absolute and supreme, which is constrained by the English constitution. According to constitutional tradition, the regime's sovereignty lies in the parliament, which is composed of the king, the House of Lords, and the House of Commons.

Structurally, the substantial part of this thesis is divided into five chapters. The first chapter outlines the development of English common law and common lawyers; the purpose is to situate Blackstone’s life into the milieu of development of the legal system and legal profession. The second chapter introduces another essential context, the intellectual history of natural law and natural rights theory. I argue that Blackstone’s stand is closer to Protestant natural lawyers, which secularizes the scholastic understanding of the legal relationship between God and humans. The third and fourth chapters survey Blackstone’s natural jurisprudence and theory of body politics. In the third chapter, I investigate Blackstone’s view about the social and the political, how human beings constitute political society and therefore invent positive rights. The fourth chapter engages the evolution of the concept of sovereignty and body politics. I indicate that Blackstone’s theory of body politics is rooted in the English tradition, which holds the restrained role of the king, the superiority of parliament, and public deliberation. The final fifth chapter further surveys the influences and legacies of Blackstone’s legal thought to properly evaluate and locate Blackstone within the history of legal thought.

並列關鍵字

William Blackstone ； English common law ； Natural law ； Natural rights ； Theory of body politics ； Limited kingship ； English legal history

參考文獻

（一）編輯史料/原典

Achenwall, G. (2020). Natural Law. Bloomsbury Publishing.

Aristotle (1996). Aristotle: The Politics and The Constitution of Athens (S. Everson, Ed.). Cambridge University Press.

Aristotle (2011). Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics. (R. Bartlett and S. Collins trans.). The University of Chicago Press.

Aquinas, T. (2002). On Law, Morality and Politics. (2nd ed.) Hackett Publishing.