在棄權與爭產之間：超越被害者與行動者二元對立的女兒繼承權實踐

Bargaining with Patriarchy: Daughter's Right of Inheritance in Practice

陳昭如(Chao-Ju Chen)

《臺大法學論叢》 38卷4期 (2009/12) Pp. 133-228

https://doi.org/10.6199/NTULJ.2009.38.04.03

摘要

大多數的女兒不繼承的現象，經常被解釋為進步法律無法有效改變父權傳統社會的結果。不繼承的女兒，雖然可能獲得孝順的稱許，但也被視為父權傳統的受害者。而女兒爭產所引發的社會矚目與衝突，則凸顯了女兒作為行使繼承權的行動者所承受的污名與壓力。然而，被害者與行動者、進步法律與落伍社會的二元對立圖像，並無法恰當地說明女兒繼承權的實踐樣貌，也無法適當地理解傳統與法律、女性主義與文化之間的關係。本文首先藉由對女兒繼承權的法律史探究，說明人們的行動如何促成去性別化的法律改革，並分析在此改革下所形成的法律制度，如何為繼承實踐設下了背景規則。其次，我藉由以法院判決為主的法律實踐，探究人們如何在此背景規則之下進行協商，一方面發展出排除女兒繼承的機制，另方面也形成了對抗此機制的行動，而棄權與爭產，都是在排除女兒繼承機制下，展現女性局部主體能動性的策略性行動。

關鍵字

女性主義法學 ； 法律與社會 ； 法律史 ； 法意識 ； 協商理論 ； 傳統 ； 受害者 ； 局部主體能動性 ； 繼承權 ； 母姓 ； 子宮家庭 ； 姊妹情誼

並列摘要

Studies have consistently shown that most daughters in Taiwan do not enjoy their legal right of inheritance. It is commonly treated as an indication of Taiwanese women as victims of backward patriarchal tradition, and an example of the incapability of progressive westernized law in transforming the backward traditional society. The purpose of this study is to debunk the false dichotomy between victim and agency, and between law and tradition. My historical investigation showed that the formation of daughter's equal inheritance right is part of the de-gendering process of postwar Taiwanese legal system, and feminist legal reform movement has contributed to this reformulation. The reformed law of inheritance functions as background rules under which people negotiate their rights. Court decisions are used to analyze the practice of negotiation. Strategies and mechanism have been developed to disinherit daughters, and daughters have different reactions to them. Some daughters choose to give up their rights; it might be a compelled choice to show their identity and affections to their parents, or a result of negotiation: giving up their right in exchange of an amount of money. Once the negotiation fail, daughters may go to court to assert their right, but going to court can also be a legal action on the part of brothers and parents to disinherit daughters. When daughters go to court, they constantly encounter the conflict between tradition and the law. I have analyzed this conflict and discussed how tradition is more an invention than an essential fact, and how tradition and law can both work for and against a right-asserting daughter. I have also discussed the catch-22 situation facing a married daughter, and the dynamics of sisterhood. It is concluded that, daughters may choose to give up their right or to assert their right; these choices are results of negotiating under the shadow of law and demonstration of women's partial agency.

並列關鍵字

Feminist legal studies ； law and society ； legal history ； legal consciousness ； bargaining theory ； tradition ； victimhood ； partial agency ； the right of inheritance ； mother's surname ； the uterine family ； sisterhood

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