民國時期上海的女律師(1927-1949)

Women Lawyers in Republican Shanghai (1927-1949)

孫慧敏(Huei-Min Sun)

《近代中國婦女史研究》 14期 (2006/12) Pp. 51-88

https://doi.org/10.6352/mhwomen.200612.0051

摘要

本文探索民國時期上海女律師的培育過程、經營策略、社會觀感及社會期待，藉此觀察性別差異在律師業中如何被察覺、操作與詮釋。
中國在實行律師制度之初，雖在法規中明文限制律師的性別，但直到國民政府在1927年廢除這項規定時爲止，報刊雜誌中並未出現反對女性研習法學、從事律師職業的議論，教育界且陸陸續續出現一些提倡女子法學教育的行動，而男性主導的上海律師公會更主動、率先提出廢除律師性別限制的要求。這種認爲法學及律師職業無性別之分的觀念，使中國女性得以在不費吹灰之力的情況下，就讓政府承認她們具有從事律師職業的權利。
在時人「以稀爲貴」的心態影響下，被視爲「拔粹女流」的女律師，常能比同時出道的男律師更迅速的累積知名度。有些女律師更會運用自身的性別，勾起大眾的窺視欲望，爭取媒體曝光度。不過，女律師作爲律師業內的後進，即使在爭取報刊法律顧問專欄的主持工作上，也顯然居於弱勢地位。或許是爲了強調自身的專業性，她們往往傾向以就法論法的態度提供諮詢服務，從而使她們所提供的服務，和男律師無甚差別。直到1938年，《上海婦女》法律顧問專欄的主持者韓學章，才破天荒的開創出一個處處對婦女表示同情的法律諮詢園地。
民國時期上海的女律師並不將承辦女性案件視爲女律師的權利，而將之視爲一種特別的責任。她們大多自認或被認爲應爲女權的維護與提升多盡一份心力，許多女律師因此主動或被動的加入婦女團體，並在婦女團體的媒介之下，爲女性當事人提供免費的法律服務。這種將維護女權視爲女律師特別責任的觀念，直到今天還是相當流行。

關鍵字

女律師 ； 上海 ； 法律專業

並列摘要

This paper discusses how gender difference was perceived, manipulated, and illustrated, by exploring the formative process, the marketing strategies, the images in the media, and the social expectations of women lawyers in Republican Shanghai. The first Chinese Lawyers' Regulations, which was copied from the Japanese Lawyers' Law, stated that only adult men had the right to be lawyers. However, no one argued that women were unsuited to practice law until the ban was lifted in 1927. This may be a key factor explaining how Chinese women gained entrance to the legal profession with fewer struggles than their Japanese counterparts experienced.
As ”outstanding women,” the earliest women lawyers often became famous more easily than their male colleagues, but these newcomers were clearly less experienced and competitive than senior male lawyers. In the 1930s, some women lawyers became legal consultants for the legal advise columns in women's magazines. Most of them wrote in a serious and rational tone, showing that they were as professional as their male colleagues were. Han Xuezhang 韓學章, the legal consultant for Shanghai Women(上海婦女), pioneered a new approach to popular legal writing. With her simple but warm words, Han showed her sympathy for suffering women and taught them to protect themselves with the law.
For women lawyers in Republican Shanghai, to undertake women's cases was not a kind of right but a kind of obligation. Most expected to devote time to defending the rights of women, and many women lawyers became members or directors of women's associations, providing free legal services to poor women who asked the associations for help. This service ideal is still seen today.

並列關鍵字

women lawyers ； Shanghai ； legal profession