The Law Of Evidence During The Qing Dynasty

Since the law reform in the late of Qing dynasty, new legal system has been transplanted into China from western countries. At the same time, Chinese evidence law system has been gradually constructed basing on the pattern and experience of Continent law legal system and Common law legal system. It has been faced seriously crises coming from the motherland resources repelling its different“gene”. Many scholars are reviewing the“gets and loses”of legal science evolution and development, and trying to finding“reform plan”to solve the crises from the traditional legal culture.“Chinese traditional lawsuit culture, especially the evidence law culture is more weakly and more likely absent of systematic rule of evidence.”Under this background, it is very difficult but extraordinary instructive to making efforts to searching and combing the evidence law system from the Chinese traditional law culture.In terms of reach, this article, while studying sorts of historical files from the Penal Code and regulations of Qing dynasty?lawsuits files to the statement of decisions(or Statement of considerations)?admonishments for officers?notes?informal essays of many local magistrates?clerks and private secretaries, makes great efforts to elaborating all categories of evidence form?characteristic, and then explains how evidence can be collected?perseverated?reviewed and utilized into all sorts of cases.At the beginning of this article, to elaborate all levels of main judicial office?different kinds of participant in lawsuit and criminal proceedings in order to making an introduce of background of evidence law. Absent of independent judicial system, judicial jurisprudence was divided by kinds of departments. On the centre-level system, it belongs to“Three High Courts”, including the Board of Punishment?Censor-ate?Court of Revision. On the local-level system, it belongs to Province(independent) ,Prefectures(independent departments , independent sub-prefecture) ,District(departments? sub-prefecture) , three levels office. Though the centre-level system and the local-level system have judicial jurisprudence, all levels of office above the district-level mainly retry and pass on such cases which may be sentenced to a punishment of no less than penal servitude. We divide people into different kinds with their different social status as criteria, because the Penal Code of Qing dynasty definitely stipulated that people who have special status enjoyed judicial privileges, also their social status affected the their statements or testimony potency,the articles shall be applied to ,the verdict of guilty or innocent. Therefore, Charter Two introduce Special groups'constitution and social status of the official-gentry?scholar-gentry?banner-men?hired worker?slaver or servants?women and so on. In Chart Three, we analysis the first instance procedure, retry and pass on procedure of criminal cases, and also simply explain the civil procedure.In the middle of this article, by analyzing and combing the historical lawsuits files of Qing dynasty, evidence was classified into plaintiff statement,defendant statement,witness or chiefs of security unites testimony, records of making on-the-spot investigation and measurement?real evidence,documentary evidence,records of coroners inspection and so on. Therefore, we make efforts to outlining each category of evidence form, classification and characteristic.In the end, we try to elaborate how can the local magistrates collect?perseverate,review and determinate categories of statement or testimony ,real evidence and so on. Then, we hold that verdict of guilty shall abide by such main principles: follow moral principle?Properly pay attention to humanity and reason principle?verdict of guilty according to statements principle?suspect Leniently punishment principle. Therefore, we make some examples to illustrate how the local magistrates review and determinate all evidence comprehensively in judging whether a defend guilty or not.In conclusion, after reviewing the evidence law system of Qing dynasty, we try to searching the support of the traditional motive for the evidence law system reform.