A Study On Ancient Method Of Trial In China

In ancient China, trial is regarded as the central link in process of handling the case. The judge has great importance for the trial, and trial is also taken as a key step for the verdict. There are two reasons on the judge paying attention to the trial, one is they can verify the case, the other is they may examine some secret facts. It is advantageous to the fair trial of the case through the face-to-face communication between the judge and the litigant. Therefore, in the ancient Chinese judicial practice, It must be reasonable to the judge settling the disputes, and to settle a lawsuit must accord to the evidence. In the trial, the judge comprehensively uses various interrogations'techniques. They aren't only to make"convinced by both sides"but also to fulfill the function of the judge, and to handle the case carefully, only if they are not to lose their jobs.By researching the historical materials and papers, the author finds that there are a lot of studies on"Zhe Yu Gui Jian". These researches are more in-depth, and most focus on the evidence system of the ancient case. But there are fewer researches about"The Complement of Zhe Yu Gui Jian". Therefore, the author hopes that there is a systemic, in-depth and creative research on the ancient method of trial by carefully reading and analyzing of the original works and hopes to take my pygmy effort in this area.This article is divided into five parts. The five parts is also the five methods of trial by carefully reading the translation and annotation of "The Complement of Zhe Yu Gui Jian "The first part mainly analyzes the method of trail which is adopted to obtain confessions. The means of trail were not developed in the ancient; the judge must obtain the confession to identify the facts. Moreover, from the whole process of trial, it must be obtain the original confession, such as two parties' exhibition word and the witness testimony, at the first. In the circumstances of the confessions existing contradictions and doubts, the judge can take repeatedly cross-examination to the litigant. In order to obtain a confession quickly, the judge often use the means of torture to investigate the case. In short, the ancient judges adjudicating cases base on the principles of"Adjudicating is based on the confessions" and "No record, No case". It is also recognized the limitations of witness by the people. Therefore, the judge realizes that they can not rely solely on the method of confessions to adjudicate the case, and they still need other methods to expose the truth.The second part is to discuss the methods of trial about the ancient judge obtaining physical evidence. In the judicial practice of the ancient trial, the confession isn't the unique form of evidence. The judge also pays attention to use the objective evidence in trial, such as the documentary evidence, especially in the process of the civil, the objective evidence plays a key role, and it is useful to restore the truth of the case. Meanwhile in the process of the trial, the judge also pays attention to combine the oral confession and the objective evidence. But the methods of the judge obtaining physical evidence are inquest, inspection, detection experiment, search and so on.The third part mainly analyzes the special methods of the trail. Firstly, the trial experience of the judge plays an important role for the investigation of cases. Therefore, these are some essential and important factors in the trial, such as diligence, integrity and personal f knowledge of the judge. Secondly, when the trial is obstructed and the judge is temporarily unable to identify cases, the judge can properly be used resourcefulness and strategy to trial. These methods include taking advantage of a weak point, playing hard to get, using of contradictions, sticking to evidence. These are concluded by the author after reading the translation and annotation of "The Complement of Zhe Yu Gui Jian ". Finally, it is inseparable from the personal qualities and the legal cultivation nether the experience of the judge or using tricks and strategies to trial. These are the important factors to impartially enforce the law and air the grievances for the people.The fourth part is about the unique ancient method of trial - the trial of God. These are unique methods of the ancient trial, whether the supernatural phenomenon giving the revelation to the judge to finally identify the case to trail or "two sides" being deterrent affected by the gods to get the truthful confession. Although these methods are seemed absurd now, they still play a unique role in ancient China which is not very well developed.The fifth part is divided into two parts. One is that the judge carefully resolves the doubt and analyzes the specific circumstances of the case, when they face the difficult cases in the trial. They protect the interests of the litigants in the discretion. In judicial practice, the judge cautiously interrogates the case, and avoids subjective assumption. If they encounter the difficult cases, they deter to the principle of finding the truth of the case. The other is that the judge tries to find out the profound meaning of the law, and isn't easy to use the law mechanically. It is suit for ancient moral values and ethics'traditions of China.