Shen Jiaben ( Chinese р家 本 , August 19, 1840 - June 9, 1913) is a Chinese statesman and lawyer from the Qing Empire and the early years of the Republic of China.
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Content
- 1 Biography
- 2 Jurisprudence
- 3 notes
- 4 Sources
Biography
He came from a family of scientists. Born in the city of Usin in 1840. First received a classical education. At the same time, he showed a special talent for studying laws. In 1865, he successfully passed the imperial exam in Beijing, having received the highest degree - jinshi. After that, he worked in positions on the Punishment Council, but did not make a significant career.
The situation changed after ascending to the throne of Guangxu in 1875. In 1883, Shen Jiaben became one of the emperor's legal advisers. In 1893, he was appointed prefect of the city of Tianjian. In 1897, he heads the Baoding Prefecture. In 1900 he became a judge of the Zhili Department. During the uprising of the Ietuan after his suppression, he tried to objectively investigate the guilt of the participants in the uprising and not punish the innocent.
In 1902 he was appointed Minister of Justice. At the same time, he headed the commission for the processing of the Qing Code of Laws “Daqing Luili.” It was influenced by the traditions of European law. The work was completed in 1905 - a draft new criminal code was prepared. In 1906, the Code of Civil Procedure. The latter recognized lawyers for the first time. In the same year, he drew up a law on insolvency, which went beyond the doctrine of bankruptcy of a businessman. In the same year, a commercial code was prepared.
At the same time, he led the discussion of the school of law against the school of ritual around the question of which principles should underpin lawmaking: principles developed by contemporary legal science or principles that were the cornerstone of old Chinese law. This debate, which lasted until 1911, involved Chinese officials and scholars, students and foreign experts.
In 1910, Shen completed work on a draft code of criminal procedure, which stipulated that as advocates only lawyers are allowed to participate in the process. According to the code, they had the right: to find out what his client is accused of; check evidence, get acquainted with the materials of the criminal case and write information from the case; have dates and correspond with the accused. However, due to the opposition of conservatives, supporters of the school of rituals, the code was not put into effect. In 1911, during the Xinhai Revolution, Shen Jiaben resigned. Later he lived calmly in Beijing until his death in 1913.
Jurisprudence
For a high-quality compilation of laws, he studied Chinese law of earlier times, in particular, the times of the Ming and Yuan dynasties. He published with his commentary the work “Installation from the Holy Office of the Ruling Great Yuan Dynasty” (“Yuan Dian-Zhang”). At the same time he used translations of English, French, German, Russian, Dutch, Italian, Japanese, American, Belgian legislation
Shen Jiaben's main work was Lidi Sinfa Kao (History of Chinese Law). The more important part is the 2 large sections of 21 juan, which in turn make up the first volume under the title “Sinfa” (“Criminal Code”, another translation of “Torture”), which highlights the history and specific content of Chinese law. In the second, therefore, Shen Jiaben developed the ideas of the rule of law.
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 Swartz A. Open Library - 2007.
- ↑ 1 2 Faceted Application of Subject Terminology
- ↑ 1 2 National Library of Australia - 1960.
- ↑ China Biographical Database
Sources
- Boorman, Howard L., Richard C. Howard, and Joseph KH Cheng, eds. Biographical Dictionary of Republican China. New York: Columbia University Press, 1967.
- 陈柳裕. 《法制 冰人 —— 沈家 本 传》 （浙江 文化 名人 传记 丛书）. 浙江 人民出版社. 2006 年 4 月. ISBN 7213032429 .
- 李贵 连. 《沈家 本 评 传》 （中国 思想家 评 传 丛书）. 南京大学 出版社. 2005 年 3 月. ISBN 7305043265 .