In the past, Zhang Fei's judgments were like a long-awaited rain for the people, and they always received applause and flowers. However, this time, the court was relatively quiet inside and outside the courtyard. This seemed to be beyond Xu Zhiqian's expectations. She couldn't help but look up, but saw that the people outside the courtyard were a little disappointed.
The reason is very simple. Tax evasion is not just the privilege of landlords. Ordinary people also evade taxes, especially the deed tax. For ordinary people, this is a tax that is easier to avoid. Unlike the two taxes, as long as you have a household registration, you basically cannot escape it.
You should know that land transactions were very frequent in the Northern Song Dynasty. If it were limited to transactions between landlords, it would not have been so frequent. There were also many ordinary people who earned a little money through their efforts in industry, agriculture and commerce, and then bought land. The deed tax would also make it more difficult for people to get rich.
Their expectation is that the white deed will be legally binding, but at the same time the deed tax will be exempted. At worst, the deed tax on the previous white deed will be exempted, and everyone will pay the deed tax later.
But I didn't expect that only half of the stamp duty would be exempted, and the price was that I had to pay the additional stamp duty. In any case, it would cost me money!
This is quite different from their expectations.
However, Zhang Fei did not wait for applause and flowers. He asked the procuratorate as usual: "Does the procuratorate have any objections?"
Su Che seemed to be thinking about something. He was slightly startled, glanced at Zhang Fei, hesitated for a moment, and then stood up and said, "Suppose a rebel buys weapons from the people and meets the two principles mentioned by Judge Zhang, then is this contract legally binding?"
After a brief thought, Zhang Fei said, "As long as these two principles are met, they will be legally binding."
When these words were spoken, everyone was stunned and looked at Zhang Fei in surprise. Are you crazy
The Four Little Kings and Xu Zhiqian also looked at Zhang Fei in surprise.
Does rebellion still have legal effect
Su Che was also confused.
Zhang Fei then said: "It is precisely because the contract between the two parties is legally binding that the merchant who provided the weapons and armor is also an accomplice. But if it is said that the merchant was coerced to provide the weapons and armor to the traitor, as long as he can produce sufficient evidence to prove this, then this contract will not be legally binding. From a judicial point of view, the two may not be in a cooperative relationship, and the imperial court can acquit the merchant.
On this issue, I can say one more thing. Criminal lawsuits are higher than civil lawsuits because the interests of the country and the monarch are higher than personal interests. Treason is one of the ten heinous crimes and the highest level of crime. Merchants may be innocent in this lawsuit, but they may also face huge losses because the court will definitely confiscate all stolen goods. Of course, this is only a possibility. If it really happens, we have to analyze it in detail, but the principle remains unchanged. "
After hearing this, Su Che said, "Thank you, Judge Zhang, for your answer."
After saying that, he sat back.
Over there, Fan Zhen was also thinking with his head lowered.
Although they already knew the result, Zhang Fei's judgment still made them feel both enlightened and confused.
Because this judgment involves a question of contract principle.
Although Zhang Fei made his judgment according to the law, his interpretation of the principle of contract was unprecedented and had never been included in the "Song Dynasty Criminal Code".
For example, the meaning of the sentence "Officials have political laws, and the people follow private contracts" is similar to Zhang Fei's explanation, and the "Song Dynasty Criminal Code" also expresses this meaning.
However, Zhang Fei regards these two principles as the important basis for determining whether a contract is legal, or even the only basis, which is something that is not found in the "Song Dynasty Criminal Code".
Although politics and law and private deeds are two parallel lines, the current system is one that puts officials first, and officials have the final say. If the imperial court determines that the white deed has no legal effect due to tax evasion, no one would actually have anything to say.
No one thinks that this is a wrong judgment. After all, politics and law are higher than private contracts among the people, and officials are superior to the people.
However, after Zhang Fei's explanation, they really became two parallel lines.
This is very critical.
According to Zhang Fei's judgment, whether a contract has legal effect depends only on freedom, fairness and equality. As long as it meets these points, the contract has legal effect. It has little to do with whether it violates political laws.
Although Fan Zhen used the idea that the government has the law and the people follow private contracts to explain the legal effect of the white deed, for him, this was just a reason, not a principle.
This is actually one point that makes Zhang Fei different from current officials.
In fact, the judicial system of the Song Dynasty was relatively complete. In order to convict a person, it was necessary to refer to the laws and regulations, which was the system of separate judicial and adjudication offices.
However, the index of laws and regulations is mostly limited to discussions within the government. External judgments are generally based on Confucian morality, and must be fair, reasonable, and occupy the moral high ground.
Zhang Fei, on the other hand, is more inclined to cite and interpret laws, and morality is only mentioned when sentencing.
However, what they didn't know was that the main reason Zhang Fei prompted this lawsuit was not that little bit of stamp duty, but the principle of the contract.
Because Zhang Fei wanted to shift the economic center from agriculture to commerce, or in other words, to commercialize agriculture and collect taxes from commerce to avoid direct conflicts with gentry and large landowners.
Since we are pursuing business, contract law is of utmost importance. Only a perfect contract law can promote business development and facilitate investigation and evidence collection by the tax department.
On the third day after the verdict was announced, the Royal Court published a legal bulletin, announcing detailed contract principles.
The principle of freedom of contract.
Principle of good faith.
The principle of fair trade.
Based on these three principles, a specific explanation is given later, which stipulates that a contract is an agreement and that all matters must be agreed upon before the contract is established. If both parties do not reach a consensus on all points in the contract, when doubts arise, the contract should be deemed not to have been established.
It also provides advice on drafting contracts.
One of the most critical ones is that the Royal Court recommends that both parties or all parties signing the contract should specify the debt assumption matters in the contract. If not, the Royal Court will make the judgment at its discretion.
Procuratorate.
"Attorney General, Attorney General?"
Chen Qi shouted to Su Zhe who was in a daze, holding the Dharma newspaper in his hand.
Su Zhe was startled. "What did you say?"
Chen Qi was stunned for a moment, then said, "We just want to ask the Attorney General, what do you think of the principles of this contract?"
Su Che frowned, and suddenly bent over the quill, writing a petition on a piece of paper, and then handed it to Chen Qi, "Send this petition to the imperial court immediately."
Chen Qi blinked, picked up the complaint again, and exclaimed, "The Attorney General wants to sue the Royal Court?"
After hearing this, the other prosecutors were also shocked and gathered around.
Su Che frowned and said, "This contract principle violates the principle of letting private contracts be followed and officials not to interfere. This contract principle in the law newspaper will give the imperial court powerful power to intervene in private transactions. We can't sit idly by and do nothing. We must exercise our prosecutorial power."
Wang Shen said: "Even so, shouldn't the Chief Prosecutor communicate with Judge Zhang first?"
Su Che hesitated for a moment and sighed, "I am not as knowledgeable as Judge Zhang in legal studies. Since he dared to do this, he must have his reasons. If we communicated privately, I am afraid I would be convinced by him. However, in the eyes of others, it is possible that the procuratorate and the imperial court are in cahoots. It is better to have a public trial. This will also allow the people to know the reasons behind this more clearly. We must also warn Judge Zhang that he cannot arbitrarily give legal principles and interpretations."
This is not the first time that Zhang Fei has given an interpretation and assigned principles. Although he has not changed the laws, his principles and interpretations are equivalent to changing the original meaning of the laws.
Officials of the Song Dynasty also attached great importance to laws and regulations, and believed that they should not be changed casually.
Wang Shen nodded slightly, as if he felt that Su Che's considerations made sense.
As a result, the procuratorate immediately filed a lawsuit with the Imperial Court regarding this legal newspaper, accusing the contractual principles in the legal newspaper of violating the principle of private contract and official incompetence.
The Four Little Kings were also shocked when they heard the news. Is this procuratorate crazy? They actually accuse our royal court
We are both referees and contestants. How can your procuratorate win
But Zhang Fei just smiled and said nothing.
Xu Zhiqian asked, "Could it be that Judge Zhang has already anticipated that the procuratorate will sue us?"
The four little golden warriors immediately looked at Zhang Fei.
Zhang Fei shook his head and said, "I didn't expect that. I just thought that Chief Prosecutor Su's legal attainments have reached a higher level and his progress is faster than yours. At least you didn't raise any questions about the content of this legal report."
Cai Bian was surprised and asked, "Is there really something wrong with the content of the Fa Bao?"
Zhang Fei said: "From a judicial perspective, this is definitely open to debate."
Cai Jing asked: "Then how should we deal with it?"
"catch!"
Zhang Fei smiled and said, "This prosecution by the procuratorate will bring more benefits than disadvantages to the public security, procuratorial and judicial systems. Not only can we benefit greatly from it, but it will also help to improve our public security, procuratorial and judicial systems."
Complete the system
The Four Little Kings and Xu Zhiqian all looked confused.
... ... .
At this time, the news that the Procuratorate had sued the Royal Court had already spread, which was really shocking.
Because no one thinks there is anything wrong with this principle. Even if there is a problem, the Procuratorate will not directly accuse the Royal Court. You must know that the Procuratorate and the Royal Court have always had a tacit understanding.
What exactly happened here
But no matter what happens, this melon must be eaten!
But people didn’t expect that this melon is so delicious.
This is quite a twist!
However, after the trial, the Royal Court announced that it had accepted the prosecution from the Procuratorate.
Can the Royal Court be sued
This is really rare to see!
This winter is destined not to be too cold.
In the biting cold wind, the people gathered outside the imperial court. Everyone's face was flushed with heat and they were sweating profusely, which showed how many people had come.
On the contrary, in the VIP seats, many officials were shivering with cold, complaining in their hearts that the royal court did not even prepare a small stove for them. But even though they were shivering with cold and their feet were cold, no one left.
Because this melon is full of weirdness.
Whether it was the people outside or the officials inside, they simply did not understand why the procuratorate sued the imperial court.
Zhang Fei seemed to see through their confusion. After the court session began, he smiled and asked Su Che, "Please explain the reasons for suing me, the chief prosecutor."
These words made the people outside the courtyard laugh. Is this even possible
Su Che stood up and said seriously, "According to our investigation, the contents of this legal report were all instructed by Judge Zhang."
As he spoke, he held up the Dharma newspaper.
Zhang Fei nodded and said, "Yes, the content of this legal report was indeed instructed by this judge. This judge will be responsible for every word of this article."
Su Che added: "But our procuratorate believes that the content of this law report violates the principle of relying on private contracts and officials not being fair. It is Judge Zhang who is using public power for personal gain and is using this to expand the power of the imperial court."
Zhang Fei asked: "What do you mean?"
Su Che said: "The idea of letting private contracts be signed without government intervention does have the meaning of free contract signing, but this is only secondary. The main meaning is that the government should not interfere too much in private debt disputes, which is not the original intention of intervening in contract signing.
When private contracts are signed, if there are disputes, the government does not have to handle the case and try to let the two parties to the contract resolve the dispute based on private rules. The government adheres to this principle and can only recover the principal but not the interest. However, it can only use torture to force the people to pay back the money and cannot even send people to the people's homes to seize their property.
Although Judge Zhang had previously helped soldiers and salt merchants to recover corresponding compensation, including interest, that was only after a settlement between the two parties.
However, according to the content of this legal report, it is equivalent to giving the imperial court the power to forcibly intervene in private contracts. Especially the last point in the legal report, both parties must specify the debt obligations in the contract, but as we all know, the current contract only specifies the profit distribution, not the debt distribution. If there is a dispute, it is mediated by both parties and will not be brought to the government. Now that the imperial court requires this point to be stated, it proves that the imperial court will intervene and use judicial power to deal with private debt disputes. "
This ancient contract only stipulates the distribution of profits, but not the distribution of debts, because for the ancients, a contract is only the starting point of cooperation and has no end. To put it simply, if everyone cooperates well, then continue to cooperate; if the cooperation is unpleasant, then stop cooperating.
This is also why ancient contracts were very short, unlike later contracts, which would clearly state who would be responsible for the debt under what circumstances and in the event of an accident.
If a dispute arises, the government can either ignore it or it will be difficult to do so because there is no clear breakdown of the debts and there is no such provision in the law.
But in the capital, the new contract of the Bian Jing Law Firm has added provisions for debt distribution.
But that was also a civil matter, and the government did not require you to write it this way, because Zhang Fei was not the chief judge at the time, he was just an accomplice.
Now that the Royal Court has demanded that the debt issue be spelled out, the government must intervene to provide a basis for the judgment.
Zhang Fei nodded and said, "You are right. This court president requires that the debt be clearly stated in order to provide a basis for the Royal Court to enforce compensation."
There was an immediate uproar outside the courtyard.
Although many people don’t know why there was an uproar, perhaps they were infected by the arguments from both sides and felt that it was terrible.
Su Che said: "But this violates the principle of letting private contracts be followed and officials not be in charge."
The reason why he was so concerned about this was because his advocacy was to limit the power of the government. This was also what the conservatives had always advocated. They were more inclined to the Taoist principle of governing by inaction. The people had their own customs, and the government should not interfere too much.
Once the government has the power of compulsory enforcement, it has a reason to infringe upon the rights and interests of the people.
This is actually the same reason as opposing Wang Anshi's proposition.
What Wang Anshi said made a lot of sense, and Sima Guang did not disagree with Wang Anshi's ideas. What he opposed was Wang Anshi's expansion of government power through the new law.
But you can't collect taxes according to the law, but you can lend money according to the law.
You collect taxes, make various transfers and conversions, and when you lend money, you have to make sure you get back 18% of the money. You are both the referee and the player, so who can beat you
Su Che was also worried about this. Once you enforce it by force, your people will be able to rush into people's homes and take everything.
"This does not violate the principle that officials should not be bound by private contracts."
Zhang Fei shook his head and said, "On the contrary, Chief Prosecutor Su's remarks seem to be generalizing."
Su Che asked, "What do you mean, Judge Zhang?"
Zhang Fei said, "May I ask Chief Prosecutor Su, is the principle that officials should not handle disputes based on private contracts a strict rule? Is it true that the government should not handle any contract disputes?"
Su Zhe shook his head: "That's not the case."
Zhang Fei smiled and said, "There is a lot of evidence to prove that the government has the power to handle contract disputes. It can be seen that the principle of "let the government handle private contracts without any jurisdiction" does not require the government not to handle any contract disputes, but gives the government the power not to handle them. However, there is another principle in it, which is to require officials to judge right and wrong according to the contract, rather than letting the political law determine right and wrong."
A scholar nearby couldn't help but ask: "Is there any difference between the two?"
"have."
Zhang Fei responded for the first time, and then explained: "The law is based on morality and pursues fairness and justice, while the contract pursues interests. Suppose two businessmen sign a contract, but unfortunately the cooperation fails. If the contract is fulfilled, one party may lose everything or even commit suicide. In this case, how should the government judge? If it is based on private contracts, the government will not make decisions. As long as it meets the contractual principles of freedom, equality, and fairness, it should be executed according to the contract."
Another person said: "Doesn't that mean that interests are higher than morality?"
Zhang Fei asked in return: "Is honesty a moral issue?"
The man was speechless for a moment.
Su Che frowned. He expected that he might not win this lawsuit, but Zhang Fei's explanation of the law still made him feel frustrated.
After Zhang Fei's explanation, the contract is actually higher than the law, or at least equivalent to the law.
But it seems that there is really such a meaning in it.
The first half of the sentence gives the private contract great binding force. Officials can ignore it, which only means that officials can ignore it, but it does not mean that officials cannot accept it. Many examples can be cited to illustrate this point.
Then once the officials accept the case, they still have to rely on the private contract, so the contract is equivalent to the law.
This was something Su Che had never thought of.
Zhang Fei smiled again and said, "In fact, the last lawsuit has already proved one thing, that is, the contract is legally binding, so violating the contract is equivalent to breaking the law. The Royal Court certainly has the right to deal with any illegal behavior.
In a sense, private contracts are equivalent to laws if they do not violate the principles of contract, because private contracts are a supplement to civil constraints in terms of laws.
The second half of the sentence is very crucial. In principle, private contracts are a supplement to the law. This is what the court meant. Since it is a supplement to the law, it is naturally equivalent to the law. This is a very critical argument in the principle of contract, which provides strong support for the imperial court when dealing with contract disputes in the future.
Su Che was stunned and dumbfounded.
Fan Zhen, who was watching the trial, also frowned and thought to himself, Judge Zhang is really cunning.
In ancient times, private contracts were only between two people. It is hard to say whether they have legal effect. However, the government usually tends to believe that they do not have legal effect. Since they are only between two people, the government does not need to intervene.
The only difference is that the last time the tax commissioner filed a complaint, he was suing about the land deed, which is a very special contract because it will determine the ownership of the tax. If the land deed does not have legal effect, then the land may not be yours, and the government can take it back or demand that it be returned to the seller.
When Fan Zhen filed a lawsuit, he explained that land tax fell under the jurisdiction of politics and law, while the deed was a transaction between two people. The transaction was valid, and politics and law had no right to deny the validity of the transaction. The government must recognize the legal effect of the deed.
However, in Fan Zhen's view, this legal effect is only evidence that the land belongs to the party concerned.
But this directly provides the royal court with a reason for compulsory enforcement.
As long as it has legal effect, the imperial court has the right to intervene. If the imperial court has no right to intervene, then it has no legal effect.
Su Che added: "But the principle of letting private contracts be followed and officials not to take action also includes restricting the government from taking the opportunity to confiscate the property of ordinary people."
He directly raised the point that he was most worried about, and also wanted the people to be alert to this.
Zhang Fei smiled and nodded, "But based on the rule of law, the judiciary must defend the legitimate rights and interests of individuals. A contract that does not violate the principle of contract is a legitimate right, and the judiciary must defend the legitimate rights and interests of both parties.
Later, our Royal Court will also promulgate specific enforcement laws. In civil lawsuits, the Royal Court has no right to confiscate anyone's property, so the Royal Court will take the form of seizure to keep the property involved in the contract in place without moving a single cent. Then, it will take the form of buying and selling to exchange the seized property for the compensation agreed in the contract and repay it to the person agreed in the contract.
However, if the party making the compensation is unable to pay, the Royal Court will resort to forced labor and agree with the other party on the method of compensation. There have been precedents on this before, so I will not elaborate on it in detail. "
After that, he asked Su Zhe again: "Does Attorney General Su have any questions?"
Su Zhe frowned and thought for a moment, then said, "Our procuratorate will review the seizure system mentioned by Judge Zhang. If there are any problems, we will continue to file a lawsuit."
What he meant was that he had acknowledged Zhang Fei's explanation of Ren Yi's private contract and the official's indifference.
Zhang Fei smiled and said, "We welcome the supervision of the procuratorate. Moreover, in order to facilitate the supervision of the procuratorate, our Royal Court will set up a hearing method. Whenever the procuratorate has any doubts about the judicial interpretation of the Royal Court, our Royal Court will hold such a hearing and debate. Because our Royal Court's interpretation of any law must also comply with the judicial regulations, and we ourselves will strictly abide by it."
Was all this within his expectations? Su Zhe could not help but look at Zhang Fei in frustration. As soon as I sued you, you immediately set up a hearing to facilitate my suing you. You must have been prepared in advance. Are you so amazing? But he could only say, "Thank you, Judge Zhang."