明律運用の統一過程

Abstract

From the end of 15th to the early 16th century, the government of the Ming dynasty set up the procedures which controlled its judicial organs more strictly. That is, judgements of the local tribunals began to be regularly reviewed by the higher levels of government and the supervisors. However, mere procedures cannot guarantee effective control. In this paper, I have clarified the process by which the judicial review system came to be effective, concentrating on the problem how the criteria for judgement (especially the interpretation and application of the Ming Code) had been standardized. For existence of such standard criteria is prerequisite for any efficient review. On analysis of a certain amount of official documents, it turns out that judicial officials in the 16th century were generally at an extremely low level of knowledge about criteria for judgement. But on examination of the arguments of officials at the time, it proves that the enforcement of judicial review by the supervisors caused the standardization of criteria. Thereafter the understanding of necessity for standardized criteria had penetrated through the officialdom, and the officials began to establish clear criteria and to inform each judicial official well with more effort. These facts show that the control on the judicial organs under the Ming dynasty had developed in higher efficiency from the mid-16th century.