论遗嘱自由之限制:立法干预的正当性及其路径

从平衡遗嘱人意愿与其近亲属利益、否定歧视妇女的传统、维护社会公序良俗、保护社会公平等考虑,均有必要找到遗嘱自由的"恰当底线"。在域外继承法中,无论大陆法或英美法传统的国家和地区,普遍采取措施对遗嘱自由进行一定限制。我国现行《继承法》却对遗嘱处分无所限制,仅必留份除外。该种过度信赖遗嘱人自治的立法,与财产继承法自身承担的职责不符。改革开放以来,遗产分配争议明显增多,与现行遗嘱继承立法不足有直接关系。我国遗嘱继承立法宜借鉴域外继承法经验,对遗嘱处分实施适当的限制,引入结婚导致婚前所立遗嘱无效、特留份制,限制遗嘱处分婚姻居所等,以保护被继承人近亲属的应得继承份额。

On Statutory Restriction on Testamentary Freedom: Reasoning and Methods

For balancing testator’s willing and his/her kinship’s interests,breaking the tradition of sex discrimination,maintaining public order and preserving social fairness,it is necessary to strictly demarcate testamentary freedom.Foreign inheritance laws,whether in common law or civil law countries,normally impose restraints on testamentary freedom.In comparison,in China’s existing inheritance law no restriction can be found on the testator’s discretion except for "compulsory heirship," which is to some extent inconsistent with the function of inheritance law.The rapid increase of inheritance disputes in China in recent years is thought to have immediate relationship with the defects of its inheritance law.As such,it is urgent for us to,by reference of foreign experiences,impose adequate constraints upon discretionary heriship,and introduce principles such as invalidating premarital will for testator’s getting married,forced heirship,and limiting disposition of marital residence by way of drawing-up of a will so as to ensure the close kinship of the deceased to have their portion of estate.