《旧制度与大革命·卷三·第三章·法国高等法院如何循着旧例反而倾覆了王权》第9节
An edict of the King applying equally to the whole of France, after it had been accepted and executed in a certain manner in one part of the territory, might still be modified or contested in the twelve other parts. That was the right, but that was not the custom. For a long period of time the separate Parliaments had ceased to contest anything, save the administrative rules, which might be peculiar to their own province. They did not debate the general laws of the kingdom, unless the peculiar interests of their own province seemed to be affected by some one of their provisions. As for the principle of such laws, their opportunity or efficiency, these were considerations they did not commonly entertain. On these points they were wont to rely on the Parliament of Paris, which, by a sort of tacit agreement, was looked up to by all the other Parliaments as their political guide. On this occasion each Parliament chose to examine these edicts, as if they concerned its own province alone, and as if it had been the sole representative of France; each province chose, too, to distinguish itself by a separate resistance in the midst of the general resistance they encountered. All of these discussed the principle of each edict, as well as its special application. A clause which had been accepted without difficulty by one of these bodies was obstinately opposed elsewhere: one of them barely notices what called forth the indignation of another. Assailed by thirteen adversaries at once, each of which attacked with different weapons and struck in different places, the Government, amidst all these bodies, could not lay its hand upon a single head.
注释摘要
托克维尔在这一段揭示了一个法律设计与政治惯例之间的致命裂缝。从旧制度的法理上看，法国被划分为十三个司法辖区，每个辖区都设有一个高等法院，它们彼此完全独立，拥有同等的权力，都可以在国王的敕令送达后、正式登记执行前进行辩论和提出谏诤。这就意味着，一条适用于全王国的敕令，即使已经在某个辖区被接受并照某种方式执行了，在其余十二个辖区仍有可能被修改或被直接抵制。托克…