중국 전국시대 말기 법가 사상가인 한비자는 형명(刑名)과 법술(法術)에 의거한 법치주의를 바탕으로 강력한 중앙집권적 제국 체제를 형성해야 한다고 주장하였다.
한비자의 법치주의는 엄형주의에 의거한 법률만능주의라고 할 수 있다. 한비자의 주된 관심은 국가보다는 군주 1인에 대한 권력의 집중에 있었다. 오늘날 그의 법치사상을 그대로 수용하기에는 문제가 적지 않다. 하지만 한비자의 법치주의에 대한 위와 같은 비판적 견해와는 달리 현대적 의미에서 그의 사상을 새로운 관점에서 평가해야 한다는 견해도 있다.
본고에서는 한비자가 주장하는 법의 성질과 법치사상의 핵심 내용과 구조를 살펴본다. 또한 그의 사상이 가진 문제점과 한계에 대한 분석을 바탕으로 현대법의 관점에서 어떤 평가를 내릴 수 있는지에 대해 알아본다.
Han Fei-tzu, a legal thinker in the late Warring States period of China, argued that a strong centralized imperial system should be formed based on the rule of law based on the name of the sentence and the law. Han Feizi's rule of law can be said to be a legalistic absolutism based on severe punishment. Han Feizi's main interest was in the concentration of power in the hands of the monarch rather than the state. There are a number of problems in accepting his rule of law theory as it is today. However, there is also a view that his philosophy should be re-evaluated from a new perspective in the modern sense, unlike the above critical view of Han Feizi's rule of law. This paper examines the nature of the law and the core content and structure of Han Feizi's rule of law theory. It also analyzes the problems and limitations of his philosophy and evaluates it from the perspective of modern law.
Han Fei-tzu, a legal thinker in the late Warring States period of China, argued that a strong centralized imperial system should be formed based on the rule of law based on the name of the sentence and the law. Han Feizi's rule of law can be said to be a legalistic absolutism based on severe punishment. Han Feizi's main interest was in the concentration of power in the hands of the monarch rather than the state. There are a number of problems in accepting his rule of law theory as it is today. However, there is also a view that his philosophy should be re-evaluated from a new perspective in the modern sense, unlike the above critical view of Han Feizi's rule of law. This paper examines the nature of the law and the core content and structure of Han Feizi's rule of law theory. It also analyzes the problems and limitations of his philosophy and evaluates it from the perspective of modern law.