日本對公務員政治活動的限制
蘇俊斌
《摘要》
在日本，雖然戰後憲法明文保障人民之集會、結社、言論自由，以及法律之前的平等權利；但是另一方面，因為公務員的特殊地位，使其政治活動受到嚴格的限制，特別是憲法還將公務員視為是需要服務全體國民。因為這些對公務員的人權限制引起不少憲法與法律上的爭論，而且許多的爭論常被訴諸法庭。包括最高法院，日本的法院針對此一議題做出了不少的判決。本文便是以法院的判決為中心，試著研討日本對公務員政治活動的限制，以及因此而引發的爭論。首先檢視二次戰後對公務員政治活動的立法；其次則是分析法院的判決及其引發的爭議；第三是介紹對地方公務員政治活動的限制及其爭論。
[關鍵詞]： 公務員、法院、憲法、言論自由
The Restrictions on Public Officials’ Political Activities in Japan
Chun-Pin Su
Abstract
Japan’s postwar Constitution guarantees people’s freedoms of assembly, association and expression as well as their equal rights under the law. However, public officials’ political activities are severely restricted because of their special status. In particular, the Constitution regards them as the servants of the whole community. These limitations on public officials’ human rights have caused constitutional and legal debates. Some of the debates have been brought to court. Japan’s courts, including the Supreme Court, have handed down many rulings on this issue. This paper focuses on the court’s rulings and studies the debates about the restrictions on public officials’ political activities in Japan, by examining the legal restrictions on public officials’ political activities after World War Ⅱ. It then analyzes the courts’ rulings on this issue and the disputes arising therefrom. The paper also gives an account of the restrictions on local government officials’ political activities and ensuing disputes.
Keywords: public officials, court, Constitution, freedom of expression