首先,先了解一下什么是pleading。
Pleading,诉答书,是指以人们普遍接受的法定语言和形式而制作的原诉人的起诉书或答辩人的答辩书。
fact pleading事实诉答,要求原告在起诉状中陈述足以确立其诉因的事实的诉答。有时也被认为与code pleading同义。(A system of pleading requirements that mandates that submissions to the court, like complaints and answers, include all the facts needed to back up their allegations. Fact pleading is no longer used in the federal system, but is still used in some states)Code pleading法典诉答程序,指依照法典确定的规则而进行的诉答。法典诉答程序始于1848年美国纽约州菲尔德法典〔Field Code〕的规定,它摒弃了普通法诉答程序〔common-law pleading〕在形式上的严格性和复杂性,它只要求当事人陈述作为其诉讼请求的根据的事实,而非对支持其请求所必要的法律结论。
目前美国联邦诉讼制度中已不再使用事实诉答,但事实诉答这一规定仍然在某些州适用。
notice pleading告知诉答,只需作简洁、清楚的陈述,足以使对方当事人知晓自己的诉讼请求或答辩理由,而非对与诉讼请求或答辩理由相关的任何事实都作专门性描述〔technical account〕的诉答。Notice pleading refers to a system of pleading requirements that only emphasizes pleadings as a way to notify parties of general issues in a case. ... The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, adopted in 1938, uses a notice pleading system.
美国《联邦民事诉讼规则》〔Federal Rules of Civil Procedure〕及在绝大多数州的民事诉讼中都采用此种诉答程序,但在一些复杂案件中也经常会要求当事人在诉答中对某些实质性的细节加以陈述。
补充一些关于pleading的术语,供参考:
articulated pleading 逐项陈述。以不同的段落逐一陈述请愿书、起诉状、答辩状等中的各事项。
double pleading(诉因或答辩理由)并陈诉答。
mispleading (诉状的)陈述不当;答辩不当;诉词瑕疵。指在起诉状或答辩状中存在实质性瑕疵或遗漏有关案件的实质性情事。如原告对权利的主张不仅方式上有误,而且权利本身存在实质性瑕疵;又如在债务案件中,被告不是答辩「根本不欠债」而是辩称「无罪」。美国联邦和许多州的民事诉讼规则允许当事人修改不正确或有缺陷的诉状。
①fact pleading: A system of pleading requirements that mandates that submissions to the court, like complaints and answers, include all the facts needed to back up their allegations. Fact pleading is no longer used in the federal system, but is still used in some states.
事实诉答:在诉答程序中提交给法院的起诉状、答辩状等对涉及到案件的事实需要全部详细阐述以支撑指控,要求较为严格,内容过于庞大,联邦法院程序中已不适用,但在一些周仍对该程序进行了保留。
②notice pleading:A system of pleading requirements that only emphasizes pleadings as a way to notify parties of general issues in a case. This allows parties drafting pleadings to state their claims in general terms without alleging detailed facts to support each claim and without worrying about hypertechnical details. See Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, particularly Rules 7-10.
The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, adopted in 1938, uses a notice pleading system. Previously, the federal courts used a much stricter pleading standard called fact pleading. Since the Federal Rules were adopted in 1938, many other American jurisdictions have adopted similar systems.
告知诉答:在诉答程序中当事人无需将每一个事实都详尽阐述,能做到详略得到识别并明确争议焦点即可,考虑诉答程序具有确定争点、防止诉讼突袭并开示事实与证据的功能,只要服务于这一功能即可,未必需要太细微的每一个个边边角角的细节。1938年《美国民事诉讼联邦规则》对该程序予以确定,大大提升了诉讼效率,便于当事人解决争议。