II. Information on Individual Articles of The Covenant

Article 14

Japan's legal framework relevant to this Article is as stated in the Third Periodic Report. Additional points are provided below.

System for Cases of Required Defense Counsel

In cases of a certain level of importance, where the death penalty, or imprisonment for life or for a term more than three years, are included as statutory penalty, the trial or hearing may neither commence nor continue without a defense counsel, to protect the defendant's rights and ensure a fair public trial. In such cases, when no defense counsel appears or is appointed the court appoints an official defense counsel to the defendant.

Disclosure of Evidence to the Defense for Trial Preparation

When a public prosecutor intends to submit evidence related at a public trial, the defendant or defense counsel is given in advance the opportunity to know the names and address of witnesses, expert witnesses, interpreters or translators, as well as the opportunity to peruse evidential documents and exhibits. As regards the evidential documents or exhibits a public prosecutor intends to submit, he or she is obliged to give the defendant or defense counsel the opportunities to access them as early as possible before the first date of the trial. In addition, the court may in certain cases, in the course of the examination of evidence, individually issue a discovery order of evidence held by the public prosecutor. The defendant and defense counsel are thus guaranteed adequate opportunities to access evidence necessary for the preparation of the trial.

Changes in the Code of Civil Procedure

The " Code of Civil Procedure" is in force in Japan regarding the proceedings for civil law suits. The Code covers the content suitable to this Article.

However, the section in the Code, which regulates procedures for civil law suits, has been modified only partially on several occasions subsequent to a complete revision carried out in 1925. The structure of civil law suit proceedings stand today fundamentally as it was in 1926. Dramatic social changes, economic development and other circumstance changes have taken place in the interim between the time when the Code was enacted and the present, and civil disputes have accordingly become more complex and diversified. For these and other reasons, questions are being raised as to whether, from a variety of perspectives, the rules on civil law suit proceedings laid out in the law as it stands fit the situation of today's society. In this connection also, a variety of problems and dissatisfaction relating to civil law suits, such as the excessive time taken for trials, have been pointed out both at home and abroad.

Given such circumstances, the Subcommittee on Civil Procedures of the Legislative Council of the Ministry of Justice, an advisory body to the Minister of Justice, began deliberations in July 1990 on undertaking a complete review of rules governing civil law suit proceedings, targetted at making civil suits easier to use and to understand. The Subcommittee carried out its task cautiously, on two occasions gathering a broad range of opinions from related groups, such as members of the legal profession, universities, industrial organization, trade unions and the like. It then drew up a proposal of outlines for reform, based on which " Outlines for Reform of Civil Suit Proceedings" was proposed to the Minister of Justice on 26 February 1996. The " Bill of Civil Procedure" , based on the above proposal, was submitted to the Diet on 12 March 1996. Following partial modification, it was passed on 18 June 1996. The new law is to take effect starting on a date to be fixed by cabinet order, but no later than two years from 26 June 1996, the date of its promulgation.

The major points of reform in the new " Code of Civil Procedure" are as described below.

(a) Improvement of Procedures for Consolidating Points of Contention and Evidence

Three types of procedure have been established, namely the " preparatory oral argument," which aims at consolidating points of contention and evidence; the " argument preparatory procedure," which makes improvement on the current preparatory proceedings; and the " written preparatory procedure" , which is a procedure for consolidating points of contention and evidence by submitting written preparatory documents and other materials, without the appearance of the party concerned. The above-mentioned choice of procedure for consolidating points of contention as appropriate to each case's nature, content and so on, is expected to facilitate consolidation of points of contention and the like appropriately and quickly.

(b) Expansion of Proceedings for Gathering Evidence

The range of written documents subject to an order of submission has been expanded, while paying due consideration to the prevention of any abuse, to facilitate the gathering of evidence necessary for the lawsuit and thereby enabling adequate preparation for the consolidation of the case's points of contention and the like. The procedures for ordering the submission of written documents have also been improved. Moreover, the procedures of inquiry of the parties have been established, which enable information necessary for the preparation of the party's claims and proofs to be acquired directly from the other party.

Special civil law suit proceedings have been established for those cases, which seek payment of less than 300,000 yen. The proceedings call, in principle, for deliberation to be completed in one day with a judgments rendered on the same day. Under the proceedings court may render judgements ordering payment in installments or granting a grace period for payment deadline, taking into consideration the financial circumstances and the like of the defendant, to facilitate defendants to fulfill their sentence voluntarily. The proceedings aims at offering the ordinary citizens opportunities to have their disputes settled properly, quickly and at a reasonable cost for the subject-matter of their suit.

(d) Improvement of the System of Appealing to the Supreme Court

Regarding appeals to the Supreme Court, a system for receipt of appeals has been introduced, which authorizes the Supreme Court, by ruling, not to accept an appeal for those cases, which do not contain important issues on interpretation of law and ordinance. At the same time, for the cases disposed of by ruling, a system has been introduced which permit an appeal to the Supreme Court. Under the system, a party may appeal to the Supreme Court with the permission of a High (Appellate) Court, in cases which contain important issues on interpretation of law and ordinance. The reform thus aims at enabling the Supreme Court to fully carry out its important responsibility to unify interpretations of constitution, law and ordinance.

The System of Legal Aid

The legal aid system is established to guarantee " the right to trial" as stipulated in Article 32 of the Constitution, as described in Appendix 1 of the Second Periodic Report. The system covers cost for litigation, defense counsel and other fees for those, including foreign nationals in Japan, who would otherwise be unable to pursue a civil law suit due to their poverty.

In principle, disbursements must be repaid in full. However, in cases involving special circumstances, such as the inability to acquire payment of money from the other party, repayment is deferred temporarily or excused. The main body for legal aid activities in Japan is the Legal Aid Association founded in 1952 by the Japan Federation of Bar Associations. The Government of Japan makes efforts for the proper administration of legal aid activities by paying subsidies to that association and overseeing its operations.

The number of cases receiving such legal aid has increased each year. In the fiscal year of 1995, the number of such cases was 6,147. (In addition, as a special measure, legal aid was provided in 1,373 cases involving victims of the Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake of January 1995.)

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