- The Judicial System Reform
Council submitted the Council's opinion document to Prime Minister
Koizumi today. This council, established under Cabinet in July 1999,
has held more than 60 meetings over two years, and has advanced investigation
and deliberations about reform of the judicial system of Japan. Moreover,
the Council consists of not only 3 parties of the judicial world (judges,
prosecutors and lawyers) and other law experts, but also representatives
of ordinary users, including working people, in order to meet expectation
of realizing familiar administration of justice.
- The Council's opinion
document claims that the role of administration of justice becomes
much more important in connection with changes in the economic and
social environment of Japan. It raises the following proposals as
a direction of the reform:
| (1) |
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Introduce the jury system to allow the participation of ordinary people in a part of criminal cases; |
| (2) |
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Introduce labor mediation to deal with a labor dispute and to start immediately; |
| (3) |
|
Examine whether social partners should participate in a labour case or not and discussing how legal procedures of a labour case can be improved;
|
| (4) |
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Increase the number of successful candidates of the National Bar Examination to 1,500 persons by 2004 and 3,000 by 2010; |
| (5) |
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Establish a mechanism to reflect the people's opinions in the process of appointing judges and managing courts and bar associations;
|
| (6) |
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Guarantee a mechanism to provide an assistant judge with various experiences as a means to review the career system for judges and abolish special assistant judges. |
- However, there are also
points that have gone too far without sufficient examination. For
example, although labour court cases and the labour mediation system
should be argued in parallel, the Council only proceeds with the discussion
on the labour mediation system. Moreover, the Council disregards the
voice of many people against charging lawyer expense to the looser
and proposes the introduction of such system. About administrative
litigation, although there was voice of reform from administrative
law scholars, consumers' associations, etc., the Council postpones
the concrete discussion, which is regrettable.
- A RENGO expects that the Council's opinion document be steadily implemented in a firm promotion structure. For that purpose, the promotion structure should be participated by not only law experts but also representatives of ordinary people and should monitor the progress made. Moreover, an organization should be immediately established to examine points needed for further examination. It should also examine the expansion of the jury system from criminal cases to civil cases and the procedure of a verdict by a jury.
RENGO is determined to do one's best, in order to realize administration of justice for the people suitable in the 21st century
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