NCJ Number
129226
Journal
Law and Contemporary Problems Volume: 53 Issue: 1 and 2 Dated: special issue (Winter/Spring 1990) Pages: 135-162
Date Published
1990
Length
28 pages
Annotation
The article examines the role of the Japanese judiciary and its status within Japan's parliamentary system.
Abstract
A review of the history of the Japanese judicial system before the 1947 constitution begins the article. The organization of Japan's courts and their respective jurisdictions reveals that there are five levels or types of courts in Japan: summary courts, family courts, district courts, high courts, and the Supreme Court. The focus of the article shifts to Japan's judges and the process of judicial selection, judicial appointment, and the effect on judicial independence. This relationship is argued to be very important because the power of reappointment places certain limitations of judicial independence in Japan, thereby affecting controversial political decisions. The Japanese judiciary is seen as not being in a position to be an instrument for social, economic, and political change, but more in a position of preserving basic civil liberties guaranteed by the constitution. 126 notes