[MOJ] Enactment of Legislation to Partially Amend the Rules of Civil Procedure, etc.

On May 18, 2022, the Legislation amending part of the Rules of Civil Procedure, etc., was passed by the House of Councilors and promulgated on May 25, 2022. (Law No. 48)

The Act's primary purpose is to encourage the use of IT, to speed up and improve the efficiency of civil proceedings and make civil trials more accessible to the public.

The specific details are as follows:

  • Petitions can be filed via the Internet
  • Enabling of oral arguments, examination of witnesses, etc. via web conference
  • Enabling of the viewing of electromagnetic litigation records on the Internet
  • Setting up of a procedure to complete a trial and render a judgment on a specific case within a certain period of time upon the request of a party.
  • Setting up of a system to keep the information confidential to protect crime victims.

In the deliberation process, organizations for persons with disabilities requested that the information be accessible to the visually impaired, blind, deaf, hard of hearing, etc. However, this request was not reflected in the text of the Act. Nevertheless, the request resulted in the supplementary resolution to include the sentence below:

How procedures can be accommodating for persons with disabilities who use civil proceedings are to be considered, including whether or not legislation should be developed to improve access for persons with disabilities. Consideration should be given to the system's operation after this Act comes into force and to the opinions of persons with disabilities to take the necessary measures.

The Act can be found on the website below.
https://www.shugiin.go.jp/internet/itdb_gian.nsf/html/gian/honbun/g20809054.htm

The supplementary resolution is below.
https://www.shugiin.go.jp/internet/itdb_rchome.nsf/html/rchome/Futai/houmu43F98F291A2C23594925882B002FF1D9.htm

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