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- Protection of Human Rights
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- Elimination of Shortages/Uneven Distribution of Attorneys
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White Paper on Attorneys 2016
Full Text (PDFfile;2.2MB)
Contents
Feature: International Activities of Lawyers and the Role of Bar Associations
Chapter 1 Activities relating to Public-interest, Human Rights, Achievement of the Rule of Law, etc ... 4
| 1.1 | International Human Rights Activities | . | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.1.1 Current Situations Surrounding Japan, and Problems Faced by Japan | . | 4 | |
| (1) Current Situations Surrounding Japan in the Field of Human Rights | . | 4 | |
| (2) Facing Problems | . | 4 | |
| (3) Roles expected of legal professionals and bar associations | . | 4 | |
| 1.1.2. Activities at the United Nations (UN) and International Conferences | . | 4 | |
| 1.1.3. Activities Related to the UN Human Rights Bodies and the UPR | . | 6 | |
| 1.2. International Cooperation | . | 7 | |
| 1.2.1. Current Activities of the JFBA and the Role of Attorneys | . | 7 | |
| 1.2.2. Past and Current JFBA Assistance Projects for Bar Associations in Developing Countries (by Country) | . | 7 | |
| 1.2.3. JICA Long-Term Experts Achievement | . | 10 |
Chapter 2 Activities relating to the Legal Profession and the Role of Bar Associations ... 12
| 2.1 | International Exchange Activities | . | 12 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2.1.1. Current Situation and Issues Faced | . | 12 | |
| 2.1.2. Membership of International Organization | . | 12 | |
| Column: Making the next leap with Asian legal professionals; the 30th LAWASIA Conference 2017 in Tokyo | . | 14 | |
| 2.1.3. MOUs between the JFBA and Overseas Bar Organizations | . | 15 | |
| 2.1.4. MOUs between Local Bar Associations and Overseas Bar Organizations | . | 15 | |
| 2.2 | Overseas Visiting Fellow Program | . | 17 |
| 2.2.1 JFBA Overseas Visiting Fellow Program for Attorneys Engaged in Public Interest Activities | . | 17 | |
| 2.2.2 JFBA Overseas Visiting Fellow Program for Attorneys Practicing in the Field of International Business | . | 20 | |
| 2.3 | Support for Working in International Organizations | . | 20 |
| 2.3.1 Implementation of Various Seminars and Events | . | 20 | |
| 2.3.2 Information Service Using Mailing List, etc. | . | 21 | |
| 2.3.3 Implementation of Judicial Apprentice Training and Internships at the Offices of International Organizations in Japan | . | 21 | |
| 2.3.4 Establishment of Support Organizations | . | 21 | |
| 2.4 | Support Program for Attending International Meetings | . | 21 |
Chapter 3 Activities to Strengthen the Structure for Providing Legal Services Supporting Various Legal Needs in Society ... 23
| 3.1 | Promotion of International Practice by Attorneys | . | 23 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3.1.1 JFBA’s Activities to Promote International Practice by Attorneys | . | 23 | |
| 3.1.2 Activities by Local Bar Associations to Promote International Practice by Attorneys | . | 25 | |
| 3.2 | Legal Assistance for Overseas Business Development of Small and Medium Sized Enterprises | . | 26 |
| 3.2.1 Current Status of JFBA Activities | . | 26 | |
| 3.2.2 Lawyer Referral System for Japanese SMEs going Overseas and its Partner Organization Accreditation System | . | 27 | |
| 3.3 | Relationship between JFBA and Partner Organizations | . | 27 |
Chapter 4 The Future of the JFBA's International Activities ... 29
Part 1
Current Situation of Attorneys and Other Legal Professions ... 30
Chapter 1 Population of Attorneys ... 30
| 1.1 | The Japan Federation of Bar Associations and the Number of Attorneys | . | 30 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.2 | Constitution According to Age | . | 32 |
Chapter 2 The Number of Populations relating to Legal Professionals ... 33
| 2.1 | The Status of the Number of Applicants for Law Schools and Enrollment of People | . | 33 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2.2 | The Status of Successful Bar Examination Candidates | . | 34 |
| 2.2.1 Pass Rate of Bar Examination | . | 34 | |
| 2.2.2 Situation Surrounding the Preliminary Examination for the Bar Examination | . | 36 | |
| 2.3 | The Number of Legal Apprentices who Have Completed Legal Training per Chosen Profession | . | 37 |
| 2.4 | The Number of Judges, Prosecutors, and Attorneys | . | 39 |
| 2.5 | Comparison of the Total Number of Lawyers, Judges, and Public Prosecutors with those of Foreign Countries | . | 40 |
| 2.5.1 The Number of People per Lawyer (Cross-country Comparison) | . | 40 | |
| 2.5.2 The Number of People per Judge (Cross-country Comparison) | . | 40 | |
| 2.5.3 The Number of People per Public Prosecutor (Cross-country Comparison) | . | 41 | |
| 2.5.4 The Number of People per Legal Professional (Cross-country Comparison) | . | 42 | |
| 2.6 | Changes in Populations of Other Legal Professions | . | 45 |
Chapter 3 Mergers of Law Offices and the Current Situation of Legal Professional Corporations ... 46
| 3.1 | The Number of Attorneys in Law Offices | . | 46 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3.2 | Current Situation of Legal Professional Corporations | . | 48 |
| 3.2.1 The Number of Legal Professional Corporations | . | 48 | |
| 3.2.2 Size of Legal Professional Corporations | . | 50 |
Chapter 4 Current Situation of Gaikokuho-Jimu-Bengoshi ("Registered Foreign Lawyers") ... 51
| 4.1 | Changes in the Number of Gaikokuho-Jimu-Bengoshi | . | 51 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4.2 | Registration of Gaikokuho-Jimu-Bengoshi (Registered Foreign Lawyers) | . | 52 |
| 4.3 | Situations regarding Alliances with Foreign Law Joint Enterprises | . | 53 |
| 4.4 | The Number of Foreign Lawyers Employed by Attorneys and Legal Professional Corporations | . | 55 |
| 4.4.1 By Nationality | . | 55 | |
| 4.4.2 By Home Jurisdiction | . | 55 | |
| 4.5 | World Law Firms and Their Entry into the Japanese Market | . | 57 |
Part 2
Activities of Attorneys ... 58
Chapter 1 Criminal Advocacy Activities ... 58
| 1.1 | Duty Attorney (Toban Bengoshi) and Court-Appointed Attorney Systems for Suspects | . | 58 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.1.1 Outline of Duty Attorney and Court-Appointed Attorney Systems for Suspects | . | 58 | |
| 1.1.2 Current Situation of the Duty Attorney (Toban Bengoshi) System | . | 59 | |
| 1.1.3 Changes in the Number of Duty Attorney Requested Cases, Appointed Cases, and Criminal Suspect Defense Aid Cases | . | 60 | |
| 1.1.4 Public Defense System Available Prior to Indictment | . | 61 | |
| 1.1.4.1 Operation Status of Court-Appointed Attorney System for Suspects | . | 61 | |
| 1.1.4.2 Permission or Rejection for Detention Requests | . | 62 | |
| 1.2 | The Status of Defense Attorneys Involvement in the Overall Criminal Cases | . | 63 |
| 1.2.1 The Status of Court-Appointed Attorney Contracts and the Number of Defendants with Court-Appointed Attorneys | . | 63 | |
| 1.2.2 Changes in the Percentage of Retaining Criminal Defense Counsel (after Indictment) (Court-Appointed and Privately Retained) at District Courts | . | 63 | |
| 1.2.3 Changes in the Percentage of Retaining Criminal Defense Counsel (after Indictment) (Court-Appointed and Privately Retained) at Summary Courts | . | 64 | |
| 1.2.4 Changes in the Percentage of Defendants Retaining Criminal Defense Counsel (after Indictment) (Court-Appointed and Privately Retained) at High Courts | . | 65 | |
| 1.3 | Defense Activities in Juvenile Cases | . | 65 |
| 1.4 | The Lay Judge System | . | 67 |
| 1.4.1 Cases Determined by Lay Judges | . | 67 | |
| 1.4.2 Actual Practice of Lay Judge Trials | . | 69 | |
| 1.4.2.1 The Number of Persons Who Have Been Subjected to Saiban-in (Lay Judges) Trials and Have Been Finalized | . | 69 | |
| 1.4.2.2 Comparison of the Average Period Taken for Court Deliberations and the Average Period of the Pretrial Conference Procedure (by confession and denial), etc. | . | 69 |
Chapter 2 Activities in Civil and Other Lawsuits ... 72
| 2.1 | Civil Lawsuits | . | 72 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2.1.1 Attorneys’ Involvement in Ordinary Civil Lawsuits before District Courtsurts | . | 72 | |
| 2.1.2 Attorneys’ Involvement in Ordinary Civil Lawsuits before Summary Courtsrts | . | 73 | |
| 2.1.3 Changes in the Percentage of Appointed Attorneys in Ordinary Second Instance Trials (before High Courts) | . | 74 | |
| 2.2 | Supporting Activities for Criminal Victims | . | 75 |
| 2.3 | JFBA Support Activities for Affected People in Relation to the Great East Japan Earthquake | . | 76 |
| 2.3.1 Recommendations, etc. the JFBA has Issued and Legislation and Systems Realized | . | 76 |
Chapter 3 Expansion of Attorneys’ Activities ... 78
| 3.1 | Current Situation of In-house Attorneys | . | 78 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3.1.1 Changes in the Number of In-house Attorneys | . | 78 | |
| 3.1.2 Situation of Public Officers with Fixed Terms | . | 79 | |
| 3.2 | Actual Situation of Attorneys - From the Survey Conducted in 2015 | . | 81 |
| 3.3 | Diet Members and Head of Local Governments Registered as Attorneys | . | 81 |
Part 3
Activities of the JFBA and Local Bar Associations ... 82
Chapter 1 Autonomy of Attorneys ... 82
| 1.1 | Complaints and Dispute Conciliations | . | 82 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.1.1 Complaints against Attorneys | . | 82 | |
| 1.1.2 Dispute Conciliation | . | 83 | |
| (1) Number of Dispute Conciliation Cases Newly Received | . | 83 | |
| (2) Handling of Dispute Conciliation Cases (All Bar Associations) | . | 83 |
| 1.2 | Disciplinary System for Attorneys and its Operation | . | 84 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.2.1 Summary of the Disciplinary System for Attorneys | . | 84 | |
| (1) Request for Discipline | . | 84 | |
| (2) Investigation by Disciplinary Enforcement Committee | . | 84 | |
| (3) Examination by Disciplinary Actions Committee | . | 84 | |
| (4) Filing of an Objection, etc. | . | 85 | |
| 1.2.2 Statistics Regarding Disciplinary Actions | . | 87 | |
| (1) Changes in the Number of Newly Accepted Requests for Disciplinary Actions (All Bar Associations) | . | 87 | |
| (2) Details of Handling the Requests for Disciplinary Actions (All Bar Associations) | . | 88 | |
| (3) Ratio of Disciplinary Actions (All Bar Associations) | . | 89 | |
| 1.2.3 Operation of the Disciplinary System | . | 90 | |
| (1) Cases Handled by Disciplinary Enforcement Committees of Bar Associations and the JFBA | . | 90 | |
| (2) Cases Handled by Disciplinary Actions Committees of Bar Associations and the JFBA | . | 91 | |
| (3) Cases Handled by the JFBA Board of Discipline Review | . | 93 | |
| 1.2.4 The Flow and Current Situation of Disciplinary Procedure | . | 93 |
Chapter 2 The JFBA's Activities involving Human Rights Redress ... 94
| 2.1 | The Operation of the Human Rights Redress System | . | 94 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2.1.1 Procedures for Human Rights Redress System | . | 94 | |
| 2.2 | Current Situation Regarding the Retrial Cases Supported by the JFBA | . | 97 |
| 2.2.1 Retrial Cases Supported by the JFBA | . | 97 | |
| 2.2.2 Achievement by the JFBA for its Support on Retrial Request Cases | . | 97 |
Part 4
Comprehensive Legal Support ... 100
Chapter 1 Japan Legal Support Center (Ho-terasu) ... 100
| 1.1 | Scope of Operations of Ho-terasu | . | 100 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.2 | Support Operations Entrusted by the JFBA | . | 101 |