Der Stellenwert des Obersten Gerichtshofes in der Japanischen Verfassung – Was erwartet die Gesellschaft: Höchste Fachkenntnisse oder sozialen „Common Sense“?

Abstract

In his speech delivered at the 20th anniversary of the German-Japanese Association of  Jurists  (DJJV),  Supreme  Court  Justice  Prof. Dr. Tokiyasu Fujita  examines  the  role  of  the Supreme Court of Japan. Justice Fujita explains that the way supreme court justices  are traditionally selected evidences the underlying aim to have final judgments not taken  exclusively by excellent specialists of procedural  law, but to include the common sense  of experienced personalities from various fields of life. As an example for the diversity  of views on the Court, Justice Fujita refers to the recent  en banc decision of the Court  declaring a provision of the Nationality Act unconstitutional. In this case, besides the  majority  opinion,  no  less  than  seven  justices  gave  their  individual  reasoning  in  concurring and dissenting opinions. Furthermore, Justice Fujita pointed to the mechanism  by which any justice of Supreme Court, when first being appointed and again after each  decade of service, must be approved by a public referendum held together with the next  general election of the Lower House. While no justice has ever been refused, as only novotes are counted and most voters feel unable to assess the qualities of the candidates  on the ballot, the voting results are carefully observed by the justices. As an effort to  more  intensively  engage  the  general  public  in  the  operation  of  justice,  Justice  Fujita  touched upon the new lay judges system to be introduced in criminal cases from 2009.  Being himself a former university professor Justice Fujita concluded his speech by expressing his commitment to the goal to make the Court’s decisions and Japanese justice  as such more understandable for the general public.

(The editors)