Japan’s Civil Law System
Gwen, Simmons
Japan’s Civil Law System The purpose of civil law is to resolve non-criminal disputes. These disagreements may occur over the meaning of contracts, divorce, child custody, property ownership, either personal, or property damage. Civil courts are a place where decisions can be made to solve problems peacefully. The goal of a civil court is to provide legal remedies that ultimately solve problems. Civil law can be based on state or federal statute or a ruling by the court. In Japan, the different types of civil cases are civil litigation cases, civil conciliation cases, civil execution cases, and bankruptcy cases (Judicial Reform Council, 1999). The Japanese culture view courts as a last
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When a law system is the most used legal system in the world, it is certain to have advantages, but it will have some disadvantages. One advantage of the civil law system is that it remains formal within the judicial system. The civil law system abides by established codes and guidelines. This means the outcomes of most cases are predominantly predictable. This leaves very little room for defendants to claim discrimination if they are receiving the same outcomes as every other case with similar circumstances. Another benefit is that cases take less time, which helps to prevent lengthy trials and back logging of the court system. One of the biggest problems plaguing court systems is the amount of cases overwhelming the system. A high number of cases added to lengthy trials are additional setbacks to the judicial system. In addition juries can’t give inappropriate weight to an unreliable source nor can they misuse facts.
Taken from the German civil code; Japan continues to apply the civil law system as it is the most organized legal system. Although the civil system is trusted as the most organized and just judicial system in Japan, it does have a few disadvantages. With civil law, the rules of evidence are less stringent. Less stringent laws offer a disadvantage to the civil law system because this can leave room for much debate. When outcomes change and there is no consistency more defendants claim
Today, in the United States, most citizens are able to appreciate the fair, balanced legal system that is in place. The country suffered many failures before establishing the United States Constitution, and later the Bill of Rights, which became the foundation of the country’s legal system and protection of the citizens’ rights (American Sentinel University). Citizens may take their right to trial or their right to due process for granted, without realizing how life was before these rights were recognized and established. Until the Constitution in 1787, the justice system was not permanent and not quite clear, causing unfair and unjust treatment. Of course, no system can be perfect, but it is possible to discover options that suit the wants
Civil law is predicated upon the original Roman Law code wherein the person was presumed guilty until proven innocent. Countries such as Italy practice this code of law and the most recent case that symbolizes this type of law is the Amanda Knox case. Knox was interrogated for over 24 hours without a lawyer and presumed guilty until proven innocent, which runs contrary to the common law practiced in America. This is why the case caused outrage in America, which didn't understand the civil law practiced in Italy and how a suspect can be deemed guilty until proven innocent, which dictates that the defendant can be incarcerated until the person goes to trial.
Crime is committed everyday; some are reported and others crimes are not. Defendants accused of violating the law have characteristics that are implemented in the judicial system. The characteristics of a defendant in the judicial system is male, poor ,minority, uneducated, unemployed and unmarried. High crime rates, racial discrimination, bias makes the the judicial system broken. Racial discrimination has been part of the American judicial system. It Defendants are not treated fairly based on racial discrimination is an example that the judicial system is broken. It is stated that in America one third of Americans are
Court History and Purpose. The courts are a critical component of American criminal justice because they determine what should happen to people charged with violating the law. Courts are important beyond criminal justice, too. Disputes that arise between private parties, businesses, government officials, and the like are brought to court in order to ensure that they are heard, ideally, in a neutral forum (Siegel, Schmalleger, & Worrall, 2011). Succeeding in liberation and independence is difficult within the world and as simple as legally right and legally wrong. Courts emphasize on the power of the state and the legitimate use of force and protect people against the random use of legislative authority. The tension among the general
To be sure, modern laws are made to express the general will, a will that aims at the common good. This means that laws in most cases intend to protect every social member’s rights under the principle of justice and fairness. For telling examples one need to look no further than American judicial system. The access to the two courts systems, one federal court and one state court, provides citizens with the greatest potential to have their legal problems
To provide a balance in specific nations and considerations of cross cutting, the issues must go beyond national boundaries. The traditional contrast of adversarial versus legal systems will be to determine what impacted each system that may have on preventing wrongful convictions and whether or not the traditional difference remains viable or needs revision. The number of public policies intended to reduce the number of these convictions and compensate more fairly and just to those who are the victims of these mistrials.
The California judicial system and the United States federal system are different but comparable. Consequently, both the California and the United States federal judicial system handle different types of cases. Essentially, California handles cases that deal with 1) state courts 2) civil cases and 3) criminal cases. On the other hand, the United States federal system handle cases that deal with 1) the Constitution, 2) laws that are passed through congress and 3) cases in which the United States is a party. In spite of the fact that the California system and the United States federal system are different yet comparable, this paper will address both court systems concluding with the United States federal system being superior to the California system.
The American court system reinforces positive behavior and was designed to protect and provide justice to the members of society. To fully understand how the criminal court system operates, one must examine the role of courts in today’s criminal justice system. They must also understand the purpose of the court system and examine the role early legal codes, the common law, and precedent played in the development of courts.
In 1941 the supreme court made an unjust law that made the internment of Japanese-Americans, legal and it is easily said that it was unnecessary and a racist predicament.
Court reform has become a big issue in today’s line of justice because in the criminal courts, defendants accused of crimes but not yet found guilty of anything languish in jails awaiting the lengthy processes of trial while victims of crimes feel deprived of anything approaching equal access to the scope of rights afforded to those accused of crimes. In civil courts, there are allegations that many litigants file frivolous lawsuits, playing "liability lottery" in hopes of hitting a jackpot whether their claim has merit or not with a resulting outcry from some quarters demanding "tort reform" by those who would set up barriers to litigation
The differences between legal rules and other kinds of rules is that criminal law refers to the consequences associated with breaking them. As the substantive law meaning that it is the law of crimes, referring that Criminal law is the code conduct that all in the society need to follow the rule, and the prohibitions on murder, assault, and burglary. Meaning that if an individual violates or commits these crimes they are going to be treated as a criminal by punishing act from the state. Civil law is refers to procedural law to follow the rule of the state from someone that has committed a crime. Which it is divided into 5 categories, for example torts, property, contract, family, and juvenile law.
Under the civil law traditions of Japan, a judge simply calls attention to the specific
The purpose of civil law is to “deal with the disputes between individuals, organizations, or between the two, in which compensation is awarded to the victim,” (“Civil Law vs Criminal Law.”, 2012). Civil law applies when there is a dispute between private parties, and the government is not involved. The lack of government involvement also leads to easier negotiations. Civil cases can be much more flexible since there is typically no law being broken and thus, no legal actions have to be taken. The less rigid civil law cases also generally allow them to be settled quickly and without controversy. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, more than half of general civil trials conclude in state courts, meaning they are able to reach an agreement and do not have to continue spending unnecessary time and money on the case (“Civil Justice.”, 2017).
The legitimacy of the criminal justice system is based largely upon both its effectiveness and its fairness. Its effectiveness is judged by its ability to investigate and detect crime, identify offenders and mete out the appropriate sanctions to those who have been convicted of offences. Its fairness is judged by its thoroughness and the efforts it makes to redress the resource imbalance between the accused and the state at the investigatory, pre-trial, trial and appellate stages. The system does this by providing evidentiary protection and effective legal representation at all points.
Japan is generally weighed as being an eccentric, yet remarkable country compared to most. It 's unmistakable and precious culture, industrialized triumph, and immense conformity of the population is just a few examples. Having these standards, Japan has been examined and distinguished to be one of the most leading countries for the lowest crime rate in the world. “Japan shows the lowest overall crime rate with 22 incidents per 100 inhabitants, and the second lowest property crime rate” (Entorf, Spengler, 2002:21). This is a tremendous achievement for such an industrialized and high-populated country. Perhaps, some are contemplating on how Japan became to have one of the lowest crime rates, along with its influence and operation of its law enforcement system used today to service this success. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to educate and present a meticulous understanding of law enforcement in Japan as a whole. This paper will highlight the following: provide an analysis of the history, structure and organization of the Japanese system, the education and training requirements, issues being encountered regarding law enforcement, and the Japanese system that is being used currently.