Access to constitutions from around the world, making it easy to compare the constitution or constitutional provisions of one country with other countries.
Legislative power resides in the National Diet and is the only law-making body in Japan. There are two chambers of parliament: House of Councilors – Upper Diet (Sangi-In) and House of Representatives—Lower Diet (Shūgi-In).
Official publication for the actions of Japanese legislature. Statutes are promulgated after they are passed by the Congress. The emperor promulgates them and new legislation is published in Kanpō(Gazettes).
The Research and Legislative Reference Bureau (RLRB) prepares research papers on government policy and legal analysis of potential political issues exclusively at the request of the National Diet of Japan. The RLRB also provides English translations of selected materials on Japanese society, economics, legislation, and other issues for the benefit of research analysts in parliamentary libraries throughout the world.
Click "List of Recent Cases" to see the last 3 months of case reports from Supreme and lower courts and 1 month from the Intellectual Property High Court.
Overview booklet includes sections on the Constitution of Japan, Supreme Court, Courts other than the Supreme Court (Lower Courts), Justices, Judges, and Court Officials other than Judges, Public Prosecutors and Attorneys, and Citizen Participation in the Judicial Process. There are three additional outlines on civil procedure, criminal justice, and family court. PDFs in English provided by Supreme Court.
Subject Collections of Legal Materials
Subject law collections provide access cases and legislation from Japan and other countries pertaining to a specific subject area. Using a subject law collection is particularly helpful when you are comparing the laws of more than one country.
For each country, includes background on the legal system and legal publication, as well as citations to laws on particular topics and English language translations. The most important bibliographic resource for foreign law research.
