TSV

Types of Court Cases in Japan - TSV

The Japanese court system is fundamentally based on three major types of litigation: civil proceedings to resolve disputes over rights and obligations between individuals and corporations, criminal proceedings to determine guilt or innocence of criminal acts, and administrative proceedings to review complaints against administrative actions by national or local governments. Each follows distinct procedures and trial methods based on the Code of Civil Procedure, Code of Criminal Procedure, and Administrative Case Litigation Act. This classification system, including court types and the three-instance trial system, is essential for understanding Japan's judicial system.

court civil litigation criminal litigation administrative litigation judicial system legal procedure court system
code	slug	name	description	category	governingLaw	parentCode
CIV	civil-litigation	Civil Litigation	Proceedings to resolve disputes over rights and obligations between individuals and corporations.	Civil Cases	Code of Civil Procedure	
CIV-ORD	ordinary-civil-proceedings	Ordinary Civil Proceedings	The standard form of civil litigation for general property-related disputes.	Types of Civil Litigation		CIV
CIV-BILL	bill-and-note-action	Bill and Note Action	Special expedited proceedings for claims on bills and checks.	Types of Civil Litigation		CIV
CIV-SML	small-claims-proceedings	Small Claims Proceedings	Simplified proceedings for monetary claims up to 600,000 yen, usually completed in one hearing.	Types of Civil Litigation		CIV
CIV-FAM	family-proceedings	Family Proceedings	Proceedings for family-related disputes such as divorce, annulment of marriage, and acknowledgment of children.	Types of Civil Litigation		CIV
CRIM	criminal-litigation	Criminal Litigation	Proceedings to determine guilt, innocence, and sentencing for criminal acts.	Criminal Cases	Code of Criminal Procedure	
CRIM-FORMAL	formal-trial	Formal Trial	The standard form of criminal trial with evidence examination and arguments in open court.	Types of Criminal Litigation		CRIM
CRIM-SUMM	summary-proceedings	Summary Proceedings	Written-only proceedings for minor cases punishable by fines up to 1 million yen.	Types of Criminal Litigation		CRIM
CRIM-SIMPLE	simplified-trial-procedure	Simplified Trial Procedure	Simplified evidence examination for cases where the defendant admits to the charged facts.	Types of Criminal Litigation		CRIM
ADMIN	administrative-litigation	Administrative Litigation	Proceedings to review complaints against administrative actions by national or local governments.	Administrative Cases	Administrative Case Litigation Act	
ADMIN-OBJ	objection-proceedings	Objection Proceedings	Subjective proceedings to challenge the exercise of administrative authority.	Types of Administrative Litigation		ADMIN
ADMIN-REV	revocation-action	Revocation Action	The most important objection proceeding seeking revocation of administrative dispositions or decisions.	Types of Objection Proceedings		ADMIN-OBJ
ADMIN-PARTY	party-proceedings	Party Proceedings	Proceedings between parties contesting legal relationships under public law.	Types of Administrative Litigation		ADMIN
ADMIN-POP	popular-action	Popular Action	Objective proceedings where voters contest the validity of elections.	Types of Administrative Litigation		ADMIN
ADMIN-INST	institutional-proceedings	Institutional Proceedings	Objective proceedings to resolve jurisdictional disputes between government organs.	Types of Administrative Litigation		ADMIN