Attorney-Client Privelege

2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 16K03372
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Criminal law
• Research Institution: Keio University
• Principal Investigator: SASAKURA Hiroki 慶應義塾大学, 法務研究科(三田), 教授 (00313057)
• Project Period (FY): 2016-04-01 – 2023-03-31
• Keywords: 弁護士・依頼者間秘匿特権 / 証拠法

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This study examines whether and how the attorney-client privilege should be implemented in Japan, in addition to the existing protection of attorneys' professional secrecy. It employs a comparative legal analysis and explores policy and institutional considerations with the aim of delving into the principles underpinning the privilege.
During the initial phase, the emphasis was placed on comparative perspectives, with an effort to articulate and manifest the conceptual foundations underlying Japan's current law. The results were subsequently presented at the XXth International Congress of Comparative Law in Fukuoka, 2018.
In the later phase, shifting the focus, I critically examined the subject from policy and institutional perspectives. Although no publications directly addressing the study's main theme were completed within the timeframe, multiple papers emerged as byproducts of the project, exploring various procedural issues from a policy or institutional standpoint.

Free Research Field

刑事訴訟法

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

「弁護士・依頼者間秘匿特権」は，現時点では，我が国では権利として承認されるに至っていない。なぜそうであるのかを明らかにすることを通じて，将来に向けたその導入の実現の手掛かりを得ることができる。その際には，憲法上の権利保障や憲法上の理念に依拠した実定法学（法教義学）の作法に基づく議論とともに，法学の言説から一歩外に出て実益に着目した政策論的・制度論的な議論も必要である。本研究は不十分ながらもこの二兎を追うことを目指したものである。もとより研究は道半ばであり，今後さらに検討を深めたい。