Justice at the open ports in early Meiji period

2021 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 17K13602
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Fundamental law
• Research Institution: Kobe Gakuin University
• Principal Investigator: TSUJIMURA Akihiko 神戸学院大学, 法学部, 准教授 (30547823)
• Project Period (FY): 2017-04-01 – 2022-03-31
• Keywords: 裁判所 / 司法制度 / 北海道 / 函館 / 札幌

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In Hakodate, where the port was opened to foreign trade, the Ministry of Justice and the Kaitakushi (Hokkaido Development Commission) worked together to establish a court as early as 1874, out of a need for speedy and fair handling of foreign relations cases. In Sapporo, where the main office of the Kaitakushi was located, there was a continuing conflict between the Kaitakushi, who wanted to establish a court as soon as possible, and the Ministry of Justice, which was reluctant to establish a court because it would not be cost-effective. In the early Meiji period, Hokkaido was in the process of incorporating into the "inland territories" of Japan, and Hakodate, which was the opening port, was an exception in that it achieved the early establishment of a court comparable to those in the "inland territories," indicating that the decision to open the port of Hakodate at the end of the Edo period had some impact on the introduction and expansion of the judicial system.

Free Research Field

日本法制史

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

日本において西洋型の裁判制度の導入にあたって、幕末に欧米列強と締結した通商条約において強要された領事裁判権の撤廃が大きな導因となったことは広く知られている。開港地・函館において裁判所設置が急がれた事情について、後年の札幌ヘの裁判所設置の場合の状況と比較し、明らかにすることを通じて、西洋型裁判制度の導入に対して開港およびそれに伴う外国人との接触が与えたインパクトの大きさを示すことができ、より精緻な歴史像を描くことに寄与したものと考えている。