Study of National Situation and Regional Differences in Representation by Judicial Sciriveners in Summary Court

2021 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 18K01216
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 05010:Legal theory and history-related
• Research Institution: Kobe University
• Principal Investigator: Baba Ken-ichi 神戸大学, 法学研究科, 教授 (30238224)
• Project Period (FY): 2018-04-01 – 2022-03-31
• Keywords: 認定司法書士 / 司法書士代理 / 弁護士代理 / 司法統計 / 過払い事件 / 簡裁代理 / 代理率の地方差 / 法律家の競争環境

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The study examined summary court representation by certified judicial scriveners. As a nationwide trend, the number of lawsuits claiming restitution of unjust enrichment based on overpayments has temporarily increased significantly with the rise in the number of such lawsuits. The increase in the number of cases handled by attorneys at law in the summary court system has also contributed to reduction of lawsuits filed in person. In addition, the representation of judicial scriveners in overpayment cases is active in areas where the problem of multiple debts was serious, and where attorneys do not work hard on small claims cases, it was confirmed statistically and through field surveys that they are working as a supplement to these cases. In areas where registration services, which are the traditional business of judicial scriveners, are relatively common and the business environment is not so competitive, we found that they are not enthusiastic about representation in brief trials.

Free Research Field

法社会学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

平成司法改革で導入された司法書士が簡易裁判所において代理人となれる仕組が，国民の司法利用の利便性の向上に一定程度寄与していることと，今なお残る課題とを，統計の分析や現地調査といった科学的な手法で説得力のある形で示すことができた。日本の法律家の実態についてのこれまでの研究に新しい知見を加える点で学術的意義があるとともに，弁護士，司法書士といった法律家の現状と今後の展望に対して，政策的にも大きな意味を持つ視点をもたらしたことで，社会的意義もあるものとなった。