Succession Law and Institutions of Imperial Family in Modern Japan and the German Law

2021 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 19K13487
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Basic Section 05010:Legal theory and history-related
• Research Institution: Kobe Gakuin University
• Principal Investigator: Fujikawa Naoki 神戸学院大学, 法学部, 准教授 (00632225)
• Project Period (FY): 2019-04-01 – 2022-03-31
• Keywords: 皇室典範 / 皇室法 / ドイツ法 / 皇位継承 / 憲法

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This study traces the development of public law theories on the succession and family law in modern German monarchies, and examines the influence of German jurisprudence on the enactment process and interpretive theories of the Meiji Imperial House Law, clarifying the reality of the reception in the modern Japanese imperial law from German law. The Imperial House Law was initially enacted as "house law" with reference to German doctrine, but the traditional German logic of autonomy and vested rights was eliminated. In the interpretation of the Imperial House Law, differences with Germany tended to be emphasized. However, the ideas of German jurisprudence were often actively used to construct theories of interpretation of the Imperial House Law, and there were references to German jurisprudence that were neither wholly accepting nor exclusionary.

Free Research Field

法制史

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究によって日本およびドイツの王位継承法・王室法に関する法学的議論の展開については、おおよその展望を得たように思われる。個別具体的な問題については積み残しも少なくないものの、摂政制度や皇室経済法、皇族に関する裁判など、本研究で取り上げなかった近代日本皇室制度史の諸問題についても、本研究を基礎としてアプローチすることが可能であるように思われる。また、ドイツ法制史に対しては、世襲君主制の問題にスポットライトをあて、それが近代公法学の発展において中核的な意義をもったことを具体的に示したことに本研究の意義があると考える。