| On June 11, the
Diet enacted a law to introduce a system that allows assistant
judges and public prosecutors to gain experience as practicing
attorneys. The system will start next April. It has been
established in response to the recommendations by the Justice
System Reform Council within the Cabinet, and intends assistant
judges and public prosecutors to further improve their competence
and qualities by having experience in another legal profession
while leaving their positions. Basically, the assistant
judges and public prosecutors will practice as attorney
for two years. During the period, they will be away from
their original positions and re-appointed as secretaries
of courts or prosecutor's offices. With retaining these
positions, they will register as practicing attorneys.
Though they keep public positions, they will not engage
in public services. This system has been established by
law as a quasi scheme of a law concerning public-private
interaction in order to assure their pensions and mutual
aid once they return to their original positions. Thus,
they may engage in criminal defense, cases against the
state, and administrative cases, etc. without any restriction.
Besides, it is desired that they are involved in a wide
range of activities as much as possible. Their compensation
will be paid by their law offices, not by the state.
A law office which is going to accept an assistant judge
or a public prosecutor will make an agreement with the
Supreme Court or the Ministry of Justice and enter into
an employment contract with the assistant judge or the
public prosecutor. Regarding the actual procedures to
accept these assistant judges and public prosecutors,
those who wish to gain experience as attorneys will visit
the law offices which will apply for this system in response
to the JFBA's request, and it will be decided whether
they will work for the offices or not.
For operating this system, cooperation and partnership
between bar associations and each of the Supreme Court
and the Ministry of Justice are essential. The JFBA had
been exchanging opinions with the Supreme Court and the
Ministry of Justice and, following the enactment of this
law, it reached an agreement with each of them on June
23 concerning the main points to operate the system. The
JFBA will further discuss about the details and prepare
for implementing this system including recruitment of
law offices which may accept these assistant judges and
public prosecutors. The first year, around ten assistant
judges and several public prosecutors will practice as
attorneys mainly in metropolitan area. The JFBA will start
recruiting law offices in this July. The bar associations
also have to fully prepare for implementing this new system
so that as many assistant judges and public prosecutors
as possible will be able to gain experience as attorneys.
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