Legislative Recommendations and Opinions

As an organization of legal professionals, Toben analyzes and examines proposed legislation and amendments to existing laws, and provides opinions, comments and proposals directly or through Nichibenren.

As many important changes in the civil law system have evolved in recent years, several substantial amendments have been made to our civil laws, such as amendments to the provisions in the Commercial Code concerning companies, which were codified in a new, separate Company Law, Family Law amendments in the Civil Code, the Land Lease and House Lease Laws and the Anti-Monopoly Law as well as amendments to the Code of Civil Procedure concerning civil enforcement and foreclosure and a total overhaul of the Code of Civil Procedure. Toben has significant interests in these legislative amendments from its position outside of government. Toben has been constructively involved, has presented opinions and has made proposals through means such as the dispatch of council members to legislative councils. Such proposals concerning legislation or judicial authority have taken root and have produced significant results. They have become an important activity of Toben.

In the field of criminal law, Toben has strong interests, in that many of its members serve also as criminal defense counsel. Toben has vigorously criticized draft amendments to existing statutes and has actively opposed the draft amendments to the Juvenile Law, and the presentation to the Diet of the two bills, namely, the Prison Law and the Detention Facility Law, concerning the increasing potential for violations of human rights by these various amendments.