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Rights of the Criminally Accused

NCJ Number
129233
Journal
Law and Contemporary Problems Volume: 53 Issue: 1 and 2 Dated: special issue (Winter/Spring 1990) P 71-107 (N 2)
Author(s)
B J George Jr
Date Published
1990
Length
36 pages
Annotation
The article provides a comprehensive overview of the protections afforded accused persons under Japanese law.
Abstract
The article first explores the historical sources of the safeguards built into modern Japanese criminal law and procedure. The feudal era and the Meiji period provided a system of little protections or rights which the 1947 constitution then tried to change. The article then discusses the general treatment of rights and the structure of the criminal justice system under the 1947 Japanese constitution. The article concludes with a detailed discussion of the substantive and procedural protections available to accused persons under the Japanese constitution and the Code of Criminal Procedure, such as detention and release, counsel, multiple convictions for the same offense, public trial, impartial tribunal, presence and examination of witnesses, right of silence, adjudication, and appeal. 321 notes