Japan’s New Act on International Jurisdiction

On 28 April 2011, the Japanese National Diet (Parliament) passed a government-sponsored bill for enacting the bases of international jurisdiction of the Japanese courts. The new Act (“Act for the Partial Amendment of the Code of Civil Procedure and the Civil Interim Relief Act”) was promulgated on 2 May 2011. It will enter into force on the date to be fixed by a Cabinet Order within one year from promulgation. It contains provisions on international jurisdiction of the Japanese courts in civil and commercial matters (The matters of personal status are excluded from the scope), which will be inserted into the existing Code of Civil Procedure and Civil Interim Relief Act. The rules of international jurisdiction, which have hitherto been inferred from the judicial precedents, will for the first time be prescribed by legislation. This book sets forth the author’s English translation with annotations of the key provisions from the new Act and presents an overall evaluation of the Act.