日本司法改革的最前沿——日本新司法考试制度及法科大学院述评

The Forefront of Japanese Judicial Reform——Current Situation and Subject on Japanese New Judicial Examination System and Law School

在2002年我国首次开始实行国家统一司法考试的同时,日本也正在进行新一轮的以新司法考试为核心的司法改革。这次司法改革被称为日本法律史上的"第三次司法改革"。新司法考试制度的主要内容有两项:一是改革应试资格,在2002年(平成14年)对报考司法考试的应试资格进行了法律修改,规定原则上必须是法科大学院毕业才有应试资格,并限定了应试次数;二是改革考试形式,在2006年根据修改后的《司法考试法》施行了首次新司法考试,旧司法考试制度也将分阶段最终于2011年废除。改革的目的是将原来的选拔型方式的司法考试制度改为教育培养型的制度,注重通过法学教育过程、司法考试、司法实习的有机结合,来确保职业法律人才的素质。新司法考试自2006年度实施,在两年多的实践中暴露出了许多制度本身存在的问题,同时也为我们提供了许多崭新的视角。

In 2002,while our country was beginning to implement the national uniform judicial examination for the first time,Japan was also carrying out a new round of judicial reform centering on new judicial examination.This judicial reform is known as 'the third judicial reform' in Japanese history of law.The new judicial examination system includes two main parts.The first part is reform of test-taking qualification:in 2002(Heisei Year 14),the test-taking qualification of judicial examination was legally amended;and it regulated that in principle,only the graduates of law schools have the test-taking qualification and the times of writing the test are also limited.The second part is reform of examination form:in 2006,according to the amended Judicial Examination Law,the new judicial examination was carried out for the first time;the old judicial examination system will be repealed finally in 2011 by stages.The aim is to change the former selective judicial examination system into an educational and cultivated system and to focus on the logical combination of law education process,judicial examination and judicial practice to ensure the quality of professional legal talents.The new judicial examination has been carried out since 2006(Heisei Year 18).In the two-year practice of the new system,it has revealed many inherent problems ;while at the mean time,it has also provided us with many brand new perspectives.