KUROSAWA Mutsumi    Department   Undergraduate School  , School of Law    Position   Professor
Language	English
Publication Date	2013/03
Type	Bulletin of Universities and Institutes
Title	Victim's Criminal Complaint and Restorative Justice （被害者の告訴と修復的司法）
Contribution Type	Sole-authored
Journal	The Meiji Law Journal
Journal Type	Japan
Publisher	The Institute of Law, Meiji University
Volume, Issue, Page	20,pp.19-24
Details	In the early Meiji Era (1868-1890), the Kokuso (criminal complaint) functioned similar to complaints processed according to civil procedure. The Kokuso assumed a purely public function. However, the Kokuso can be considered a victim's right to seek an appropriate investigation and obtain information as well as seek an appropriate prosecution. Prosecutors cannot prosecute offenders according to the Shinkoku-zai (offense prosecuted only upon a criminal complaint) without the Kokuso. Therefore, the Kokuso is a victim's right to stop prosecution, and thus stop investigation. Provisions of the Shinkoku-zai have purposes of settlement according to communities and/or parties. Moreover, the provision of the Shufuku (surrender him/herself to a person with the right to make the complaint), which is applied to all Shinkoku-zai, provides an opportunity for a restoration and apology. Considering these purposes, the Shinkoku-zai is considered as having a background in Restorative Justice.