KUROSAWA Mutsumi    Department   Undergraduate School  , School of Law    Position   Professor
Date	2012/08/22
Presentation Theme	Changes in the Relationship of Victims and Criminal Justice Processes from the Perspective of "Kokuso" (Criminal Complaint) and "Shinkoku-zai" (Offence Prosecuted only upon a Criminal Complaint): From Early Meiji Era (1868–) to the Present
Conference	The 4th Annual Conference of the Asian Criminological Society
Promoters	The Asian Criminological Society
Presentation Type	Speech (General)
Contribution Type	Individual
Details	This research proposes a new approach to conceiving the relationship between victims and criminal justice processes. In the early Meiji Era (1868–1890), the Kokuso (criminal complaint; Strafantrag) 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; Antragsdelikt) without the Kokuso. Therefore, the Kokuso is a victim’s right to stop prosecution, and thus stop investigation. Provisions of the Shinkoku-zai (in particular, the special provision for theft committed against relatives and minor crimes of damage to property) 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.