Appellate courts' role heavier with lay judge trials
Two years have passed since the start of the lay judge system in which ordinary citizens take part in criminal proceedings as judges to help decide a trial outcome.
Supreme Court Chief Justice Hirochika Takezaki has said, "Thanks to the excellent qualities of lay judges, the system has run fairly smoothly."
Just as Takezaki commented, lay judges' efforts to steadily fulfill their weighty responsibility have greatly helped the system take root in society.
So far, more than 16,000 people have served as lay judges or reserve lay judges, handing down rulings to a total of 2,144 defendants as of May 14.
Over the past year, citizen judges have had to make tough decisions in an increasing number of cases, such as when a defendant denied committing the crime and when prosecutors sought the death penalty. The death sentence was handed down in five cases involving lay judges in the past year.
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Not all rulings upheld
In a case involving lay judges at the Kagoshima District Court in December, prosecutors had demanded the death penalty for a defendant accused of a robbery that resulted in death, but the court acquitted him. The panel of lay judges and professional judges criticized the prosecution, saying there were "questions about whether the investigation was carried out properly."
The district court ruling closely observed the principle of the benefit of the doubt, which says a defendant is innocent until proven guilty. The prosecution has appealed and the trial of second instance, or appellate trial, will be carried out with professional judges alone.
A Tokyo High Court ruling issued in March raised questions about to what extent an appeal court should value a district court decision made by a panel including lay judges.
In this case, the Chiba District Court found innocent a defendant who had been indicted for allegedly smuggling stimulant drugs in a can of chocolates. The court said his claim that he was unaware drugs were in the can "could not necessarily be deemed false."
The Tokyo High Court, however, reversed the district court's ruling and found the defendant guilty. The high court was swayed by the fact that the defendant's statements in court were often inconsistent, and concluded that the accused "fabricated stories every time his excuses failed to pass muster." The high court's decision also said the lower court's evaluation of the evidence was wrong.
The high court ruling has been criticized by some as playing down the meaning of the lay judge system.
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Value of 3-tier court system
The lay judge system is aimed at reflecting ordinary citizens' common sense in court rulings. High courts, as a matter of principle, should pay full attention to conclusions reached in trials in which lay judges have taken part.
However, a high court is quite entitled to review the conclusion reached by a court of first instance if it has doubts about that court's findings. This is the point of having a three-tiered judiciary system of district, high and supreme courts.
In a Yomiuri Shimbun survey on the roles of appellate courts, 80 percent of people with experience serving as lay judges were in favor of high courts "issuing judgments on their own, if necessary."
A high court also has the option of sending a case back to a district court to have it deliberated anew by a fresh lineup of lay judges.
What is important is that a higher court, if it objects to a lower court ruling, clearly demonstrate why it cannot support the decision. Appellate court proceedings are becoming increasingly important.
Govt must share burden of compensation for N-crisis
The anxiety over the financial strength of Tokyo Electric Power Co. cannot easily be wiped away as the utility faces a snowballing amount of compensation payments and other costs related to the nuclear crisis triggered by the Great East Japan Earthquake.
TEPCO registered a net loss of more than 1.2 trillion yen in fiscal 2010, according to its settlement of accounts for the fiscal year released Friday. This included losses related to decommissioning the reactors at its troubled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. The utility insisted its financial situation would not hinder its business operations, as it still has a sufficient amount of funds available. But it is obvious the company will have to shoulder a huge amount of additional expenses.
TEPCO must continue to supply electricity, which will be like walking a tightrope as summer approaches, while continuing to work to bring the crippled nuclear plant under control and compensate people affected by the accidents. If the company's finances are shaken at such a crucial time, confusion could spread.
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TEPCO can't bear whole load
We consider it unreasonable for the government to have TEPCO alone bear the costs related to the nuclear accidents. The government must clearly show that the responsibility will be shared collectively.
Along with the earnings report, TEPCO announced President Masataka Shimizu would resign to take responsibility for the accidents. He will be replaced by Managing Director Toshio Nishizawa. The company also presented additional restructuring plans aiming to obtain more than 1 trillion yen through cost-cutting efforts and assets sales.
It is natural for the company to clearly show its management responsibility and make painful efforts to come up with financial resources in the face of such serious accidents. But the costs related to the crisis are huge, and it is impossible to pay for it through restructuring measures alone.
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Costs astronomical
Fuel costs to run reactivated thermal power stations to replace inactivated nuclear plants are estimated to be 700 billion yen per year, and it could cost another 700 billion yen-plus to completely shut down and decommission the Nos. 1-4 reactors at the Fukushima plant. But these costs could swell further, and compensation for affected local residents and businesses is likely to amount to several trillion yen.
The government has decided to create a new entity to support TEPCO in making compensation payments but intends to make the utility return most of the money over time. We believe such a system, which places potentially limitless burdens on the utility, is highly problematic. The envisaged scheme should be modified during the legislative process.
TEPCO has about 5 trillion yen in outstanding corporate bonds, the largest amount among domestic companies. But the firm's credit rating has been lowered to near "noninvestment grade."
Under these circumstances, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano suggested major banks should waive some of the loans they have extended to TEPCO. Banks, however, voiced strong objections to the request, saying they could not extend new loans to the utility if they forgave loans they have already made.
It is unacceptable that a top administration official's remarks have fanned uncertainty and made it difficult for financial markets to maintain trust and confidence in the government. Edano must take this into consideration.
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