Domestic Relations Case Procedure Act

When an immediate appeal is filed against a ruling, the court in charge of the appeal must send a copy of a petition for appeal to the party and interested party intervenor in the prior instance (excluding the appellant), except when the immediate appeal is unlawful or the immediate appeal is clearly groundless; provided, however, that if it is found that there is a risk of interfering with the smooth progress of proceedings in the instance of an appeal, the court in charge of the appeal may give notice to those parties of the fact that an immediate appeal is filed, in lieu of sending a copy of a petition for appeal.

When the presiding judge specifies a reasonable period and orders an appellant to prepay costs for sending a copy of a petition for appeal or giving notice in lieu of sending the copy under the provisions of the preceding paragraph, but the costs are not prepaid, the presiding judge must, by a direction, dismiss the petition for appeal.

The court in charge of an appeal may not revoke the ruling in prior instance unless it hears statements from a party in the prior instance and any other person subject to adjudication (excluding the appellant).

In adjudication cases regarding any of the matters set forth in Appended Table 2, the court in charge of an appeal must hear statements from a party in the prior instance (excluding the appellant), except when the immediate appeal is unlawful or the immediate appeal is clearly groundless.

The court of prior instance must correct its ruling when it finds grounds for an immediate appeal filed against the ruling; provided, however, that a ruling regarding any of the matters set forth in Appended Table 2 may not be corrected.

The court in charge of an appeal makes a judicial decision on an immediate appeal by an order.

When the court in charge of an appeal finds grounds for an immediate appeal, it must by itself make a judicial decision in lieu of a ruling on the case for adjudication of domestic relations; provided, however, that this does not apply when it remands the case to the court of first instance pursuant to the provisions of Article 307 or Article 308, paragraph (1) of the Code of Civil Procedure as applied mutatis mutandis pursuant to Article 93, paragraph (3).

When the court in charge of an appeal finds that the whole or part of a case for adjudication of domestic relations (excluding adjudication cases regarding the matters set forth in Appended Table 2) is not subject to the jurisdiction of the court of prior instance, it must revoke the ruling in prior instance; provided, however, that this does not apply if it finds that there are special circumstances where it is appropriate to maintain the ruling in prior instance in light of developments in the proceedings, the nature of the case, the reasons for an appeal and other matters.

When the court in charge of an appeal revokes the ruling in prior instance on the grounds of lack of jurisdiction over a case for adjudication of domestic relations, it must transfer the case to the family court which has jurisdiction over the case.

When the court in charge of an appeal is not required to send a copy of a petition for appeal or give notice of the filing of an immediate appeal as provided in the provisions of Article 88, paragraph (1), it may dismiss an immediate appeal with or without prejudice on the merits, without taking the step of concluding proceedings under the provisions of Article 71 as applied mutatis mutandis pursuant to the preceding paragraph.

The provisions of Article 283, Article 284, Article 292, Article 298, paragraph (1), Article 299, paragraph (1), Article 302, Article 303, and Articles 305 through 308 of the Code of Civil Procedure apply mutatis mutandis to an immediate appeal filed against a ruling and proceedings in the instance of the appeal. In this case, the phrase "Article 261, paragraphs (3) and (4), Article 262, paragraph (1) and Article 263" in Article 292, paragraph (2) of the Code is deemed to be replaced with "Article 82, paragraph (5) and Article 83 of the Domestic Relations Case Procedure Act", and the term "Article 189" in Article 303, paragraph (5) of the Code is deemed to be replaced with "Article 291 of the Domestic Relations Case Procedure Act".

An appeal may specially be filed with the Supreme Court against a ruling of a family court against which no appeal is allowed to be made, and an order made by a high court on a case for adjudication of domestic relations, on the grounds that the respective judicial decision contains a misconstruction of the Constitution or any other violation of the Constitution.

A court in charge of an appeal before which the appeal set forth in the preceding paragraph (hereinafter referred to as a "special appeal") is pending conducts an examination only with regard to the reasons for a special appeal indicated in a petition for appeal or a statement of reasons for an appeal.

A special appeal does not have the effect of a stay of execution; provided, however, that the court in charge of the appeal set forth in paragraph (2) of the preceding Article or the court of prior instance may, upon petition, order a stay of execution of the judicial decision in the prior instance or any other necessary measures while requiring or not requiring the provision of security, until a judicial decision on the special appeal is made.

When security is provided pursuant to the provisions of proviso to the preceding paragraph, if it is provided as a statutory deposit, the deposit must be made at the official depository located within the judicial district of the family court which has jurisdiction over the location of the court that has ordered the provision of security.

The provisions of Articles 76, 77, 79, and 80 of the Code of Civil Procedure apply mutatis mutandis to the security set forth in the preceding paragraph.

The provisions of Article 314, paragraph (2), Article 315, Article 316 (excluding paragraph (1), item (i)), Article 321, paragraph (1), Article 322, the first sentence of paragraph (1), paragraph (2), the second sentence of paragraph (3), and paragraph (4) of Article 325, Article 326, and Article 336, paragraph (2) of the Code of Civil Procedure apply mutatis mutandis to a special appeal and proceedings in the instance of the appeal. In this case: in Article 314, paragraph (2) of the Code, the phrase "Article 288 and Article 289, paragraph (2) as applied mutatis mutandis pursuant to the preceding Article" is deemed to be replaced with "Article 87, paragraph (6) of the Domestic Relations Case Procedure Act as applied mutatis mutandis by replacing certain terms and phrases pursuant to Article 96, paragraph (1) of the Act"; in Article 316, paragraph (2) of the Code, the phrase "may be filed against" is deemed to be replaced with "may be filed, within an unextendable period of one week, against"; in Article 322 of the Code, the phrase "the preceding two Articles" is deemed to be replaced with "the provisions of Article 94, paragraph (2) of the Domestic Relations Case Procedure Act, and Article 321, paragraph (1) as applied mutatis mutandis pursuant to Article 96, paragraph (2) of the Act"; in the first sentence of paragraph (1) and paragraph (2) of Article 325 of the Code, the phrase "Article 312, paragraph (1) or (2)" is deemed to be replaced with "Article 94, paragraph (1) of the Domestic Relations Case Procedure Act"; in the second sentence of paragraph (3) of Article 325 of the Code, the phrase "In such a case" is deemed to be replaced with "When a court that has accepted a case remanded or transferred thereto makes a judicial decision"; and in paragraph (4) of Article 325 of the Code, the term "as referred to in the preceding paragraph" is deemed to be replaced with "at a court that has accepted a case remanded or transferred thereto".

An appeal may be specially filed with the Supreme Court against an order made by a high court on a case for adjudication of domestic relations (excluding an order on the petition set forth in the following paragraph), only if that high court permits it pursuant to the following paragraph, beyond the case under the provisions of Article 94, paragraph (1); provided, however, that this applies only when an immediate appeal may be filed against the order on the assumption that it is a ruling made by a family court.

When the order set forth in the preceding paragraph contains a determination that is inconsistent with precedents rendered by the Supreme Court (or precedents rendered by the former Supreme Court or those rendered by high courts as the final appellate court or the court in charge of an appeal filed against a ruling, if there are no precedents rendered by the Supreme Court) or when the order is found to involve other material matters concerning the construction of laws and regulations, the high court set forth in the paragraph must, upon petition, permit an appeal filed against the order.

The petition set forth in the preceding paragraph may not state the grounds prescribed in Article 94, paragraph (1) as reasons for appeal.

Where permission is granted under the provisions of paragraph (2), it is deemed that the appeal set forth in paragraph (1) (hereinafter referred to as an "appeal with permission" in this Article and paragraph (1) of the following Article) has been filed.

The court in charge of an appeal before which an appeal with permission is pending conducts an examination only with regard to the reasons for the appeal with permission indicated in a petition for permission under the provisions of paragraph (2) or a statement of reasons for a petition under the paragraph.

The court in charge of an appeal before which an appeal with permission is pending may quash the order in the prior instance if it contains a violation of laws or regulations that apparently affects a judicial decision.

The provisions of Article 86, paragraph (2), Article 87 (excluding paragraphs (4) and (5)), Article 88, Article 89, Article 91, paragraph (1), Article 93, and Article 95 apply mutatis mutandis to an appeal with permission and proceedings in the instance of such an appeal. In this case: the term "immediate appeal" in Article 86, paragraph (2), Article 87, paragraph (1), paragraph (2), item (ii), and paragraph (3), Article 88, paragraph (1), and Article 89, paragraph (2), the phrase "filing an immediate appeal" in Article 87, paragraph (6), and the term "special appeal" in the main clause of Article 95, paragraph (1) is deemed to be replaced with "petition set forth in Article 97, paragraph (2)"; the term "petition for appeal" in Article 87, paragraphs (1), (2), and (6), Article 88, and Article 93, paragraph (2) is deemed to be replaced with "petition for permission under the provisions of Article 97, paragraph (2)"; the term "immediate appeal" in Article 91, paragraph (1), the first sentence of paragraph (1), and paragraphs (2) and (3) of Article 93, and the term "special appeal" in the proviso to Article 95, paragraph (1) is deemed to be replaced with "appeal with permission".

The provisions of Article 315 and Article 336, paragraph (2) of the Code of Civil Procedure apply mutatis mutandis to the petition set forth in paragraph (2) of the preceding Article; the provisions of Article 318, paragraph (3) of the Code apply mutatis mutandis when permission is to be granted under the provisions of paragraph (2) of the preceding Article; and the provisions of second sentence of Article 318, paragraph (4), Article 321, paragraph (1), Article 322, the first sentence of paragraph (1), paragraph (2), the second sentence of paragraph (3), and paragraph (4) of Article 325, and Article 326 of the Code apply mutatis mutandis when permission has been granted under the provisions of paragraph (2) of the preceding Article. In this case, the term "Article 320" in the second sentence of Article 318, paragraph (4) of the Code is deemed to be replaced with "Article 97, paragraph (5) of the Domestic Relations Case Procedure Act"; the phrase "the preceding two Articles" in Article 322 of the Code is deemed to be replaced with "the provisions of Article 97, paragraph (5) of the Domestic Relations Case Procedure Act, and Article 321, paragraph (1) as applied mutatis mutandis pursuant to Article 98, paragraph (2) of the Act"; the phrase "Article 312, paragraph (1) or (2)" in the first sentence of paragraph (1) and paragraph (2) of Article 325 of the Code is deemed to be replaced with "Article 97, paragraph (2) of the Domestic Relations Case Procedure Act"; the phrase "In such a case" in the second sentence of Article 325, paragraph (3) of the Code is deemed to be replaced with "If a court that has accepted a case remanded or transferred thereto makes a judicial decision"; and in paragraph (4) of Article 325 of the Code, the term "as referred to in the preceding paragraph" is deemed to be replaced with "at a court that has accepted a case remanded or transferred thereto".

An immediate appeal may be filed against a judicial decision other than a ruling only as specially provided.

A party who disagrees with a judicial decision made by an authorized judge or commissioned judge may file an objection with the court before which the case for adjudication of domestic relations is pending; provided, however, that this applies only when an immediate appeal may be filed against the judicial decision on the assumption that it is a judicial decision by a family court.

An immediate appeal may be filed against a judicial decision on the objection set forth in the preceding paragraph.