# 民事訴訟法 / Code of Civil Procedure — 第百九十六条 (Article 196) - Law: 民事訴訟法 (Code of Civil Procedure), 平成八年法律第百九号 - English title "Code of Civil Procedure": Ministry of Justice translation - Kind: Act — the distinction between 法律 (Act), 政令 (Cabinet Order), 省令 (Ministerial Order) and 条例 (local ordinance) decides who may issue it and what it may say. - Provision: 第百九十六条 (Article 196)（証言拒絶権） — address `art-196` - Text in force since: 2026-06-24 - URL (the page that opens at this provision): https://japanlaw.org/en/code-of-civil-procedure/art-196 - Permanent URL (e-Gov law ID, never renamed): https://japanlaw.org/l/408AC0000000109/art-196 - Every provision below carries its address and both URLs on the line under it. - Japanese text: e-Gov 法令検索, Digital Agency (デジタル庁). English: as marked on each line below. Only the Japanese as published by the government has legal effect; the text below is a copy of it. Every English rendering below is a translation and says which kind: the Ministry of Justice's translation, or this site's machine translation, whose model and date the Sources list names. They are never merged and never substituted for one another. --- ### 第百九十六条（証言拒絶権） — (Right to Refuse to Testify) caption: Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System art-196 · https://japanlaw.org/en/code-of-civil-procedure/art-196 · https://japanlaw.org/l/408AC0000000109/art-196 **第一項** 証言が証人又は証人と次に掲げる関係を有する者が刑事訴追を受け、又は有罪判決を受けるおそれがある事項に関するときは、証人は、証言を拒むことができる。証言がこれらの者の名誉を害すべき事項に関するときも、同様とする。 art-196/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/en/code-of-civil-procedure/art-196/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/408AC0000000109/art-196/par-1 If a witness's testimony relates to a matter for which the witness, personally, or a person related to the witness in any of the following ways, would likely be subject to criminal prosecution or conviction, the witness may refuse to testify. The same applies if a witness's testimony relates to a matter that would harm the reputation of these persons: Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System **一** 配偶者、四親等内の血族若しくは三親等内の姻族の関係にあり、又はあったこと。 art-196/par-1/item-1 · https://japanlaw.org/en/code-of-civil-procedure/art-196/par-1/item-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/408AC0000000109/art-196/par-1/item-1 a person who is or was the witness's spouse, relative within the fourth degree of consanguinity, or relative within the third degree of affinity; Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System **二** 後見人と被後見人の関係にあること。 art-196/par-1/item-2 · https://japanlaw.org/en/code-of-civil-procedure/art-196/par-1/item-2 · https://japanlaw.org/l/408AC0000000109/art-196/par-1/item-2 the witness's guardian or a person under the guardianship of the witness. Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System ## Cited by 6 provisions cite this one. No official source publishes this direction. - 労働組合法 第二十七条の九第一項 — https://japanlaw.org/en/labor-union-act/art-27-9/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/324AC0000000174/art-27-9/par-1 - 民事訴訟法 第百六十三条第一項第六号（当事者照会） — https://japanlaw.org/en/code-of-civil-procedure/art-163/par-1/item-6 · https://japanlaw.org/l/408AC0000000109/art-163/par-1/item-6 - 民事訴訟法 第二百一条第三項（宣誓） — https://japanlaw.org/en/code-of-civil-procedure/art-201/par-3 · https://japanlaw.org/l/408AC0000000109/art-201/par-3 - 民事訴訟法 第二百一条第四項（宣誓） — https://japanlaw.org/en/code-of-civil-procedure/art-201/par-4 · https://japanlaw.org/l/408AC0000000109/art-201/par-4 - 民事訴訟法 第二百十二条第二項（鑑定義務） — https://japanlaw.org/en/code-of-civil-procedure/art-212/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/l/408AC0000000109/art-212/par-2 - 民事訴訟法 第二百二十条第一項第四号イ（文書提出義務） — https://japanlaw.org/en/code-of-civil-procedure/art-220/par-1/item-4/sub-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/408AC0000000109/art-220/par-1/item-4/sub-1 --- ## Sources - e-Gov 法令検索, Digital Agency (デジタル庁) — 民事訴訟法 — the text in force from 2026-06-24 (https://laws.e-gov.go.jp/law/408AC0000000109/20260624_508AC0000000046), retrieved 2026-10-17 - Japanese Law Translation Database System, Ministry of Justice (法務省) — Code of Civil Procedure — Ministry of Justice translation (https://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/en/laws/view/4797/tb), retrieved 2026-10-17 - This site's parser, version 209 — 民事訴訟法 — structure, counts, cross-references and defined terms, computed 2026-10-17