# 民事訴訟法 / Code of Civil Procedure — 第二百七十八条 (Article 278) - 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: 第二百七十八条 (Article 278)（尋問等に代わる書面の提出） — address `art-278` - Text in force since: 2026-06-24 - URL (the page that opens at this provision): https://japanlaw.org/en/code-of-civil-procedure/art-278 - Permanent URL (e-Gov law ID, never renamed): https://japanlaw.org/l/408AC0000000109/art-278 - 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. --- ### 第二百七十八条（尋問等に代わる書面の提出） — (Submission of Documents in Lieu of Examination) caption: Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System art-278 · https://japanlaw.org/en/code-of-civil-procedure/art-278 · https://japanlaw.org/l/408AC0000000109/art-278 **第一項** 裁判所は、相当と認めるときは、証人若しくは当事者本人の尋問又は鑑定人の意見の陳述に代え、書面の提出をさせることができる。 art-278/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/en/code-of-civil-procedure/art-278/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/408AC0000000109/art-278/par-1 If the court finds it to be appropriate, it may allow the submission of a paper document in lieu of examining a witness or one of the parties themselves or instead of having an expert state an opinion. Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System **第二項** 第二百五条第二項及び第三項の規定は前項の規定による証人又は当事者本人の尋問に代わる書面の提出について、第二百十五条第二項及び第四項の規定は前項の規定による鑑定人の意見の陳述に代わる書面の提出について、それぞれ準用する。 art-278/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/en/code-of-civil-procedure/art-278/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/l/408AC0000000109/art-278/par-2 The provisions of Article 205, paragraphs (2) and (3) apply mutatis mutandis to the submission of a paper document in lieu of the examination of witnesses or the parties themselves under the provisions of the preceding paragraph, and the provisions of Article 215, paragraphs (2) and (4) apply mutatis mutandis to the submission of a paper document in lieu of the statement of an opinion by an expert. Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System --- ## Cites - art-278/par-2: 第二百五条第二項 → 民事訴訟法 第二百五条第二項 (Article 205, paragraph (2)), art-205/par-2 — https://japanlaw.org/en/code-of-civil-procedure/art-205/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/l/408AC0000000109/art-205/par-2 - art-278/par-2: 第三項 → 民事訴訟法 第二百五条第三項 (Article 205, paragraph (3)), art-205/par-3 — https://japanlaw.org/en/code-of-civil-procedure/art-205/par-3 · https://japanlaw.org/l/408AC0000000109/art-205/par-3 - art-278/par-2: 前項 → 民事訴訟法 第二百七十八条第一項 (Article 278, paragraph (1)), art-278/par-1 — https://japanlaw.org/en/code-of-civil-procedure/art-278/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/408AC0000000109/art-278/par-1 - art-278/par-2: 第二百十五条第二項 → 民事訴訟法 第二百十五条第二項 (Article 215, paragraph (2)), art-215/par-2 — https://japanlaw.org/en/code-of-civil-procedure/art-215/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/l/408AC0000000109/art-215/par-2 - art-278/par-2: 第四項 → 民事訴訟法 第二百十五条第四項 (Article 215, paragraph (4)), art-215/par-4 — https://japanlaw.org/en/code-of-civil-procedure/art-215/par-4 · https://japanlaw.org/l/408AC0000000109/art-215/par-4 ## Cited by 3 provisions cite this one. No official source publishes this direction. - 民事訴訟法 第百七十条第二項（弁論準備手続における訴訟行為等） — https://japanlaw.org/en/code-of-civil-procedure/art-170/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/l/408AC0000000109/art-170/par-2 - 民事訴訟法 第二百七十八条第二項（尋問等に代わる書面の提出） — https://japanlaw.org/en/code-of-civil-procedure/art-278/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/l/408AC0000000109/art-278/par-2 - 民事訴訟法 附則第十五条第一項（尋問に代わる書面の提出等に関する経過措置） — https://japanlaw.org/en/code-of-civil-procedure/suppl-5041-48/art-15/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/408AC0000000109/suppl-5041-48/art-15/par-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