# 民事訴訟法 / Code of Civil Procedure — 第八十七条 (Article 87) - 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: 第八十七条 (Article 87)（口頭弁論の必要性） — address `art-87` - Text in force since: 2026-06-24 - URL (the page that opens at this provision): https://japanlaw.org/en/code-of-civil-procedure/art-87 - Permanent URL (e-Gov law ID, never renamed): https://japanlaw.org/l/408AC0000000109/art-87 - 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. --- ### 第八十七条（口頭弁論の必要性） — (Necessity of Oral Arguments) caption: Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System art-87 · https://japanlaw.org/en/code-of-civil-procedure/art-87 · https://japanlaw.org/l/408AC0000000109/art-87 **第一項** 当事者は、訴訟について、裁判所において口頭弁論をしなければならない。ただし、決定で完結すべき事件については、裁判所が、口頭弁論をすべきか否かを定める。 art-87/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/en/code-of-civil-procedure/art-87/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/408AC0000000109/art-87/par-1 The parties must conduct oral arguments before the court in connection with their litigation; provided, however, that for a case that is to be concluded by a ruling, the court determines whether or not the parties are required to conduct oral arguments. Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System **第二項** 前項ただし書の規定により口頭弁論をしない場合には、裁判所は、当事者を審尋することができる。 art-87/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/en/code-of-civil-procedure/art-87/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/l/408AC0000000109/art-87/par-2 If oral arguments are not conducted pursuant to the proviso to the preceding paragraph, the court may hear the parties. Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System **第三項** 前二項の規定は、特別の定めがある場合には、適用しない。 art-87/par-3 · https://japanlaw.org/en/code-of-civil-procedure/art-87/par-3 · https://japanlaw.org/l/408AC0000000109/art-87/par-3 The provisions of the preceding two paragraphs do not apply when otherwise provided. Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System --- ## Cites - art-87/par-2: 前項 → 民事訴訟法 第八十七条第一項 (Article 87, paragraph (1)), art-87/par-1 — https://japanlaw.org/en/code-of-civil-procedure/art-87/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/408AC0000000109/art-87/par-1 - art-87/par-3: 前二項 → 民事訴訟法 第八十七条第一項 (Article 87, paragraph (1)), art-87/par-1 — https://japanlaw.org/en/code-of-civil-procedure/art-87/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/408AC0000000109/art-87/par-1 - art-87/par-3: 前二項 → 民事訴訟法 第八十七条第二項 (Article 87, paragraph (2)), art-87/par-2 — https://japanlaw.org/en/code-of-civil-procedure/art-87/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/l/408AC0000000109/art-87/par-2 ## Cited by 2 provisions cite this one. No official source publishes this direction. - 民事訴訟法 第八十七条第二項（口頭弁論の必要性） — https://japanlaw.org/en/code-of-civil-procedure/art-87/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/l/408AC0000000109/art-87/par-2 - 民事訴訟法 第八十七条第三項（口頭弁論の必要性） — https://japanlaw.org/en/code-of-civil-procedure/art-87/par-3 · https://japanlaw.org/l/408AC0000000109/art-87/par-3 --- ## 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