# 民事訴訟法 / Code of Civil Procedure — 第二百三条の三 (Article 203-3) - 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: 第二百三条の三 (Article 203-3)（遮へいの措置） — address `art-203-3` - Text in force since: 2026-06-24 - URL (the page that opens at this provision): https://japanlaw.org/ja/code-of-civil-procedure/art-203-3 - Permanent URL (e-Gov law ID, never renamed): https://japanlaw.org/l/408AC0000000109/art-203-3 - 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. --- ### 第二百三条の三（遮へいの措置） — (Shielding Measures) caption: Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System art-203-3 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/code-of-civil-procedure/art-203-3 · https://japanlaw.org/l/408AC0000000109/art-203-3 **第一項** 裁判長は、事案の性質、証人の年齢又は心身の状態、証人と当事者本人又はその法定代理人との関係（証人がこれらの者が行った犯罪により害を被った者であることを含む。次条第二号において同じ。）その他の事情により、証人が当事者本人又はその法定代理人の面前（同条に規定する方法による場合を含む。）において陳述するときは圧迫を受け精神の平穏を著しく害されるおそれがあると認める場合であって、相当と認めるときは、その当事者本人又は法定代理人とその証人との間で、一方から又は相互に相手の状態を認識することができないようにするための措置をとることができる。 art-203-3/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/code-of-civil-procedure/art-203-3/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/408AC0000000109/art-203-3/par-1 If the presiding judge finds that, due to the nature of the case, the age or the mental or physical condition of the witness, the relationship between the witness and either one of the parties or their legal representative (including the fact that the witness is a person who has suffered harm from the crime committed by the party or legal representative; the same applies in item (ii) of the following Article), or any other circumstances, the witness is likely to feel pressure and have their mental well-being seriously harmed while making a statement in the presence of either one of the parties or their legal representative (including when using the method provided for in that Article), and the presiding judge finds it to be appropriate to do so, then the presiding judge may take measures so that it is impossible for either one of the parties or their legal representative and the witness to be aware of each other's presence or only one can be aware of the other. Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System **第二項** 裁判長は、事案の性質、証人が犯罪により害を被った者であること、証人の年齢、心身の状態又は名誉に対する影響その他の事情を考慮し、相当と認めるときは、傍聴人とその証人との間で、相互に相手の状態を認識することができないようにするための措置をとることができる。 art-203-3/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/code-of-civil-procedure/art-203-3/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/l/408AC0000000109/art-203-3/par-2 If the presiding judge finds it to be appropriate in consideration of the nature of the case, the fact that the witness is a person who has suffered harm due to the crime, the age of the witness, the impact on the witness's mental or physical condition or reputation, or any other circumstances, the presiding judge may take measures so that it is impossible for the observer and the witness to be aware of each other's presence. Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System **第三項** 前条第三項の規定は、前二項の規定による裁判長の処置について準用する。 art-203-3/par-3 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/code-of-civil-procedure/art-203-3/par-3 · https://japanlaw.org/l/408AC0000000109/art-203-3/par-3 The provisions of paragraph (3) of the preceding Article apply mutatis mutandis to the measures taken by the presiding judge under the provisions of the preceding two paragraphs. Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System --- ## Cites - art-203-3/par-1: 次条第二号 → 民事訴訟法 第二百四条第一項第二号 (Article 204, paragraph (1), item (ii)), art-204/par-1/item-2 — https://japanlaw.org/ja/code-of-civil-procedure/art-204/par-1/item-2 · https://japanlaw.org/l/408AC0000000109/art-204/par-1/item-2 - art-203-3/par-1: 同条 → 民事訴訟法 第二百四条 (Article 204), art-204 — https://japanlaw.org/ja/code-of-civil-procedure/art-204 · https://japanlaw.org/l/408AC0000000109/art-204 - art-203-3/par-3: 前条第三項 → 民事訴訟法 第二百三条の二第三項 (Article 203-2, paragraph (3)), art-203-2/par-3 — https://japanlaw.org/ja/code-of-civil-procedure/art-203-2/par-3 · https://japanlaw.org/l/408AC0000000109/art-203-2/par-3 - art-203-3/par-3: 前二項 → 民事訴訟法 第二百三条の三第一項 (Article 203-3, paragraph (1)), art-203-3/par-1 — https://japanlaw.org/ja/code-of-civil-procedure/art-203-3/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/408AC0000000109/art-203-3/par-1 - art-203-3/par-3: 前二項 → 民事訴訟法 第二百三条の三第二項 (Article 203-3, paragraph (2)), art-203-3/par-2 — https://japanlaw.org/ja/code-of-civil-procedure/art-203-3/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/l/408AC0000000109/art-203-3/par-2 ## Cited by 2 provisions cite this one. No official source publishes this direction. - 民事訴訟法 第二百三条の三第三項（遮へいの措置） — https://japanlaw.org/ja/code-of-civil-procedure/art-203-3/par-3 · https://japanlaw.org/l/408AC0000000109/art-203-3/par-3 - 民事訴訟法 第二百十条第一項（証人尋問の規定の準用） — https://japanlaw.org/ja/code-of-civil-procedure/art-210/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/408AC0000000109/art-210/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