# 刑事訴訟法 / Code of Criminal Procedure — 第百六十三条 (Article 163) This is the Markdown twin of https://japanlaw.org/ja/code-of-criminal-procedure/art-163. Every law, and how to address a provision: https://japanlaw.org/llms.txt. The same laws as MCP tools (no sign-in): https://japanlaw.org/mcp. - Law: 刑事訴訟法 (Code of Criminal Procedure), 昭和二十三年法律第百三十一号 - English title "Code of Criminal 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: 第百六十三条 (Article 163) — address `art-163` - Text in force since: 2026-10-20 - URL (the page that opens at this provision): https://japanlaw.org/ja/code-of-criminal-procedure/art-163 - e-Gov law ID: 323AC0000000131 — never renamed. A permanent link, `/l/{lawId}/{address}` on this site, redirects to the page. - Every provision below carries its address and its URL 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. --- ### 第百六十三条 art-163 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/code-of-criminal-procedure/art-163 **第一項** 裁判所外で証人を尋問すべきときは、合議体の構成員にこれをさせ、又は証人の現在地の地方裁判所、家庭裁判所若しくは簡易裁判所の裁判官にこれを嘱託することができる。 art-163/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/code-of-criminal-procedure/art-163/par-1 When a witness is to be examined outside the court, the court may commission a judge of a panel to examine said witness, or delegate questioning to a judge of the district court, family court or summary court of the present location of said witness. Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System **第二項** 受託裁判官は、受託の権限を有する他の地方裁判所、家庭裁判所又は簡易裁判所の裁判官に転嘱することができる。 art-163/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/code-of-criminal-procedure/art-163/par-2 A delegated judge may re-delegate a judge of another district court, family court or summary court who has the competence to be delegated to. Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System **第三項** 受託裁判官は、受託事項について権限を有しないときは、受託の権限を有する他の地方裁判所、家庭裁判所又は簡易裁判所の裁判官に嘱託を移送することができる。 art-163/par-3 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/code-of-criminal-procedure/art-163/par-3 A delegated judge may, when lacking the competence to handle delegated particulars, transfer them to a judge of another district court, family court or summary court who has the competence to be delegated to. Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System **第四項** 受命裁判官又は受託裁判官は、証人の尋問に関し、裁判所又は裁判長に属する処分をすることができる。但し、第百五十条及び第百六十条の決定は、裁判所もこれをすることができる。 art-163/par-4 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/code-of-criminal-procedure/art-163/par-4 A commissioned or delegated judge may, with respect to examination of a witness, take the measures belonging to a court or a presiding judge; provided however, that the court also may render the rulings prescribed in Articles 150 and 160. Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System **第五項** 第百五十八条第二項及び第三項並びに第百五十九条に規定する手続は、前項の規定にかかわらず、裁判所がこれをしなければならない。 art-163/par-5 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/code-of-criminal-procedure/art-163/par-5 The proceedings provided in Article 158, paragraphs (2) and (3) and Article 159 must, notwithstanding the provisions of the preceding paragraph, be exercised by the court. Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System --- ## Cites - art-163/par-4: 第百五十条 → 刑事訴訟法 第百五十条 (Article 150), art-150 — https://japanlaw.org/ja/code-of-criminal-procedure/art-150 - art-163/par-4: 第百六十条 → 刑事訴訟法 第百六十条 (Article 160), art-160 — https://japanlaw.org/ja/code-of-criminal-procedure/art-160 - art-163/par-5: 第百五十八条第二項 → 刑事訴訟法 第百五十八条第二項 (Article 158, paragraph (2)), art-158/par-2 — https://japanlaw.org/ja/code-of-criminal-procedure/art-158/par-2 - art-163/par-5: 第三項 → 刑事訴訟法 第百五十八条第三項 (Article 158, paragraph (3)), art-158/par-3 — https://japanlaw.org/ja/code-of-criminal-procedure/art-158/par-3 - art-163/par-5: 第百五十九条 → 刑事訴訟法 第百五十九条 (Article 159), art-159 — https://japanlaw.org/ja/code-of-criminal-procedure/art-159 - art-163/par-5: 前項 → 刑事訴訟法 第百六十三条第四項 (Article 163, paragraph (4)), art-163/par-4 — https://japanlaw.org/ja/code-of-criminal-procedure/art-163/par-4 ## Cited by 1 provision cites this one. No official source publishes this direction. - 刑事訴訟法 第百六十三条第五項 — https://japanlaw.org/ja/code-of-criminal-procedure/art-163/par-5 --- ## Sources - e-Gov 法令検索, Digital Agency (デジタル庁) — 刑事訴訟法 — the text in force from 2026-10-20 (https://laws.e-gov.go.jp/law/323AC0000000131/20261020_508AC0000000067), retrieved 2026-11-06 - Japanese Law Translation Database System, Ministry of Justice (法務省) — Code of Criminal Procedure — Ministry of Justice translation (part 1 of 2) (https://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/en/laws/view/3739/tb), retrieved 2026-11-06 - This site's parser, version 225 — 刑事訴訟法 — structure, counts, cross-references and defined terms, computed 2026-11-06