# 刑事訴訟法 / Code of Criminal Procedure — 第二百七十二条 (Article 272) This is the Markdown twin of https://japanlaw.org/ja/code-of-criminal-procedure/art-272. 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: 第二百七十二条 (Article 272) — address `art-272` - Text in force since: 2026-10-20 - URL (the page that opens at this provision): https://japanlaw.org/ja/code-of-criminal-procedure/art-272 - 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. --- ### 第二百七十二条 art-272 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/code-of-criminal-procedure/art-272 **第一項** 裁判所は、公訴の提起があつたときは、遅滞なく被告人に対し、弁護人を選任することができる旨及び貧困その他の事由により弁護人を選任することができないときは弁護人の選任を請求することができる旨を知らせなければならない。但し、被告人に弁護人があるときは、この限りでない。 art-272/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/code-of-criminal-procedure/art-272/par-1 The court must, when prosecution has been instituted, inform the defendant without delay that the defendant may appoint defense counsel and that when the defendant is unable to personally appoint defense counsel because of indigence or other reasons, said defendant may request the court to appoint defense counsel for said defendant; provided however, that this does not apply when the defendant already has defense counsel. Ministry of Justice translation with a slip corrected by this site — not the Ministry's text; the Ministry printed: "The court must, when prosecution has been instituted, inform the accused without delay that the accused may appoint defense counsel and that when the accused is unable to personally appoint defense counsel because of indigence or other reasons, said accused may request the court to appoint defense counsel for said accused; provided however, that this does not apply when the accused already has defense counsel." — https://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/en/laws/view/3739/tb **第二項** 裁判所は、この法律により弁護人を要する場合を除いて、前項の規定により弁護人の選任を請求することができる旨を知らせるに当たつては、弁護人の選任を請求するには資力申告書を提出しなければならない旨及びその資力が基準額以上であるときは、あらかじめ、弁護士会（第三十六条の三第一項の規定により第三十一条の二第一項の申出をすべき弁護士会をいう。）に弁護人の選任の申出をしていなければならない旨を教示しなければならない。 art-272/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/code-of-criminal-procedure/art-272/par-2 The court must, when notifying the defendant that said defendant may request the appointment of defense counsel pursuant to the preceding paragraph, inform the defendant that said defendant must submit a report on personal financial resources, and if the defendant's financial resources are equal to or exceed the base amount, the defendant must have first requested a bar association (the bar association to which the request under Article 31-2, paragraph (1) in accordance with Article 36-3, paragraph (1) is to be made) to appoint defense counsel except in cases where a defense counsel is required under this Code. Ministry of Justice translation with a slip corrected by this site — not the Ministry's text; the Ministry printed: "The court must, when notifying the accused that said accused may appoint defense counsel pursuant to the preceding paragraph, inform the accused that said accused must submit a report on personal financial resources, and if the accused's Financial Resources are equal to or exceed the base amount, the accused must have first requested a bar association (the bar association to which the request under Article 31-2, paragraph (1) in accordance with Article 36-3, paragraph (1) is to be made) to appoint defense counsel except in cases where a defense counsel is required under this Code." — https://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/en/laws/view/3739/tb --- ## Cites - art-272/par-2: 前項 → 刑事訴訟法 第二百七十二条第一項 (Article 272, paragraph (1)), art-272/par-1 — https://japanlaw.org/ja/code-of-criminal-procedure/art-272/par-1 - art-272/par-2: 第三十六条の三第一項 → 刑事訴訟法 第三十六条の三第一項 (Article 36-3, paragraph (1)), art-36-3/par-1 — https://japanlaw.org/ja/code-of-criminal-procedure/art-36-3/par-1 - art-272/par-2: 第三十一条の二第一項 → 刑事訴訟法 第三十一条の二第一項 (Article 31-2, paragraph (1)), art-31-2/par-1 — https://japanlaw.org/ja/code-of-criminal-procedure/art-31-2/par-1 ## Cited by 1 provision cites this one. No official source publishes this direction. - 刑事訴訟法 第二百七十二条第二項 — https://japanlaw.org/ja/code-of-criminal-procedure/art-272/par-2 --- ## Sources - claude-opus-5-5 — Corrections to the Ministry of Justice's English of the Code of Criminal Procedure, written 2026-11-06 - 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 (刑事訴訟法), Article 272, paragraph (1) — the Ministry of Justice's English as printed (https://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/en/laws/view/3739/tb), retrieved 2026-11-06 - Japanese Law Translation Database System, Ministry of Justice (法務省) — Code of Criminal Procedure (刑事訴訟法), Article 272, paragraph (2) — the Ministry of Justice's English as printed (https://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/en/laws/view/3739/tb), 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