# 刑事訴訟法 / Code of Criminal Procedure — 第七十八条 (Article 78) This is the Markdown twin of https://japanlaw.org/ja/code-of-criminal-procedure/art-78. 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: 第七十八条 (Article 78) — address `art-78` - Text in force since: 2026-10-20 - URL (the page that opens at this provision): https://japanlaw.org/ja/code-of-criminal-procedure/art-78 - 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. --- ### 第七十八条 art-78 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/code-of-criminal-procedure/art-78 **第一項** 勾引又は勾留された被告人は、裁判所又は刑事施設の長若しくはその代理者に弁護士、弁護士法人又は弁護士会を指定して弁護人の選任を申し出ることができる。ただし、被告人に弁護人があるときは、この限りでない。 art-78/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/code-of-criminal-procedure/art-78/par-1 The defendant under subpoena or detention may make a request to the court, the penal institution warden or said warden's deputy for appointment of defense counsel, specifying an attorney, legal professional corporation or bar association; provided however, that this does not apply when defense counsel has been appointed for the defendant. Ministry of Justice translation with a slip corrected by this site — not the Ministry's text; the Ministry printed: "The accused under subpoena or detention may make a request to the court, the penal institution warden or said warden's deputy for appointment of defense counsel, specifying an attorney, legal professional corporation or bar association; provided however, that this does not apply when defense counsel has been appointed for the accused." — https://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/en/laws/view/3739/tb **第二項** 前項の申出を受けた裁判所又は刑事施設の長若しくはその代理者は、直ちに被告人の指定した弁護士、弁護士法人又は弁護士会にその旨を通知しなければならない。被告人が二人以上の弁護士又は二以上の弁護士法人若しくは弁護士会を指定して前項の申出をしたときは、そのうちの一人の弁護士又は一の弁護士法人若しくは弁護士会にこれを通知すれば足りる。 art-78/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/code-of-criminal-procedure/art-78/par-2 The court, the penal institution warden or said warden's deputy requested by the defendant as prescribed in the preceding paragraph must immediately notify the attorney, legal professional corporation or bar association specified by the defendant of the request. When the defendant has specified two or more attorneys or two or more legal professional corporations or bar associations and made the request as so prescribed in the preceding paragraph, the court, the penal institution warden or said warden's deputy need only notify one of them. Ministry of Justice translation with a slip corrected by this site — not the Ministry's text; the Ministry printed: "The court, the penal institution warden or said warden's deputy requested by the accused as prescribed in the preceding paragraph must immediately notify the attorney, legal professional corporation or bar association specified by the accused of the request. When the accused has specified two or more attorneys or two or more legal professional corporations or bar associations and made the request as so prescribed in the preceding paragraph, the court, the penal institution warden or said warden's deputy need only notify one of them." — https://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/en/laws/view/3739/tb --- ## Cites - art-78/par-2: 前項 → 刑事訴訟法 第七十八条第一項 (Article 78, paragraph (1)), art-78/par-1 — https://japanlaw.org/ja/code-of-criminal-procedure/art-78/par-1 ## Cited by 2 provisions cite this one. No official source publishes this direction. - 刑事訴訟法 第七十八条第二項 — https://japanlaw.org/ja/code-of-criminal-procedure/art-78/par-2 - 刑事訴訟法 第二百九条第一項 — https://japanlaw.org/ja/code-of-criminal-procedure/art-209/par-1 --- ## 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 78, 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 78, 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