# 家事事件手続法 / Domestic Relations Case Procedure Act — 第二百五十七条 (Article 257)

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- Law: 家事事件手続法 (Domestic Relations Case Procedure Act), 平成二十三年法律第五十二号
- English title "Domestic Relations Case Procedure Act": 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: 第二百五十七条 (Article 257)（調停前置主義） — address `art-257`
- Text in force since: 2026-06-24
- URL (the page that opens at this provision): https://japanlaw.org/ja/domestic-relations-case-procedure-act/art-257
- Permanent URL (e-Gov law ID, never renamed): https://japanlaw.org/l/423AC0000000052/art-257
- 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.

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### 第二百五十七条（調停前置主義） — (Principle of Mediation First)
<sup>caption: Ministry of Justice translation with a slip corrected by this site — not the Ministry's text; the Ministry printed: "(Principle of Conciliation First)" — https://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/en/laws/view/4512/tb</sup>
<sup>art-257 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/domestic-relations-case-procedure-act/art-257 · https://japanlaw.org/l/423AC0000000052/art-257</sup>

    **第一項**  第二百四十四条の規定により調停を行うことができる事件について訴えを提起しようとする者は、まず家庭裁判所に家事調停の申立てをしなければならない。
    <sup>art-257/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/domestic-relations-case-procedure-act/art-257/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/423AC0000000052/art-257/par-1</sup>
    A person who intends to file an action on a case where a mediation may be possible pursuant to the provisions of Article 244 must first file a petition for mediation of domestic relations with a family court.
    <sup>Ministry of Justice translation with a slip corrected by this site — not the Ministry's text; the Ministry printed: "A person who intends to file an action on a case where a conciliation may be possible pursuant to the provisions of Article 244 must first file a petition for conciliation of domestic relations with a family court." — https://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/en/laws/view/4512/tb</sup>

    **第二項**  前項の事件について家事調停の申立てをすることなく訴えを提起した場合には、裁判所は、職権で、事件を家事調停に付さなければならない。ただし、裁判所が事件を調停に付することが相当でないと認めるときは、この限りでない。
    <sup>art-257/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/domestic-relations-case-procedure-act/art-257/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/l/423AC0000000052/art-257/par-2</sup>
    When a person files an action on the case set forth in the preceding paragraph without filing a petition for mediation of domestic relations, the court must, by its own authority, refer the case to a mediation of domestic relations; provided, however, that this does not apply when the court finds it to be inappropriate to refer the case to mediation.
    <sup>Ministry of Justice translation with a slip corrected by this site — not the Ministry's text; the Ministry printed: "When a person files an action on the case set forth in the preceding paragraph without filing a petition for conciliation of domestic relations, the court must, by its own authority, refer the case to a conciliation of domestic relations; provided, however, that this does not apply when the court finds it to be inappropriate to refer the case to conciliation." — https://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/en/laws/view/4512/tb</sup>

    **第三項**  裁判所は、前項の規定により事件を調停に付する場合においては、事件を管轄権を有する家庭裁判所に処理させなければならない。ただし、家事調停事件を処理するために特に必要があると認めるときは、事件を管轄権を有する家庭裁判所以外の家庭裁判所に処理させることができる。
    <sup>art-257/par-3 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/domestic-relations-case-procedure-act/art-257/par-3 · https://japanlaw.org/l/423AC0000000052/art-257/par-3</sup>
    When the court refers a case pursuant to the provisions of the preceding paragraph, it must have the case processed by a family court which has jurisdiction over the case; provided, however, that when it finds it to be particularly necessary in order to process a case for mediation of domestic relations, it may have the case processed by a family court other than the family court which has jurisdiction over the case.
    <sup>Ministry of Justice translation with a slip corrected by this site — not the Ministry's text; the Ministry printed: "When the court refers a case pursuant to the provisions of the preceding paragraph, it must have the case processed by a family court which has jurisdiction over the case; provided, however, that when it finds it to be particularly necessary in order to process a case for conciliation of domestic relations, it may have the case processed by a family court other than the family court which has jurisdiction over the case." — https://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/en/laws/view/4512/tb</sup>

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## Cites
- art-257/par-1: 第二百四十四条 → 家事事件手続法 第二百四十四条 (Article 244), art-244 — https://japanlaw.org/ja/domestic-relations-case-procedure-act/art-244 · https://japanlaw.org/l/423AC0000000052/art-244
- art-257/par-2: 前項 → 家事事件手続法 第二百五十七条第一項 (Article 257, paragraph (1)), art-257/par-1 — https://japanlaw.org/ja/domestic-relations-case-procedure-act/art-257/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/423AC0000000052/art-257/par-1
- art-257/par-3: 前項 → 家事事件手続法 第二百五十七条第二項 (Article 257, paragraph (2)), art-257/par-2 — https://japanlaw.org/ja/domestic-relations-case-procedure-act/art-257/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/l/423AC0000000052/art-257/par-2

## Cited by

8 provisions cite this one. No official source publishes this direction.

- 人事訴訟法 第六条第一項（調停事件が係属していた家庭裁判所の自庁処理） — https://japanlaw.org/ja/personal-status-litigation-act/art-6/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/415AC0000000109/art-6/par-1
- 家事事件手続法 第二十九条第四項（手続費用の負担の裁判等） — https://japanlaw.org/ja/domestic-relations-case-procedure-act/art-29/par-4 · https://japanlaw.org/l/423AC0000000052/art-29/par-4
- 家事事件手続法 第二百五十七条第二項（調停前置主義） — https://japanlaw.org/ja/domestic-relations-case-procedure-act/art-257/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/l/423AC0000000052/art-257/par-2
- 家事事件手続法 第二百五十七条第三項（調停前置主義） — https://japanlaw.org/ja/domestic-relations-case-procedure-act/art-257/par-3 · https://japanlaw.org/l/423AC0000000052/art-257/par-3
- 家事事件手続法 第二百七十五条第一項（訴訟手続及び家事審判の手続の中止） — https://japanlaw.org/ja/domestic-relations-case-procedure-act/art-275/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/423AC0000000052/art-275/par-1
- 家事事件手続法 第二百七十六条第一項（訴えの取下げの擬制等） — https://japanlaw.org/ja/domestic-relations-case-procedure-act/art-276/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/423AC0000000052/art-276/par-1
- 家事事件手続法 附則第四条第一項（訴訟に関する経過措置） — https://japanlaw.org/ja/domestic-relations-case-procedure-act/suppl-4231-52/art-4/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/423AC0000000052/suppl-4231-52/art-4/par-1
- 家事事件手続法 附則第四条第二項（訴訟に関する経過措置） — https://japanlaw.org/ja/domestic-relations-case-procedure-act/suppl-4231-52/art-4/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/l/423AC0000000052/suppl-4231-52/art-4/par-2

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## Sources

- claude-opus-5-5 — Corrections to the Ministry of Justice's English of paragraphs, written 2026-11-05
- e-Gov 法令検索, Digital Agency (デジタル庁) — 家事事件手続法 — the text in force from 2026-06-24 (https://laws.e-gov.go.jp/law/423AC0000000052/20260624_508AC0000000045), retrieved 2026-11-05
- Japanese Law Translation Database System, Ministry of Justice (法務省) — Domestic Relations Case Procedure Act (家事事件手続法), Article 257 — the Ministry of Justice's English as printed (https://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/en/laws/view/4512/tb), retrieved 2026-11-05
- Japanese Law Translation Database System, Ministry of Justice (法務省) — Domestic Relations Case Procedure Act (家事事件手続法), Article 257, paragraph (1) — the Ministry of Justice's English as printed (https://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/en/laws/view/4512/tb), retrieved 2026-11-05
- Japanese Law Translation Database System, Ministry of Justice (法務省) — Domestic Relations Case Procedure Act (家事事件手続法), Article 257, paragraph (2) — the Ministry of Justice's English as printed (https://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/en/laws/view/4512/tb), retrieved 2026-11-05
- Japanese Law Translation Database System, Ministry of Justice (法務省) — Domestic Relations Case Procedure Act (家事事件手続法), Article 257, paragraph (3) — the Ministry of Justice's English as printed (https://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/en/laws/view/4512/tb), retrieved 2026-11-05
- Japanese Law Translation Database System, Ministry of Justice (法務省) — Domestic Relations Case Procedure Act — Ministry of Justice translation (https://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/en/laws/view/4512/tb), retrieved 2026-11-05
- This site's parser, version 225 — 家事事件手続法 — structure, counts, cross-references and defined terms, computed 2026-11-05