Tokyo High Court (東京高等裁判所, Tōkyō Kōtō Saibansho) is a high court in Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. The Intellectual Property High Court (知的財産高等裁判所, Chiteki-zaisan-kōtō-saiban-sho) is a special branch of Tokyo High Court. Japan has eight high courts: Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Hiroshima, Fukuoka, Sendai, Sapporo, and Takamatsu. Each court has jurisdiction over one of eight territories in the country. Each has a president and several high court judges. Typically three judges will sit to hear a case, though in some cases - such as ones related to insurrection - five judges will sit.
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👉 Tokyo High Court in the context of Recognition of same-sex unions in Japan
Japan does not recognize same-sex marriages or civil unions. Several municipalities and prefectures issue same-sex partnership certificates, which provide some benefits, but do not offer equal legal recognition. Polling suggests that a significant majority of Japanese people support the legalization of same-sex marriage or partnerships, particularly the younger generation. Politically, the Constitutional Democratic Party, the Japanese Communist Party, the Social Democratic Party, Reiwa Shinsengumi, Komeito, and the Japan Innovation Party support legalizing same-sex marriage. However, the Liberal Democratic Party, which has been in power almost continuously since 1958, remains opposed to it.
On 17 March 2021, a district court in Sapporo ruled that the Civil Code provisions outlawing same-sex marriage were unconstitutional, arguing that laws or regulations that deprive same-sex couples of the legal benefits of marriage constitute "discriminatory treatment without a rational basis" and as such violate Article 14 of the Constitution of Japan. The court also ruled that Article 24 of the Constitution, which defines marriage as "based only on the mutual consent of both sexes", does not expressly prohibit the recognition of same-sex marriages. Over the following two years, five other district courts issued rulings either upholding the ban or declaring it unconstitutional. In March 2024, the Sapporo High Court issued a verdict stating that the same-sex marriage ban violated the Constitution, the first time an appellate court had reached such a conclusion. The Tokyo High Court ruled similarly in October 2024. While these rulings did not legalize same-sex marriage in Japan, it is anticipated that they may pressure the National Diet to act on legislation opening marriage to same-sex couples. Bills were introduced to the Diet in 2019 and 2023.
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Tokyo High Court in the context of Lower court
A lower court or inferior court is a court from which an appeal may be taken, usually referring to courts other than supreme court. In relation to an appeal from one court to another, the lower court is the court whose decision is being reviewed, which may be the original trial court or some of appellate court lower in rank than the supreme court which is hearing the appeal. In other words, lower courts are 'lower' in hierarchical chain of appellate procedure than other higher appellate courts. Usually it is obligation of a lower court to follow the decision of higher appellate court, even in civil law countries where precedents have no binding power.
Some common law countries use term "lower court" or "inferior court" as antonym for "superior court", meaning such lower courts have only limited jurisdiction according to importance of case (usually decided by monetary amount of claims). For information on this kind of courts, see Small claims court and superior court.
Tokyo High Court in the context of Intellectual Property High Court
35°38′30″N 139°42′11″E / 35.641651°N 139.703047°EThe Intellectual Property High Court (知的財産高等裁判所, Chiteki-zaisan kōtō-saiban-sho), sometimes abbreviated IPHC, is a special branch of Tokyo High Court in the judicial system of Japan. It is based in Nakameguro, a district in Meguro Ward in Tokyo, Japan.
The Intellectual Property (IP) High Court was established on 1 April 2005, in order to accelerate and reduce the costs of patent litigation in Japan. The IP High Court hears appeals from district courts in Japan on patent actions and suits against appeal/trial decisions made by the Japan Patent Office (JPO). The IP High Court is also the exclusive court of appeals on issues such as: the rights of authors of a computer program, utility model rights, and integrated circuit layout design protection.