I hereby promulgate the Law concerning the Authority of the Attorney-General in the Judicial Procedure in which the Interests of the State are involved.
Signed:HIROHITO, Seal of the Emperor
This seventeenth day of the twelfth month of the twenty-second year of Shows (December 17, 1947)
Prime Minister KATAYAMA Tetsu
Article 1. In the judicial procedure in which the State is a party or participator, the Attorney-General shall represent the State.
Article 2. The Attorney-General may nominate a functionary from among his subordinates to take charge of the judicial procedure provided for in the preceding Article.
When the Attorney-General considers it necessary in connection with the judicial procedure provided for in the preceding Article, about the matters under the charge or supervision of an Administrative Office, he may, after hearing the opinion of the said Administrative Office, nominate an official of that Office to take charge of the said judicial procedure. In this case, the nominee. shall be under the direction of the Attorney-General so for as the said judicial procedure is concerned.
Article 3. Notwithstanding the provisions of the preceding Article, the Attorney-General may appoint a lawyer as his judicial attorney to take charge of the judicial procedure provided for in Article 1.
Article 4. In a judicial procedure in which the interests of the State and public welfare are deeply involved the Attorney-General may, with permission of the Court, express his opinion to the Court or nominate a functionary from among his subordinates and have him express his opinion.
Article 5. An Administrative Office may nominate a functionary from among his subordinates to take charge of the judicial procedure in which it is a party or participator.
Notwithstanding the provisions of the preceding paragraph, an Administrative Office may appoint a lawyer to take charge of the judicial procedure provided for in the provisions of the preceding paragraph.
Article 6. In the judicial procedure provided for in paragraph 1 of the preceding Article, the Administrative Office shall be under the direction of the Attorney-General.
When the Attorney-General considers it necessary in connection with the judicial procedure provided for in paragraph 1 of the preceding Article he may nominate a functionary from among his subordinates to take chage of the said judicial procedure or dismiss a person who has been nominated or chosen by an Administrative Office in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 1 or 2 of the preceding Article.
The provisions of the preceding two paragraphs shall not apply in regard to a suit concerning a decision (shinketsu) of the Fair Trade Commission.
Article 7. The nominee nominated by the Attorney-General or the Administrative Office in accordance with the provisions of Article 2, paragraph 1 of Article 5 or paragraph 2 of the preceding Article, is authorized to do all the judicial acts other than the appointment of the counsel in regard to the said judicial procedure.
Article 8. The provisions of Article 1 to the preceding Article inclusive shall be applicable mutatis mutandis to arbitration or non-judicial cases.
Supplementary Provisions:
This Law shall be enforced on and from the date of the enforcement of the Law Establishing the Attorney General's Office.
A functionary belonging to an Administrative Office, who represents the State in regard to the judicial procedure provided for in Article 1 or 8 which is pending at the time of the enforcement of this Law, shall be considered as nominated so far as the said judicial procedure is concerned by the Attorney-General in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 2 of Article 2 (including the case wherein these provisions are made applicable mutatis mutandis in Article 8).
The Postal Savings Law shall be partly amended as follows:
Prime Minister KATAYAMA Tetsu
Minister for Foreign Affairs ASHIDA Hitoshi
Minister for Home Affairs KIMURA Kozaemon
Minister of Finance KURUSU Takeo
Minister of Justice SUZUKI Yoshio
Minister of Education MORITO Tatsuo
Minister of Welfare HITOTSUMATSU Sadayoshi
Minister of Agriculture and Forestry HATANO Kanae
Minister of Commerce and Industry MIZUTANI Chozaburo
Minister of Transportation KITAMURA Tokutaro
Minister of Communications MIKI Takeo
Minister of Labor YONEKUBO Mitsusuke