Understanding Civil Code Minpō dokkai: Kyū minpō zaisan hen I: Jinken (Japan’s First Civil Code, Property＆Assets I: Law of Obligations - The New Law of Obligations as Perceived in Terms of Japan’s First Civil Code)

Minpō dokkai: Kyū minpō zaisan hen I: Jinken (Understanding Civil Code: Japan’s First Civil Code, Property＆Asset I: Law of Obligations; 2020) is the third in a series that includes Minpō dokkai sōsoku hen (Understanding Civil Law: General Provisions; 2009) and Minpō dokkai shinzoku hen (Understanding Civil Law: Family 2014). As with the previous two volumes in the series, this book presents explanations of the provisions of Japan’s civil codes, basically in order of the relevant articles. It looks much like an annotated commentary.
 
Generally, annotated commentaries are intended primarily to meet the needs of practitioners seeking answers to specific questions by providing detailed explanations of each article. This Understanding Civil Code series, however, starts with the individual articles, but then goes on to explore how the different texts interact so as to present a world view of civil law in general (or its one part) that will give an answer the readers’ interest in   the very nature of civil law, and what it means to apply laws to create a society. Thus, though this series is in the form of commentaries, the contents are more like essays.
 
As one of the books in this series, this publication shares this characteristic, but it also differs in some respects from the previous two volumes. The first two volumes deal with the general provisions and articles regarding family law in Japan’s current Civil Code which were enacted in 1898 and still remain in effect. In contrast, this third volume covers the provisions regarding property in Japan’s first Civil Code.
 
Studying past civil codes is not only meaningful as historical research, but also because it helps in understanding current civil codes. Japan’s first Civil Code that I refer to was promulgated in 1890, but never really enforced before it was replaced with the current Civil Code. It was primarily drafted by the French legal scholar Gustave Émile Boissonade and was strongly influenced by French law. While Japan’s current Civil Code is based on the first Civil Code, they differ markedly in a number of aspects, to the extent that the first Civil Code sometimes seems totally foreign. It can be particularly useful to study the laws of other countries to better understand one’s own country’s laws, and in this respect, Japan’s first Civil Code could be considered our most familiar “foreign” code of laws.”
 
In 2017, just prior to this third volume’s publication in 2020, the law of obligations within Japan’s Civil Code was radically revised. In understanding the revisions, it is particularly useful to study the law of obligations of the first Civil Code. There are numerous commentaries on the new law of obligations, but this book will provide an approach to the subject from a different perspective.
 

(Written by OMURA Atsushi, Professor Emeritus, Graduate Schools for Law and Politics / 2023)