Curriculum Guide · Courses

Professor Goodman

LL.M Course 867 (cross-listed) | 1 credit hours

The Japanese Civil Procedure course will discuss civil procedure in Japan from the pre-filing stage wherein the limited methods for fact finding are discussed, through the fact oriented pleading stage, followed by the new Preparation for Oral Argument procedure and then the Plenary Hearing stage. Production of documents as well as the Japanese rules related to witness testimony will be discussed. To understand the Japanese system the course will deal with the differences between the Civil Law and Common Law litigation systems. In addition to the civil procedure code of Japan, the course will discuss other laws that have an impact on trial practice in Japan such as recent changes in Intellectual Property laws to expand the availability of document production and a loosening of measure of damages rules available in copyright and patent infringement cases. Japanese procedure will be discussed as to how it may affect American litigation-such as rules on how to serve a Japanese defendant and the effect of service methods that might be acceptable to some American courts but that are not acceptable in Japan. Japanese rules for the recognition of foreign judgments will also be discussed, with special emphasis on how such rules affect United States judgments. Grading will be based upon a written examination and class participation.