The Matsuyama District Court found a court record of the "Ehime Tamashii Fee Lawsuit," which was said to have been abandoned in the first trial that the Supreme Court ruled as unconstitutional over the separation of church and state.
It has been revealed that many post-war civil court records have been discarded, and experts say, "I want the court to proceed with the confirmation of the records."
It was found that Ehime Prefecture's expenditure of tamagushi charges from public funds violated the constitution that stipulated the separation of church and state, and the Supreme Court issued the first unconstitutional judgment in 1997, "Ehime Tamagushi charges." It is a court record of "litigation".
The court said it had already destroyed the record, but last month, Matsuyama District Court officials found 21 records in two cardboard boxes in the warehouse.
Records of civil trials are to be retained in the court where the first trial was held for five years after being finalized, but important judgments and trials of historical value are retained as "special preservation". There is a mechanism.
However, the Supreme Court notified courts nationwide last year of a new standard for special preservation, as the operation became a mere ghost and it became clear that many important post-war court records had been destroyed in court. ..
Regarding the records found, the Matsuyama District Court says, "I would like to proceed with the procedure for special preservation promptly."
Eiji Tsukahara, a former professor at Aoyama Gakuin University who is familiar with the preservation of court records, said, "It was a historic unconstitutional decision, and it was good that the records remained. It seems, so I would like courts nationwide to proceed with confirmation. "