In a lawsuit filed by a hearing-impaired couple in their 70s living in Osaka seeking compensation from the government for being forced to undergo sterilization under the former Eugenic Protection Law, the Osaka District Court ruled that the law was unconstitutional. However, the lawsuit was dismissed on the grounds that the right to seek reparations from the state had been lost due to the passage of time.
A couple in their 70s living in Osaka Prefecture who are both hearing-impaired underwent a sterilization operation based on the former Eugenic Protection Law after giving birth to their first son 48 years ago, without any explanation from doctors or mothers. He claimed that he was forced to pay compensation of about 22 million yen from the country.
In the ruling on the 22nd, Osaka District Court Chief Judge Noriko Yokota said that the former Eugenic Protection Law violated the Constitution, saying, ``The purpose of the legislation is inhumane and discriminatory, and it is clear that it is unconstitutional.'' I decided.
However, she said that 20 years had passed since she had been sterilized at the time she filed the lawsuit three years ago, so she said that "the right to claim compensation has expired", and she is not liable for compensation by the state. rejected her complaint.
This is a decision that applied the "exclusion period" stipulated in the Civil Code before the revision, which stipulates that the right to seek compensation in court will be extinguished 20 years after the other party's illegal act.
In consideration of the extremely difficult environment in which it was extremely difficult to file lawsuits due to the effects of discrimination and prejudice for a long time, the ruling decided that a six-month exclusion period would start around January 2018, when a similar lawsuit was filed for the first time nationwide. ”, but did not accept the complaint because the plaintiff couple filed the complaint later.
Concerning the former Eugenic Protection Law, the Osaka High Court in February and the Tokyo High Court in March successively handed down judgments ordering compensation to the government, but this time the judgment was different.
Plaintiff ``Pain can't be forgotten''
The plaintiff, a hearing-impaired woman in her 70s who lives in Osaka, held a press conference after the ruling and said through a sign language interpreter, "I cannot forget my pain. I wanted to give birth and raise my second child. I wanted to see him grow up," he said.
Lawyer Keino Tsujikawa, a lawyer for the plaintiff, said, "Despite the fact that the judgment was inhumane and discriminatory, the right to seek compensation after the passage of time due to the 'disqualification period.' Although the ``disqualification period'' was limited to six months, it was necessary to obtain a medical certificate from a doctor to file a lawsuit, and it was extremely difficult to obtain a medical certificate. It took four months alone. I am angry that the barriers have not been resolved and the 'disqualification period' is limited to six months."
Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare "State's claim accepted"
Regarding the Osaka District Court's decision to dismiss the plaintiff's claim, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare said, "We recognize that the government's claim regarding whether or not it is responsible under the National Compensation Law has been accepted. Based on the former Eugenic Protection Law. For those who have undergone eugenic surgery, etc., the law concerning the payment of lump-sum payments has been promulgated and enforced, and we will continue to work on steadily paying lump-sum payments.”