Okamatsu Santaro

Civil law scholar. Born in Kumamoto Prefecture. Graduated from the Department of English Law at the Faculty of Law of Tokyo Imperial University in 1894 (Meiji 27), and became an assistant professor at the same university. In 1896, he studied in Germany, France, and Italy, returning to Japan in 1899 and becoming a professor at Kyoto Imperial University in the same year, retiring in 1913 (Taisho 2). Although he was from an English law background, he was strongly influenced by German jurisprudence, and developed a sophisticated German-style theory of interpretation jurisprudence. His book "No-Fault Liability for Damages," published in 1916, is an excellent classic work in this field, which acknowledges the rationality of negligence liability as a principle of civil liability, while confirming its limitations, and clarifies the theoretical and practical necessity and grounds for recognizing no-fault liability (result liability) as an exception. In addition, just before he left for his study abroad, he completed the three-volume Annotated Civil Code Reasons, which cited foreign legislative examples and theories and explained the legislative reasons for each provision of the Civil Code article by article. It was a masterpiece that caused the editor, Masaaki Tomii, to say, "It is enough to prove his excellent academic ability and the depth of his research." Through these books and papers, he introduced a full-scale research method to Japanese civil law and paved the way for comparative legal research. His other works include Legal Action Theory (1914).

[Takahisa Awaji]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

民法学者。熊本県生まれ。1894年（明治27）東京帝国大学法科大学英法科を卒業、同大学助教授となる。96年ドイツ、フランス、イタリアに留学、99年に帰国し、同年から京都帝国大学教授となり、1913年（大正2）退官。イギリス法出身ではあるが、ドイツ法学の影響を強く受け、ドイツ流の精緻(せいち)な解釈法学を発展させた。16年に著した『無過失損害賠償責任論』は、過失責任を民事責任の原則としてその合理性を認めつつ限界を確認し、例外的に無過失責任（結果責任）を承認すべき理論上および実際上の必要と根拠とを明らかにした、この領域における優れた古典的文献である。また、留学直前に完成した『註釈(ちゅうしゃく)民法理由』3巻は、諸外国の立法例、学説を引用し、民法典各条項の立法理由を逐条的に説明し、校閲者富井政章(まさあきら)をして、「其(そ)の学力の優秀なると其の研究の至れるを証するに足るべし」といわしめた名著である。これらの著書、論文を通じて、日本の民法に本格的な研究方法を導入するとともに比較法学的研究への道を開いた。そのほか『法律行為論』（1914）がある。

［淡路剛久］

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