Right to sue - soken

The concept of the right of a private individual to request a court ruling by filing a lawsuit. In civil litigation, as the legal proverb Nemo judex sine actore (no lawsuit, no trial) indicates, the court will only rule on matters that have been filed (a petition for judgment), and will not rule on cases that have not been actively filed or on matters that are beyond the scope of the lawsuit. Moreover, if a lawsuit is filed, the court has no discretion to choose whether or not to rule on the lawsuit, and must always respond in some way. In other words, when a civil dispute arises, the parties involved can file a lawsuit with the court, which is a judicial organ of the state, to protect their rights and request that the case be heard and a judgment be made based on the lawsuit. If the ability to file a petition for judgment is considered as a person's right, it is called the right to sue.

The theory of legal principles that allow parties with public law rights to seek protection of their rights or dispute resolution from the court is called the right to sue theory. This theory has undergone many changes along with the development of the civil litigation system and public law theory to the present day. It can be briefly summarized as follows. In the 19th century, the public law theory of right to sue first appeared, replacing the very simple theory of private law right to sue theory (the theory that the plaintiff's private law rights against the defendant are the right to exercise them in court). This theory of public law right to sue then progressed from the abstract public rights theory (the theory that the right to sue is an expression of personal rights and that private individuals have the public law right to seek a trial and judgment from the state) to the concrete public rights theory, which states that a person has the right to demand a judgment in his or her favor from the court. The theoretical structure of the concrete public rights theory was further developed into the theory of the right to claim protection of rights, which incorporated the substantive relationship of the "purpose of litigation" into the theoretical system and provided a theoretical connection between the lawsuit and the judgment. This theory was all the rage in the world of civil procedure law for a time, but currently other theories such as the right to claim a judgment on the merits theory and the right to claim judicial action theory are also widely advocated. There are also theories that take the position of denying the right to sue, arguing that there is no point in discussing the right to sue.

[Takeyoshi Uchida]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

訴えによって裁判所の審判を要求しうることを私人の権能としてみた場合の観念。民事訴訟においては「訴えなければ裁判なし」Nemo judex sine actoreとの法諺(ほうげん)が示すように、裁判所は訴え（判決の申立て）のあった事項についてだけ判決し、積極的に訴えのない事件や、訴えの範囲を超えた事項については判決しない。しかも裁判所は訴えがあれば、その訴えに対して審判するかしないかを選択する裁量の余地はなく、かならずなんらかの応答をしなければならない。すなわち、民事の紛争が生じた場合に、その当事者は権利保護を求めるため、国家の司法機関である裁判所に対して訴えを提起し、事件の審理とこれに基づく判決とを要求できることになっているのであって、このような判決の申立てができることを、その者の権利としてみた場合、それを訴権という。

　このような公法上の権利を有する当事者が裁判所に対して権利保護あるいは紛争解決を求めることのできる法理についての学説を訴権学説という。これは民事訴訟制度の発達と公法理論の発展に伴い、幾多の変遷を遂げて今日に至っている。略説すれば以下のとおりである。19世紀において、まず公法的訴権説が、きわめて素朴な学説ともいうべき私法的訴権説（原告の被告に対する私法上の権利を裁判所に対して行使する権利とする説）にかわって登場した。さらに、この公法的訴権説が抽象的公権説（訴権を人格権の発露とし、私人が国家に対して審理判決を求める公法上の権利とする説）から、裁判所に対して自己に有利な判決を要求する権利とする具体的公権説に進み、さらに具体的公権説の理論構造を発展させて、「訴訟の目的」たる実体関係を理論体系に取り入れ、訴えと判決との間に理論的連関をもたしめた権利保護請求権説が現れた。この説は一時期、民事訴訟法学界を風靡(ふうび)したが、現在ではこの説のほかに、本案判決請求権説、司法行為請求権説なども有力に唱えられている。また訴権論を論ずる意味がないとして訴権否認論の立場をとる学説もある。

［内田武吉］

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