Litigation - Soshokoui

In civil litigation, it refers to the willful acts (including notice of intention and notice of intent) of the parties to a litigation (such as the court and the subject of the litigation) that are carried out in order to directly produce a procedural effect. If it produces a procedural effect, it is a procedural act whether it is carried out before the litigation (such as an agreement on jurisdiction or a commission of litigation) or outside the litigation procedure (such as the selection of a selected party). Depending on the subject, procedural acts are classified into court procedural acts (judicial actions and factual actions - such as the examination of evidence) and parties procedural acts, but the parties' procedural acts are important in civil litigation. Depending on the nature of the act, the parties' procedural acts are further classified into notice of intention, notice of intent, and expression of intention, and further classified into effective procedural acts and preemptive procedural acts depending on whether the effect is produced by the parties' procedural act alone or after the court's decision. However, the important thing is to classify them according to the content of the act, which are petitions (acts to request a certain action such as a trial or examination of evidence from the court - lawsuits, applications for evidence, etc. If the parties are granted the right to petition, the court must respond), assertions (acts to submit materials to justify a petition, which include legal assertions asserting the existence or non-existence of rights and factual assertions asserting the existence or non-existence of facts), and procedural legal acts (expressions of intent aimed at producing legal effects under procedural law, such as withdrawal of a lawsuit or appeal, and agreement on jurisdiction). The general qualification to perform a procedural act is called litigation capacity. Conditions or deadlines cannot be attached to procedural acts (with the exception of preliminary petitions). Furthermore, the principle of representation is adopted to ensure the stability of the procedure, and it is said that it is not affected by defects such as mistakes, fraud, and false representations, but it is common to recognize invalidity or rescission in cases such as agreement on jurisdiction, granting of representation, litigation settlement, and waiver or admission of claims. When formative rights such as the right of set-off, the right of rescission, and the right of termination are exercised in litigation, there is a dispute as to whether it is a procedural act or a private law act (differences arise depending on whether the action is dismissed or withdrawn, or whether an attack or defense is dismissed or withdrawn).

In criminal proceedings, as in civil proceedings, acts are classified into factual acts and acts expressing intention, as well as acts of substance and acts of procedure.

[Yoshinobu Homma]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

民事訴訟では、訴訟法上の効果を直接生じさせるために行われる訴訟関係者（裁判所および訴訟の主体など）の意思行為（意思通知、観念通知を含む）をいう。訴訟法上の効果を生じさせるものであれば、訴訟以前に行われるもの（管轄の合意、訴訟委任など）であろうと、訴訟手続外で行われるもの（選定当事者の選定など）であろうと訴訟行為である。訴訟行為は、その主体によって、裁判所の訴訟行為（裁判と事実行為――証拠調べなど）と当事者の訴訟行為とに分類されるが、当事者の訴訟行為が民事訴訟では重要である。この当事者の訴訟行為は、さらに、行為の性質により、意思通知、観念通知および意思表示に分類され、また、当事者の訴訟行為だけで効果が生じるのか、裁判所の裁判を待って効果が生じるのかにより、与効的訴訟行為と取効的訴訟行為とに分類される。しかし、重要なのは、行為の内容による分類で、申立て（裁判所に対し裁判、証拠調べなど一定の行為を求める行為――訴え、証拠申請など。当事者に申立権が認められている場合には、裁判所はかならず応答しなければならない）、主張（申立てを理由づける資料を提出する行為で、権利の存否の主張たる法律上の主張、事実の存否の主張たる事実上の主張がそれである）、訴訟法律行為（訴え・上訴の取下げ、管轄の合意など訴訟法上の法律効果の発生を目的とする意思表示）がそれである。訴訟行為を有効に行うことができる一般的資格を訴訟能力という。訴訟行為には条件・期限を付すことができない（例外として予備的申立て）。さらに、手続の安定のため表示主義がとられ、錯誤、詐欺、虚偽表示等の瑕疵(かし)により影響を受けないとされるが、管轄の合意、代理権の授与、訴訟上の和解、請求の放棄・認諾などの場合には無効・取消しを認めるのが一般的である。相殺権、取消権、解除権などの形成権が訴訟上行使される場合に、訴訟行為か、私法行為か争いがある（訴えの却下・取下げ、攻撃防御方法の却下・撤回の場合に、そのいずれかにより差異が生じる）。

　なお、刑事訴訟においても、民事訴訟におけると同義であるが、事実行為と意思表示的行為、また、実体形成行為と手続形成行為とに分類される。

［本間義信］

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