Civil Service Appointment Order - Bunkanninyorei

An imperial ordinance that stipulated the appointment qualifications for general civil servants other than those appointed by the Emperor under the Constitution of the Empire of Japan. It was promulgated in October 1893 (Meiji 26). The open selection system for civil servants had already begun with the Civil Service Examination Probationary and Probationary Regulations promulgated in July 1887, but the Appointment Order abolished the previous privilege of appointing graduates of national schools without examination, aiming to make appointments fairer, and established the principle that sounin and hannin officials would be appointed from those who passed the respective examinations. As political parties subsequently became more aggressive in demanding patronage for imperially appointed officials, which had previously been freely appointed, the second Yamagata Aritomo cabinet in 1899 amended the law to limit imperially appointed officials to those with certain qualifications in order to prevent the infiltration of political party influence and ensure strict order in the hierarchy of the bureaucracy. In the Taisho period, as political parties gained more influence in politics, the ordinance was amended again and the scope of free appointments was expanded in part. After World War II, this imperial decree was abolished.

[Mitsuko Oshima]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

大日本帝国憲法下で、親任(しんにん)官以外の一般文官の任用資格を定めた勅令。1893年（明治26）10月に公布。すでに1887年7月公布の文官試験試補及見習規則によって官吏の公開選抜制は緒についていたが、任用令は官立学校卒業者無試験任用の従来の特権を廃止して任用の公平化を図るとともに、奏任(そうにん)官・判任(はんにん)官をそれぞれの試験の合格者から任用するという原則を確立した。自由任用であった勅任(ちょくにん)官に対しては、その後政党の猟官要求が激しくなったため、99年第二次山県有朋(やまがたありとも)内閣は、政党勢力の侵入を防ぎ、官僚の上下の厳格な秩序を確保するために、勅任官も一定の有資格者に限る趣旨の改正を行った。大正期に入って、政党の政治への発言力増大に伴い、ふたたび改正が行われ、自由任用の範囲が一部拡大された。第二次世界大戦後にこの勅令は廃止された。

［大島美津子］

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