Hostname: page-component-77c89778f8-5wvtr Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-16T10:05:10.871Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Procedural Justice and the Assessment of Civil Justice in Japan

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2024

Ken-ichi Ohbuchi ,
Kazuhiko Teshigahara ,
Ikuo Sugawara  and
Kei-ichiro Imazai
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

In analyzing the data from a structured interview survey with Japanese litigants of civil trials, we examined the relationships between their perceptions of outcomes and process of the trials, responses to the trials, and evaluation of the judicial system. The results showed that both favorability of trial outcomes and procedural fairness of trials increased satisfaction with the trial outcomes and evaluation of the judicial system. Satisfaction was largely determined by perceived favorability, while the evaluation of the judicial system was largely determined by perceived procedural fairness, suggesting a justice bond effect that justice fortifies people's societal commitment. Consistent with procedural justice theories, the perception of procedural fairness was increased by the sense of control and the appraisal of relational factors, though both were affected by favorability.

Type
Articles of General Interest
Information
Law & Society Review , Volume 39 , Issue 4 , December 2005 , pp. 875 - 892
Copyright
© 2005 Law and Society Association.

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Barrett-Howard, Edith, & Lamm, Helmut (1986) Procedural and Distributive Justice: Definitions and Beliefs of West German University Students. Unpublished manuscript, Northwestern University.Google Scholar
Kidder, Lonise H., & Muller, Susan (1991) “What Is Fair in Japan?” in Steemsma, H. & Verton, R., eds., Social Justice in Human Relations, Vol. 2: Social and Psychological Consequences of Justice and Injustice. New York: Plenum.Google Scholar
Leung, Kwok, & Lind, E. Allen (1986) “Procedural Justice and Culture: Effects of Culture, Gender, and Investigator Status on Procedural Preferences,” 50 J. of Personality and Social Psychology 1134–40.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lind, E. Allen, & Tyler, Tom R. (1988) The Social Psychology of Procedural Justice. New York: Plenum.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lind, E. Allen, et al. (1976) “A Cross-Cultural Comparison of the Effect of Adversary and Nonadversary Processes on Bias in Legal Decision Making,” 62 Virginia Law Rev. 271–83.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lind, E. Allen, et al. (1978) “Reactions to Procedural Models for Adjudicative Conflict Resolution: A Cross-National Study,” 22 J. of Conflict Resolution 318–41.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lind, E. Allen (1990) “In the Eye of the Beholder: Tort Litigants' Evaluations of Their Experiences in the Civil Justice System,” 24 Law & Society Rev. 953–96.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Markus, Hazel R., & Kitayama, Shinobu (1991) “Culture and the Self: Implications for Cognition, Emotion, and Motivation,” 98 Psychological Rev. 224–253.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mashaw, Jerry (1985) Due Process in the Administrative State. New Haven: Yale Univ. Press.Google Scholar
Moorman, Robert H., et al. (1993) “Treating Employees Fairly and Organizational Citizenship Behavior: Sorting the Effects of Job Satisfaction, Organizational Commitment, and Procedural Justice,” 6 Employee Responsibilities & Rights J. 209–25.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ohbuchi, Ken-ichi, et al. (1999) “Cultural Values in Conflict Management: Goal Orientation, Goal Attainment, and Tactical Decision,” 30 J. of Cross-Cultural Psychology 51–71.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ohbuchi, Ken-ichi, et al. (2001) “Conflict Management and Organizational Attitudes among Japanese: Individual and Group Goals and Justice,” 4 Asian J. of Social Psychology 93–101.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, Peter B., & Bond, Michael H. (1998) Social Psychology Across Cultures, 2nd ed. London: Prentice Hall.Google Scholar
Sugawara, Ikuo, & Hou, Yuen J. (1994) “Disputers in Japan: A Cross-Cultural Test of the Procedural Justice Model,” 7 Social Justice Research 129–44.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
The Japanese Supreme Court (1999) “Considerations on the Justice System of the 21st Century: Basic Tenets of the Japanese Supreme Court on Reformation of the Justice System [Japanese],” http://www.courts.go.jp/pre21/pre21.htm (accessed 28 December 2002).Google Scholar
The Japanese Supreme Court (2000) 1999 Annual Report of Judicial Statistics in Japan [Japanese]. Tokyo: The Japanese Supreme Court.Google Scholar
The Judicial Reform Council of Japan (2001) A Report of Survey Research with Litigants of Civil Trials [Japanese]. Tokyo: Research Survey Center.Google Scholar
Thibaut, John, & Walker, Laurens (1975) Procedural Justice: A Psychological Analysis. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Thibaut, John, & Walker, Laurens (1978) “A Theory of Procedure,” 66 California Law Rev. 541–66.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Triandis, Harry C. (1995) Individualism and Collectivism. Boulder: Westview Press.Google Scholar
Tyler, Tom R. (1990) Why Do People Obey the Law? New Haven: Yale Univ. Press.Google Scholar
Tyler, Tom R., & Lind, E. Allen (1992) “A Relational Model of Authority in Groups,” in Zanna, M., ed., Advances in Experimental Social Psychology. New York: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Tyler, Tom R., et al. (1997) Social Justice in a Diverse Society. Boulder: Westview Press.Google Scholar