Seminar Report on the Constitutional Law and Cases

2019年7月6日（土），広島大学大学院法務研究科では，授業科目「公法実務基礎」の公開講義（担当：大島義則客員准教授，伊藤建客員准教授）を開催するのと同時に，外部講師を招いた講演会を実施した。今年度は慶應義塾大学大学院法務研究科の横大道聡教授をお迎えし，「憲法判例の射程を知る」とするタイトルのもとご講演をいただいた。 本講演録は，その模様について誌上採録をしたものである。また，ご講演後のディスカッションの様子もあわせて掲載している。ディスカッションには，公法実務基礎の公開講義をご担当のお二人の先生にも参加いただいている。掲載にあたっては，加筆・修正を加え，読みやすい体裁に整えている

The State of Studies of Japanese Constitution in the U. S. and Europe <Research Note>

本文に記したように本稿は，2013年度～2015年度にかけて取得した，科研費・基盤研究（C）「欧米諸国における日本憲法研究の状況をめぐる憲法学的検証」（研究課題番号：25380038）に基づく研究成果である（なお，本研究の一部において，平成27年度慶磨義塾学事振興資金に基づく調査研究も反映されている）

模範議会2017 : 記録と資料

departmental bulletin pape

Constitutional Amendments Contrary to Constitutionalism: The Political Nature of Unconstitutional Constitutional Amendment in Japan [Article]

ArticleConstitutional law scholars in Japan have acknowledged the limitations of power to amend the Constitution since before the enactment of the Constitution of Japan in 1946. They argue that there are some “cores” that cannot be changed, even if pursuant to the prescribed procedure in the Constitution. However, they deny judicial scrutiny of when a constitutional amendment exceeds its limits. In this sense, the argument about unconstitutional constitutional amendments in Japan tends to be political, not legal, in nature. One of the “cores” of the Japanese Constitution is constitutionalism. Many constitutional law scholars have recently criticized attempts at constitutional amendment by Prime Minister Shinzō Abe’s administration and the Liberal Democratic Party as “contrary to constitutionalism” and/or a “crisis of constitutionalism.” This article analyzes the meaning of that criticism and points out that it does not always mean the proposed amendment is an unconstitutional constitutional amendment: they sometimes use these narratives because the content of the proposed amendment is problematic, and sometimes amending the Constitution is unnecessary. The article argues that the reason for such a loose usage of the concept of constitutionalism stems from political motivation: the goal is to maximize the political effect of holding up constitutional amendments by taking advantage of the vague concept of constitutionalism. This article claims that scholars should abstain from overusing the concept of constitutionalism and crisis narratives and clarify what constitutes a legally unconstitutional constitutional amendment in Japan.This material published in Arizona Journal of International and Comparative Law is made available by the James E. Rogers College of Law, the Daniel F. Cracchiolo Law Library, and the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact the AJICL Editorial Board at http://arizonajournal.org/contact-us/