Araki, Takashi; Wolff, Leon --- "Popular participation in labour law: the new labour dispute resolution tribunal" [2015] ELECD 477; in Wolff, Leon; Nottage, Luke; Anderson, Kent (eds), "Who Rules Japan?" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2015) 45

Book Title: Who Rules Japan?

Editor(s): Wolff, Leon; Nottage, Luke; Anderson, Kent

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781849804103

Section: Chapter 3

Section Title: Popular participation in labour law: the new labour dispute resolution tribunal

Author(s): Araki, Takashi; Wolff, Leon

Number of pages: 18

Abstract/Description:

The Labour Tribunal Law (No. 45 of 2004) ushered in a new court-annexed dispute resolution system for industrial relations disputes in Japan (outlined generally in Sugeno, 2004). Similar to the lay judge system for criminal trials (Johnson and Shinomiya, Chapter 2), the new tribunal adopts an adjudicative model that blends professional and lay expertise with decisions heard by a tripartite panel comprising a professional judge and two lay judges recommended by management and labour unions respectively. The new tribunal system came into operation on 1 April 2006. Japan has never maintained a separate system of specialist courts for resolving labour disputes (see Figure 3.1). This contrasts with Europe where lay justice, comprising representative input from management and labour, is the norm. For example, the labour courts in Germany (Arbeitsgericht) and the employment tribunals in the UK are tripartite bodies; the labour courts in France (conseil de prud’hommes) are bipartite. However, since 1945, Japan has maintained labour relations commissions– administrative dispute resolution bodies in which both enterprise and unions participate. Labour relations commissions are tripartite, comprising members representing the public interest, labour and management. They have two major functions: (i) collective dispute resolution through mediation, conciliation and arbitration; and (ii) quasi-judicial determination of cases involving allegations of unfair labour practices. The former function is more than just enforcing existing norms; it also extends to disputes that seek to establish new work-related norms, such as collective bargaining culminating in strikes or lockouts.