司法試験 法科大学院の不振は深刻だ

The Yomiuri Shimbun
Underperforming law schools pose serious problem for legal profession
司法試験　法科大学院の不振は深刻だ

A considerable number of candidates have been unable to pass the state-administered bar exam after completing their studies at law school. What should be done to address this problem?
　法科大学院を修了しても、司法試験に合格できない。その傾向に、どう歯止めをかけるか。

Successful applicants for this year’s National Bar Examination numbered a modest 1,810, a decrease of 239 from last year. This year’s figure marked the first drop below 2,000 in eight years.
　今年の司法試験の合格者は、前年より２３９人少ない１８１０人にとどまった。合格者が２０００人を割ったのは８年ぶりである。

As part of its efforts to reform the judicial system, the government has sought to increase the number of legal professionals. The move aims to transform our nation from a society where social problems are prevented in advance with administrative regulations into one where such problems are checked after they occur through legal means.
　司法制度改革で、政府は「事前規制型」から「事後チェック型」の社会への転換を目指し、法曹人口の増加を図った。

But the number of lawyers employed by local governments and business corporations has not increased as much as anticipated. A large number of people are unable to find jobs after passing the bar exam.
　だが、自治体や企業による弁護士の雇用は想定したほど拡大していない。司法試験に合格しても就職先が見つからない人が多い。

Given the circumstances, the government had no choice but to retract its goal — of increasing the number of successful applicants for the bar exam to 3,000 annually — in July last year. The Liberal Democratic Party and its junior coalition partner, New Komeito, have proposed lowering the numerical target to 1,500. The modest number of those who passed this year’s test seems to partly reflect the LDP-Komeito move.
　政府が昨年７月、司法試験の合格者数を３０００人にまで増やす目標を撤回したのは、やむを得まい。自民党と公明党は「合格者１５００人」を提言している。今回の合格者減の背景には、こうした動きもあるのだろう。

The government should consider setting a new numerical target after studying the issue from various perspectives while also considering potential needs for legal services.
　政府は、潜在的な法的ニーズも考慮し、法曹人口の新たな目標を多角的に検討すべきだ。

The judicial system must be reformed in a manner that will provide people with easy access to legal advice whenever they need it to settle problems that may arise in their daily lives. If an increase in the number of legal professionals helps foster fair competition among lawyers, it would do much to improve the quality of their legal services.
　国民が日常のトラブルについて、手軽に相談できる「身近な司法」を実現することは大切だ。法曹人口を増やし、弁護士の間で適正な競争が生まれれば、司法サービスの向上につながろう。

The bar exam results this year are another clear indication that law schools, a central component in the production of legal specialists, are poorly performing in this respect. This is evident in the percentage of law school graduates — just 21 percent — who passed this year’s bar exam.
　今回、改めて浮き彫りになったのが、法曹養成の中核である法科大学院の不振だ。修了生の合格率は２１％と低迷した。

Preliminary test takers do better

Yet solid results were achieved by those who took the bar exam after passing a preliminary test. Success in the latter test makes applicants eligible to take the bar exam even if they have not attended law school.
This year, 163 people passed the bar exam after qualifying to take the test through their success in the preliminary exam. Among applicants who followed this path, 67 percent passed the bar exam.
　対照的に、法科大学院を修了しなくても司法試験の受験資格を得られる予備試験を経た合格者は、過去最多の１６３人に上った。合格率は６７％に達した。

The preliminary examination system was established as an alternate route to the bar exam, to allow candidates to qualify for the bar exam despite being unable to attend law school for financial and other reasons.
　予備試験は、経済的理由などで法科大学院に通えない人にも、司法試験に挑戦する道を開く「例外ルート」として設けられた。

But in many cases, the preliminary test system has been used as a shortcut by university students and others who hope to save themselves the time and trouble of attending law school.
ところが、法科大学院で学ぶ過程を省く「近道」として、現役学生らが利用するケースが目立つ。

If more and more people seek to pass the bar exam after passing the preliminary test, it could shake the foundation of the current system for producing legal professionals. Efforts to reform law schools must not be delayed.
　予備試験組が増え続ければ、現在の法曹養成制度の根幹が揺らぎかねない。法科大学院の改革は待ったなしである。

Some law schools have been increasingly inclined to withdraw from their field of education in recent months. The move has accelerated since last autumn, when the education ministry said it would curtail grants-in-aid to law schools whose graduates perform poorly on the bar exam.
　文部科学省が昨秋、成績不振校に対する補助金の削減方針を表明して以降、法科大学院の間で撤退の動きが加速している。

There was a time when law schools bloomed, with their number peaking at 74. But the number of law schools accepting applications for admission next spring is expected to decrease to 54. It is only natural for law schools to quit if their students do badly on the exam.
　ピーク時には７４校が乱立したが、来春も学生を募集するのは５４校にまで減る見通しだ。実績を残せない法科大学院の淘汰とうたが進むのは、自然な流れと言えよう。

There are also concerns about an anticipated decrease in the number of people wishing to serve in the legal profession, partly due to the declining popularity of law faculties at universities. It is imperative for universities and law schools to join hands in trying to attract gifted students through such measures as granting early admission to high-achieving undergraduate students.
　法学部人気が低下し、法曹志願者の減少も懸念される。大学と法科大学院が連携し、成績優秀な学部生の飛び入学を柔軟に認めるなど、有能な人材を惹ひきつける取り組みが欠かせない。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Sept. 11, 2014)Speech