The Alternative Disputes Resolution Institution for Medical Malpractices will be established in next year based on the ADR Law enacted in April 2007.[1] The organization is interesting because the victims by medical malpractices will be involved in the establishment.
Civil cases
Many compensation claims related to medical malpractices are filed with courts in Japan. The number of suits was 1,110 in 2004 and 9999 in 2005.[2] We can find court rulings concerning the cases in web-site[3] of the Supreme Court frequently.
Criminal case
The criminal cases concerning medical malpractice are relatively few rather than civil cases. But the number was 91 in 2005. Period of procedure District courts in big city have specific division dealing with medical malpractice. For instance, Osaka District Court has 2 divisions. Therefore the judicial procedure seems to be accelerated compared with previous time. However it takes over two years at least until finishing first ruling; although the period has been shorten recently. Until 2000, average period that a court procedure took was over three yeas. Nevertheless, the period is too long.
Effectiveness
In the case where difference between each party’s statements is small and the disputes are focused in the amount of damage, the ADR might be the measure of effective resolution.
[1] http://www.jiji.com/jc/c?g=soc_date3&k=2007062400177
[2] http://www.mhlw.go.jp/shingi/2007/04/dl/s0420-11c_02.pdf
[3] http://www.courts.go.jp/search/jhsp0010?action_id=first&hanreiSrchKbn=01, http://kanz.jp/hanrei/search.html?cat=11
