Date and time: March 5, 2024 from 3:00 pm to 3:30 pm

Venue: Supreme Court Third Petty Bench (President Michiharu Hayashi)

Contents:
1. The appellant has submitted a letter of appeal, statement of grounds for appeal, and petition for acceptance of appeal.
2. The appellee submitted a written statement of grounds for appeal and a written reply to the petition for acceptance of appeal.
3. The appellant presented a brief summarizing the main points of the arguments made to date.
4 The respondent also submitted a summary of the argument.

Next time, it's finally the date of the Supreme Court's decision.
The sentence will be handed down in the Third Petty Bench of the Supreme Court at 3:00 pm on March 26, 2024.
During the hearing of the judgment, numbered tickets will be distributed and a lottery will be held, just as on the current hearing date. For more information, please check the information on the Supreme Court's website.
https://www.courts.go.jp/saikosai/kengaku/saikousai_kijitsu/index.html

For the first time, the Supreme Court has issued a ruling on whether the phrase ``a person who was in a de facto marriage relationship'' (meaning a person who was in a de facto marriage relationship) includes a same-sex relationship. Masu. Please pay attention.

The Supreme Court is set to hold a court hearing to ``provide same-sex partners with family benefits for crime victims.''

On August 26, 2022, the Nagoya High Court issued an appeals court ruling, in which the request was not approved, as was the case in the first instance.

Therefore, we filed an appeal and a petition for acceptance of the appeal on September 4, 2022, requesting a hearing at the Supreme Court.

The date for the hearing has been designated by the Third Petty Bench of the Supreme Court.

■Oral date

Date and time: March 5, 2024 (Reiwa 6) 3:00 p.m.

Location: Supreme Court Third Petty Bench

(Please note that this is a separate government building from the Tokyo District Court and Tokyo High Court.)

It is possible to observe on the date, but there is a possibility that there will be a lottery for observing.

Please check the information on the court website.

https://www.courts.go.jp/saikosai/kengaku/saikousai_kijitsu/index.html

■Contents of the due date

The appellant's (plaintiff's) representative will briefly outline the argument.

(This date is not the date for handing down the judgment. It is the date for conveying the content of the appellant's argument to the judge in preparation for the judgment.)

■Social significance of this case

・For the first time, the Supreme Court has decided whether the phrase "a person who was in a de facto marital relationship" (a concept equivalent to a de facto marriage) includes same-sex relationships under the crime victim benefit system. It will be a matter of judgment.

・There are over 200 other legal systems that use the phrase "circumstances similar to de facto marriages" to protect common-law couples, and local government ordinances also include similar phrases. there is. The Supreme Court's decision may have an impact on the interpretation of other laws and regulations, so whether same-sex couples can be legally protected as common-law marriages may be affected by other laws other than the crime victim benefit system. It also affects the scene.

・The appeals court judgment provided a legal interpretation that ``couples who do not have the option of legal marriage cannot become common-law marriages.'' What decision the Supreme Court makes regarding this legal interpretation may have an impact on the debate over the use of the legal marriage system for legally same-sex couples.

On August 26, 2022, an appeals court decision was handed down regarding the lawsuit "Same-sex partners should also receive benefits for bereaved families of crime victims."

The Nagoya High Court issued a ruling to dismiss the appeal against the first-instance decision that dismissed the request for rescission of the ruling, as the survivors requested payment of benefits under the Crime Victims Benefits System, but were denied payment. (hereinafter referred to as the ``this judgment'').

This judgment cited the reasons for the judgment as follows:
(1) With regard to Article 5, Paragraph 1, Item 1 of the Criminal Compensation Law, it is premised that the person is in a relationship that allows them to report their marriage, and same-sex couples are eligible. (2) Interpretation that the provision includes same-sex relationships would undermine legal stability. This provision does not violate Article 14 of the Constitution.

This ruling states that sexual orientation is an attribute that cannot be changed by one's own will or effort, and that if a partner living together is murdered, whether the partner is the same-sex partner or the opposite-sex partner determines the degree of emotional distress. However, same-sex partners who have suffered emotional distress are exempt from the benefit system.
As the judgment also recognizes, sexual orientation is something that cannot be changed by one's own will or effort, and is related to the core of a person's personality. In principle, this kind of differential treatment based on sexual orientation should not be accepted.
Despite this, the judiciary, which is supposed to protect the rights of minorities, has abandoned its role, and the ruling does not undermine public trust even if homosexuals are not legally protected. This is completely unacceptable, as it promotes discrimination and prejudice against homosexuals.

We sought a just judgment and on September 8, 2022, submitted a final appeal and a petition for acceptance of final appeal to the Supreme Court. We have already submitted a statement of grounds for appeal and a statement of grounds for a motion to accept the appeal, and are awaiting the Supreme Court's decision.

It is likely that the Supreme Court will make its first decision as to whether the phrase "persons who were in a de facto marital relationship" includes persons of the same sex legally.
We look forward to your continued support.

Date and time: January 14, 2022 from 11:00 to 11:20

Venue: Nagoya High Court No. 1 Court

Contents:

1. The appellant submitted a counter-argument to the appellee's 6th brief (Appellant's 13th brief).
2. It was confirmed that the appellee would submit a counterargument to the appellant's 13th brief by March 31, 4th year of Reiwa. It was confirmed that the appellant has no additional allegations at this time, and will consider whether a counterargument is necessary after seeing the appellee's allegations by the next date.

Next date: April 20 , 2022 1:30 pm (6th oral argument) Nagoya High Court No. 1 Court

Depending on the content of the appellee's allegations, if there is no particular need for a counterargument, the trial may be concluded on the next date and the judgment date may be specified.
Thank you for your continued support.

Date and time: October 14, 2021 from 14:15 to 14:30

Location: Nagoya High Court No. 1 Court

Contents:

1. The defendant submitted a document stating a counterargument to the plaintiff's allegations.
2. It was confirmed that the plaintiff submitted a counterargument to the defendant's allegation by November 30, 3rd year of Reiwa, and that the defendant would consider the future allegation schedule after seeing the plaintiff's allegation.

The next date: at 2022 January 19, 11 (5th Oral Argument) Nagoya High Court No. 1 court

Depending on the defendant's allegation schedule, the trial may be concluded at the next date and the judgment date may be specified.
Thank you for your continued support.