Supreme Court of Japan > About the Supreme Court > Topics > The Supreme Court of Japan invited The Right Hon The Lord Reed of Allermuir, President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom
The Right Hon The Lord Reed of Allermuir, President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom visited Japan on the invitation of the Supreme Court of Japan from 26th November to 2nd December.
This was the first visit for the President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom to visit the Supreme Court of Japan, in the long history of deep exchanges between the courts of the United Kingdom and Japan.
Lord Reed visited the Supreme Court, the Tokyo High Court, the Tokyo District Court, the Business Court (the Intellectual Property High Court and the Nakameguro office of the Tokyo District Court) and other places, closely interacting with members of the Japanese judiciary and others.
At the meeting with Chief Justice TOKURA, Lord Reed had an active discussion about digitalization of court procedure and its related issues in a friendly atmosphere.
Lord Reed gave a lecture titled “Oral Hearings in the United Kingdom Courts: Past, Present and Future”. Lord Reed made an extremely suggestive speech about the importance of oral hearings under the legal system of the United Kingdom, including their historical backgrounds and prospects in the future, and other points, and had a lively exchange at the Q&A session with the audience. The lecture was streamed online and watched by many judges and other court officials across Japan.
There was an exchange with Justices of Supreme Court of Japan, where Lord Reed, Chief Justice TOKURA and other participating Justices discuss on various topics, including oral hearings at the highest courts and the role of judiciaries, and deepened their friendship.
* Lord Reed said of the visit:
“My visit to Japan as the guest of the Chief Justice was an invaluable opportunity to strengthen the relationship between our judiciaries and our countries. It was a valuable opportunity to share views and expertise on common issues affecting the law. I was very honoured to meet the Emperor. I am grateful to all those who were involved in supporting my visit, and those who took part in my busy programme of meetings and other activities.”
* Chief Justice TOKURA said of the visit:
“Lord Reed’s visit to Japan was an opportunity of great significance to share common understanding of the role of judiciaries to support the ‘rule of law’ and other points, and to further develop the relations of the judiciaries of the two countries. Many young judges and other court officials who will form the backbone of the Japanese courts were impressed and encouraged, hearing the lecture by Lord Reed. I would like to express my sincere thanks to Lord Reed for his visit to Japan, despite his busy schedule.”
* The news article posted by the UK Supereme Court is available here, in which the comments by Chief Jusctice TOKURA and Lord Reed are also introduced.
* The English text of the speech by Lord Reed at the lecture can be found from the link to the website of the UK Supreme Court below.
The English text of the speech