国会不召集、憲法判断せず　野党議員の請求棄却―東京地裁

　安倍晋三内閣が２０１７年、野党の臨時国会召集要求に３カ月以上応じなかったのは憲法５３条に違反するとして、立憲民主党の小西洋之参院議員が国に１万円の賠償などを求めた訴訟の判決が２４日、東京地裁であった。鎌野真敬裁判長は憲法判断をせず、賠償請求を棄却した。
　鎌野裁判長は、内閣の対応をめぐる国会議員の提訴は国の機関同士の争いに当たり「裁判の対象外だ」と指摘。議員側が求めた内閣による召集義務の確認については却下した。
　国会が長期間召集されず、議員の質問権などが行使できなかったとの主張に対しては「国家賠償法上保護された利益とは認められない」と述べ、賠償の対象にはならないと判断した。
　憲法５３条は、衆参いずれかの総議員の４分の１以上の要求があれば、内閣は臨時国会召集を決定しなければならないと定めている。同種訴訟は全国で３件起こされ、判決は昨年６月の那覇地裁に続き２件目。同地裁は召集要求に応じる法的義務が内閣にあり、安倍内閣の対応は「違憲と評価される余地はある」と言及したが、直接の憲法判断はせずに請求を棄却していた。
　判決を受け、原告弁護団は記者会見し、賀川進太郎弁護士は即日控訴したことを明らかにした上で、「少数派が国会で追及できる場がなくなる」と懸念を表明。伊藤真弁護士も「内閣のやりたい放題になる」と危機感を示した。（2021/03/24-18:11）

Tokyo District Court on Wednesday stopped short of making a judgment on whether the failure in 2017 by the cabinet of then Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to meet an opposition request for convening an extraordinary parliamentary session for over three months was constitutional or unconstitutional.
   In its ruling in the lawsuit filed over the matter in September 2018 by Hiroyuki Konishi, a lawmaker of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, the court also rejected the plaintiff's claim for compensation of 10,000 yen. Konishi, a member of the House of Councillors, the upper chamber of the Diet, argued in the suit that the Abe cabinet violated Article 53 of the Constitution by not convening an extraordinary Diet session for more than three months despite a request by the opposition side in 2017.
   Presiding Judge Masahiro Kamano said in the ruling that a lawmaker's petition over a response by the cabinet is not subject to a lawsuit because it represents a dispute between state institutions. The court turned down Konishi's request for its confirmation that the cabinet is obliged to convene an extra Diet session within 20 days of a request being made under the article.
   On Konishi's claim that lawmakers were unable to exercise their right to question due to an extra Diet session not being convened for a long period of time, the judge said that such rights cannot be recognized as interests protected under the state redress law.
   Article 53 of the Constitution says that the Japanese cabinet must decide to convene an extraordinary Diet session if requested to do so by a quarter or more of all members of either chamber of the parliament. But it does not stipulate the length of the period within which the session must be convened.