Probably all of readers of this website well know about attorney-at-law. Gyoseishoshi Lawyers (known as “Certified Administrative Procedures Legal Specialists” or “Administrative Documentation Lawyers”) in Japan is different qualification from attorneys-at-law.
Gyoseisyoshi Lawyers are certified experts authorized* by Japanese Government to prepare documents relating to rights, duties or representation (e.g. Agreement on Division of Inheritance, explanatory and requisition documents for financial institutions and auxiliary documents) can also be prepared and dealt with by Gyoseishoshi Lawyer through its proven proficiency in such document preparation.
* By “Certified Administrative Procedures Legal Specialist Act”
You can rely on us in various scenes of your daily life, not just for your business needs. In the administrative procedures to the authorities concerned, we are legitimately certified to act as your representative and also to act as an adviser in order for you to manage, proceed with and complete such administrative procedures. Of course, we are able to prepare not only your documents in a wide range of fields.
1. Services of Gyoseishoshi Lawyer
Gyoseishoshi Lawyer is a person, at the request of other persons and obtaining remuneration from them, who is engaged in the following businesses; provided, however, that this shall not apply to matters that are restricted by any other Act:
- To prepare, as a representative, documents involved in contracts and others;
- To prepare documents to be submitted to a public agency (including an electromagnetic record; the same shall apply hereinafter) and other documents relating to rights, duties or representation;
- To represent acts to be conducted (excluding however, what falls under the legal services concerning legal cases provided for in Article 72 of the Attorney Act) against the relevant public agency as to the submission procedures of documents, application procedures for granting an opportunity for hearing or explanation in relation to permissions, etc. about the document submitted to the relevant public agency, and other application procedures for statements of opinions; and,
- To provide consultations for the preparation of documents that Gyoseishoshi Lawyer is permitted to prepare.
2. Registration
To become a Gyoseishoshi Lawyer, it is necessary for a person to meet one of the requirements including passing the Gyoseishoshi Lawyer examination and to obtain registration, through the Gyoseishoshi Lawyers Association in each prefecture, of the Japan Federation of Gyoseishoshi Lawyers Associations.
In order to check the registration of Gyoseishoshi Lawyers,please enter his/her name in kanji, hiragana or katakana (double-byte) character (the Japanese syllabary) in column.
3. National Licensing Examination
The National Gyoseishoshi Lawyer Licensing Examination shall be held by a Prefectural Governor as designated by the Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications. The Prefectural Governor may entrust it to a person designated by the Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications and now it is held once a year by the General Incorporated Foundation Gyoseishoshi Lawyer Examination Research Center as a designated examining body.
4. Supervision of Gyoseishoshi Lawyer etc.
Disciplinary action against both Gyoseishoshi Lawyer and Gyoseishoshi Lawyer Corporation, and Supervision of Gyoseishoshi Lawyer are to be conducted by Prefectural Governors. The Japan Federation of Gyoseishoshi Lawyers Associations is subject to supervision by the Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications.
In general, Gyoseishoshi Lawyers will provide services inheritance-related work under above “To prepare, as a representative, documents involved in contracts and others” and “To provide consultations for the preparation of documents that Gyoseishoshi Lawyer is permitted to prepare”
In general consulatation activities which is voluntarily provided in the city by each prefeture Gyoseishoshi Lawyers Association, consultations around two-thirds are inheritance or will. This shows huge necessity for inheritance-related issue reflecting highly-aging sociaty.
Obligation for confidentiality
There is legal obligation for keeping confidentiality under Certified Administrative Procedures Legal Specialist Act（Act No. 4 of 1951）as followings;
Article 12
No Certified Administrative Procedures Legal Specialist shall divulge any confidential information that came to their knowledge in connection with particulars involved in their business without justifiable grounds for doing so. The same shall apply when they have ceased to be a Certified Administrative Procedures Legal Specialist.