61381    Delayed court cases accelerate people's detachment from the law and, furthermore, it will become a significant obstacle to safeguard "the right of access to court."

61382    "The Association of Volunteers from the Japan Federation of Bar Association to Discuss the Number of Legal Professionals" is studying the length of trials.

61383    According to their findings, of the first trials of civil suits that required the examination of evidence, only 13 percent of them reached a verdict within one year, with the overall average trial period being 27 months, and even 26 months for out-of-court settlements.

61384    A long trial does not mean that it is done to the full.

61385    On average, there were only seven oral arguments and the time required for taking of evidence was four hours in total.

61386    It takes too long for so little.

61387    In the case of appeals and final appeals, one must expect an additional two or three years.

61388    If trials drag on like this, they would be virtually of no use to people seeking a practical remedy.

61389    The cause of the delay varies from one case to another.

61390    It could be circumstances where the plaintiff or defendant, or in some cases the lawyers, may be inundated with so many cases that they need a long time in between the oral proceedings or they do not have time for sufficient preparation.

61391    However, there is no doubt that the number of judges is partly responsible for this situation.

61392    At present, the number of judges is approximately 2,000, or less than 3,000 including summary court judges.

61393    The number of judges has increased by less than 30 percent over the past 40 years.

61394    In the meantime, the number of cases received in relation to civil and administrative litigations has tripled over the same period of time.

61395    As a matter of course, the caseload has increased and it is estimated that the number of civil court cases on hand per district court judge is more than 200 on average.