論文詳細
旧優生保護法に関する近時の裁判
―大阪高裁決2022（令和４）年２月22日―
抄録
いわゆる旧優生保護法に関する裁判に注目した。2022（令和４）年２月22日に大阪高裁で控訴審判決が出た。当該法律に基づく不妊手術を受けたという本人又はその配偶者である控訴人らが、国に対し損害賠償を請求したのであったが、請求を棄却した一審の大阪地裁判決を変更し、国に賠償を命じた。近時こういった損害の賠償を訴える裁判が全国各地で起こってきたものの、それらの地裁判決は、除斥期間を理由に損害賠償は請求ができないとしてきたのである。ついに日本で初めての高裁判決が出て、これまでの判断を逆転させたことになる。この裁判資料を入手し若干の文献的考察を行ったので報告したい。
A recent court case on the former Eugenic Protection Act
― Osaka High Court overturning a lower court ruling on February 22, 2022 ―
Abstract
This paper focuses on a court case regarding the so-called former Eugenic Protection Act. On February 22, 2022, Osaka High Court overturned Osaka District Court’s decision, ordering the national government to compensate plaintiffs. This is a case where the plaintiffs, including women forcibly sterilized under the Act and one of their spouses, sought compensation from the government for damage but were rejected by the district court. While we recently see a number of similar court cases across Japan, demanding compensation, district court decisions had rejected their claims on the ground of the statute of limitations. At last, the high court gave its first ruling in the country and overturned the previous decisions. In this paper, the author would like to examine court documents on this case while reviewing relevant literature.