Access to Similar Small Claims Disputes

The New Role of Attorneys and Legal Tech in Making Effective the Right of Access to the Courts

【Host】　Institute of Comparative Law, Waseda University
【Co-host】　School of Law and Faculty of Law, Waseda University
【Date and Time】　Saturday, July 11, 2026, 15:00-17:00
【Venue】　Conference Room 303, Bldg. 8, Waseda Campus
【Lecturer】　Eiji Sasada (Professor Emeritus, Hokkaido University)
【Language】　Japanese
【Moderator】　Koji Aikyo (Professor, Faculty of Law, Waseda University; ICL Research Staff)
【Audience】　Students, faculty and staff, and the general public are welcome to attend.

【Abstract】

In Japan, the use of AI in the judicial system remains largely in the conceptual stage. In Germany, however, several AI applications have already been introduced into the courts and are being used to process large numbers of cases. This shift is driven by a transformation in the legal system, where legal tech providers have identified and aggregated similar small claims and connected them to court proceedings. The Inkasso model, which combines contingency fees, fee waivers, and the assignment of claims, has brought to light those rights that had previously not been exercised before due to “rational ignorance,” thereby significantly improving access to the courts. On the other hand, this has caused a massive load of litigation to become concentrated in the lower courts, creating structural external pressure that is forcing the courts to adopt AI. This lecture will examine how legal tech and AI have transformed access to the courts by drawing on case law from the German Federal Constitutional Court, the Legal Services Act, and case law from the Federal Court of Justice. Furthermore, given that the German model cannot be directly adopted in Japan due to the restrictions imposed by Articles 72 and 73 of the Attorneys Act, a “bundled type” remedial model based on collaboration between public law offices and legal tech providers will be proposed in this lecture. The aim of this lecture is to reframe AI and legal tech not as substitutes for litigation, but as institutional infrastructure that ensures the right of access to the courts is effectively realized.

◆To attend, please register by filling out this form
Deadline for registration: Wednesday, July 8, 2026, 23:59 ※Possible to attend on the day as well.

Link to Japanese page