Wrongful Criminal Cases
※ If your case is still under investigation or trial and you require legal consultation, our Complaint Center does not have resident lawyers available on-site and is therefore unable to provide legal consultation services. If you have such needs, please contact legal consultation organizations such as the Legal Aid Foundation (Legal Aid Foundation national 7-digit hotline: 4128518 extension 2; callers from mobile phones should prefix with 02).
How to File a Grievance
You are welcome to schedule an in-person consultation at the JRF Legal ER.
How to Obtain Case File Records?
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If you have previously retained a lawyer to assist with your case
You can directly request a photocopy from your lawyer, which is the fastest way.
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If you are unable to obtain photocopies of the case file records from your lawyer
Case Stage
Reference Document
Submit To
Criminal Cases
After Indictment
Apply to review the file pursuant to Article 33, Paragraph 2 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which stipulates that "The defendant may, during the trial, prepay fees and request to be provided with photocopies of the case files and evidence."
Court
Criminal Cases
After Final Judgment
Pursuant to Article 429-1, Paragraph 3, mutatis mutandis application of Article 33, Paragraph 1 and Paragraph 2 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, "The defendant may personally apply to inspect, transcribe, photograph, or copy photocopies of the entire case file."
Court
Criminal Cases
Administratively Closed
Or Non-Prosecution
Except for non-prosecution cases where an application has been made to the court "permitting the filing of a private prosecution" allowing for file review, case file records cannot be obtained in other instances due to the principle of non-disclosure of investigations.
Learn More
"Wrongful Conviction Exoneration Manual"
- Case Organization Section
- How to organize the case files, evidence, and factual history of a wrongful conviction?
- Evidence Investigation Section
- How to investigate evidence for exonerating wrongful convictions?
- Imprisonment Section
- Survival Guide for Wrongful Imprisonment
22Sep.
2014
2014
Filing Grievances Against Judges and Prosecutors, Wrongful Conviction Rescue Series: Judicial Bullying of the Vulnerable and Reform Need Your Support
Over the three years since its establishment, JRF's Complaint Center has filed a total of 32 evaluation cases,…
06Jul.
2013
2013
Wrongful Conviction: An Accused Person's Indictment of Police, Prosecutors, and Judges
On March 26, 2010, Presiding Judge Satô Masanobu of the Utsunomiya District Court in Japan declared the defendant…
28Feb.
2013
2013
Allowing Indigenous Discourses on Wrongful Convictions to Take Root—Mission Statement and Introduction of the Taiwan Innocence Project
The Taiwan Association for Innocence (hereinafter referred to as the "Taiwan Innocence Project") was initiated in 2011…
07Dec.
2011
2011
Shadows of Justice
This is a collection of records of individual cases handled by the Judicial Reform Foundation in recent years. Behind…