Japan
The Constitution of Japan states in Article 39 that
- No person shall be held criminally liable for an act which was lawful at the time it was committed, or of which he has been acquitted, nor shall he be placed in double jeopardy.
In practice, however, if someone is acquitted in a lower District Court, then the prosecutor can appeal to the High Court, and then to the Supreme Court. Only the acquittal in the Supreme Court is the final acquittal which prevents any further retrial. This process sometimes takes decades.
The above is not considered a violation of the constitution. Because of Supreme Court precedent, this process is all considered part of a single proceeding.
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Famous quotes containing the word japan:
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