On December 17, 1996, the Supreme Court promulgated the new Regulations of Civil Procedure. On the same day, the JCLU issued a statement on the new Regulations, giving a positive evaluation to a revision by which the Supreme Court will make a prior notice of its ruling day to the concerned parties.

The problem of Supreme Court's no announcement of the ruling day had long been pointed out by those who brought cases before the Supreme Court. In the 70s, the JCLU also studied this issue when the Supreme Court judgement of the Naganuma Nike Incident, a case that questioned the legality to construct facilities of the Self Defense Forces, was given without a notice. Recently, the issue was brought again to the JCLU committee by a request from a member, who appealed to the Supreme Court with a claim to rectify disparities in the seat allocation of the House of Representatives. Despite his request to notify the date of the ruling, the Supreme Court delivered it without notifying the plaintiffs.

The JCLU Supreme Court Studies Committee conducted a series of probe and reached a conclusion that the current practice of no-notice of its ruling day is merely a custom without any basis in legal regulations. Furthermore, the committee said, it might even contravene the Code of Civil Procedure.

The view of the committee was upheld by the JCLU members who attended the monthly public lecture of April 1996. At the lecture, some members predicted that the forthcoming revision to the Code of Civil Procedure, which would limit Supreme Court ruling only to cases with major argument, will lessen their clerical procedures and thus create better circumstances to accept prior notice system.

Later, views shared at the meeting was actively lobbied to the advisory board of the Legislation of Civil Regulations by a JCLU member attorney, who was also a member of this board. Finally, prior notice has come to be provided in the new Regulations of Civil Procedure. It was an achievement resulted by a team work of the JCLU, reflecting efforts at various fields of the members concerned.