6/25/2020
Details of 1999 (Gyo-Tsu) 35 | Judgments of the Supreme Court
justices OZAKI Yukinobu and FUKUDA Hiroshi, I would like to quote
this part.
In Italy, in 1993, for both the upper house and House of
Representatives, the previous fully-fledged proportional
representation system was replaced by a parallel system of small
constituencies and proportional representation (for both houses,
small constituencies comprise 75%, and proportional representation
comprises 25%, but for the House of Representatives , overlapping
candidacy is allowed), and this is said to have served as a model for
the latest amendment to the Law on Public Election. However, if one
looks at the discrepancy in the number of seats, unlike Japan,
traditionally, constituency boundaries are traditionally demarcated
strictly in proportion to the numbers of population (seats are
apportioned in proportion to the numbers of population based upon a
census which takes place every 10 years and is ascertained by
delegated legislation), and therefore, the discrepancy has never been
a political or judicial problem (note).
Note:
The number of seats in the House of Representatives is 630 in Italy.
There are 27 constituencies and in principle, each state (20 in total)
forms a constituency, but for states which have a large population,
there are 2 or 3 constituencies. Seats are allocated strictly in
proportion to the numbers of population.
In each constituency, in principle, 75% of the seats are allocated to
small constituencies, and 25% to proportional representation. There
are detailed and strict criteria for the demarcation of small
constituencies within each constituency and the maximum
discrepancy between the numbers of population in a small
constituency within the constituency and the base numbers of
population of all small constituencies within the constituency is set at
15% (if converted to maximum discrepancy, 1:1,35).
More specifically, the difference between the base numbers of
population per a member is, in the case of Molise constituency which
has the smallest numbers of population per member, and
Friuli/Vanezia/Giulia constituency which has the largest number, are
both less than 10% (the maximum discrepancy is 1:1.11). Valle
d'Aosta constituency where exceptional measures are applied (due to
the small population, there is only one small constituency election to
chose one member out of 475 members elected from small
constituencies, and there is no vote for proportional representation),
still, when converted to maximum discrepancy, it is within 1:1.4. As a
result, even if a comparison is made at the small constituency level
nation-wide, the maximum discrepancy is 1:1.5 (articles 56, para.4,
57, para.4 of the Constitution of Italy, the Presidential Decree No.361
of March 30, 1957 (Uniform Code of the Law on the Election of the
House of Representatives), Law No.277 of August 4, 1993 (New Rules
on the Election of the House of Representatives).
In Canada, constituencies within each province are re-demarcated to
coincide with the base population which is determined by a census
which takes place every 10 years, and constituencies are demarcated
so that the maximum difference is less than 25% (when converted to
maximum discrepancy, 1:1.67), in principle (note).
Note:
Constituencies for the election of the members of the Federal House
of Representatives of Canada are demarcated by the constituency
demarcation commission of each province (including quasi-provinces)
established on the basis of the Law on the Constituency Demarcation
Commission of 1964 and the Law on the Demarcation of Constituency
Boundaries of 1970. Constituencies are re-demarcated in order to
make the numbers of population of each constituency within the
province be equal in accordance with the census which takes place
every 10 years. More specifically, based upon the number of seats for
the Federal House of Representatives (at the time of the general
election of 1997, 301), constituencies are demarcated so that the
population of each constituency is no less or no more than 25% of the
base numbers of population obtained by dividing the numbers of
https://www.courts.go.jp/app/hanrei_en/detail?id=458
16/23