The Abolition of Portuguese Consular Court in Meiji Japan

Abstract

In 1860, Japan concluded the amity and commerce treaty with Portugal. The treaty unilaterally gave Portugal various privileges including consular jurisdiction over its subjects within Japan. Although Tokugawa shogunate collapsed in 1868, the treaty itself was inherited by Meiji government. For Meiji Japan, two serious issues were how Japan could recover perfect territorial rights and tariff autonomy. As for the former issue, an important step was that Japan eliminated Portuguese Consular Jurisdiction in 1892, 2 years before the revised commerce and navigation treaty with England.This article shows the historical backgrounds and tries to interpret the meaning of the incident between Portugal and Japan in the process of the treaty revision with great western powers. In the late 19th century, the prosperity of Portugal was declining and Japan attached much more importance to the relationship with England, France, and Germany. However, according to the legal statistics at that time, there were a significant number of civil cases between Portugal and Japan. Portugal was often accused of the fragile consular court system by Japanese government. Portugal often used a part-time merchant consul rather than a full-time regular consul in its consulate. Japan was annoyed with the appointment of merchant consuls by western countries and strongly opposed that such a merchant consul worked as a judge in their consular courts. Japan claimed that the consular court should be ruled preferably by a judge who had adequate legal knowledge and skills or at least by a regular consul who would be little influenced by the interests of the local community.In spite of repeated objections by Japan, due to the shortage of the administrative costs, the central government of Portugal decided to abolish its Consular General in Japan in 1892. This abolition led Japan to issue Imperial Ordinance No.64, which declared to abrogate the privilege of Portugal consular jurisdiction over its subjects within Japan. At the same time, Japan paid the closest attention not to offend other western countries and exchange frequent correspondences with Japanese diplomatic offices abroad. Fortunately, England was indifferent to the dispute between Japan and Portugal. France, however, came forward to the negotiation table, as Portugal appointed Collin de Plancy, a French envoy, as a deputy consul. Japan, even under the pressure by Portugal, France and other western countries, tried Portugese subjects in Japanese courts soon after Imperial Ordinance No.64. This conflict between Portugal and Japan shows how Japan succeeded in eliminating a foreign consular court by issuing an Imperial ordinance. It marks an important step toward the Revision of the Unequal Treaty in 1894 and explains Japan's effort to modernize the law and legal system so as to avoid the intervention by western countries.