USAMGIK Ordinance 41

HEADQUARTERS

UNITED STATES ARMY FORCES IN KOREA

Office of the Military Governor

Seoul, Korea

ORDINANCE
NUMBER 41

10 January 1946

SPECIAL JUDICIAL OFFICERS

1. A system of special judicial officers is established.
2. Each special judicial officer shall have original jurisdiction of cases in which the punishment imposed shall not exceed confinement in a penal institutin ofr a period of thirty (30) days or a fine of three hundred yen (¥300), or both 
3. Upon recommendation of a chief judge of district court, the Director court, the director of the Bureau of Justice shall appoint special judicial officers who shall exercise the powers of a judge with reference to the class of cases mentioned in paragraph two.
4. The number of special judicial officers in each province whose appointments are authorized by this ordinance shall not exceed the total number of district and branch court judges such provinces.
5. Special judicial officers shall be paid the sum of sic hundred on yen and ninety-nine sen (¥601. 99) for each month of service
6. Proceedings before special judicial officers shall be summary in nature. The special Judicial officers shall hear evidence on behalf of the prosecution and the accused and render his decision thereon.
7. An accused who is not satisfied with the decision of a special judicial officer may demand trial in a district or branch court.
8. The decision shall contain the name, age and address of the accused, a brief statement of the facts, the sentence imposed, the name and title of the person making the decision and the date thereof. A permanent record of the decision shall be preserved.
9. An accused who demands trial by district or branch court shall present a written or oral application therefor to the special judicial officer within five (5) days after the rendition of the decision. If the application is oral the special judicial officer shall make a written notation of the same.
10. A special judicial officer who receives the application mentioned in the preceding paragraph shall send the record of the case and all pertinent records promptly to the public prosecutor of the district or branch court.
11. In a case where a sentence of penal servitude or Imprisonment is pronounced, the special judicial officer may issue the writ custody for a period of five (5) days unless appeal is perfecred earlier but the period of custody shall not exceed the sentence imposed.
12. In a case where a fine or lower fine is pronounced the accused shall deposit the amount immediately. If he does not do so he shall be held in custody for a term calculated by converting yen ten (¥10) into one day and for this purpose any amount less than yen ten (¥10) shall be taken as one day.
13. When an accused has appealed from the decision of a special judicial officer and the appeal has been perfected and a writ of summons has been issued he shall be released immediately pending the appeal.
14. The number of days of custody mentioned in paragraph 12 shall accordingly be considered as days served. The number of days custody mentioned in paragraph 13 shall accordingly be considered as yen paid on the basis of yen ten ((¥10) for one day, toward the discharge of a fine or lower fine.
15. At any time prior to the rendition of his decision, the special judicial officer may determine that the nature of the case requires trial before a judge of the distress court or branch court. In such case, he shall stay all proceedings before him and forward the record of the case and all pertinent papers, together with the reason for his opinion, to the public prosecutor of the branch or district court.
16. It shall be the duty of the chief judge of each district court to assign special judicial officers within the province to such places and for such periods of time as he deems  necessary to accomplish the trial of cases the jurisdiction of which are casted in special judicial officers by the terms of this ordinance.
17. This ordinance is effective at midnight, 2400, 10 January 1946.

BY DIRECTION OF THE COMMANDING GENERAL

UNITED STATES ARMY FORCES IN KOREA

Archer L. Lerch

Major General, United States Army

Military Governor of Korea.