# Imperial Ordinance Concerning the House of Peers

* related portals: Constitutional documents, Law of Japan.
* sister projects: Wikipedia article.
Source: The Constitution of Japan: With the Laws Appertaining Thereto and the Imperial Oath and Speech. 1889.
IMPERIAL ORDINANCE CONCERNING THE HOUSE OF PEERS.
We, in accordance with the express provision of the Constitution of the Empire of Japan, hereby promulgate, with the advice of Our Privy Council, the present Ordinance concerning the House of Peers; as to the date of its being carried out, We shall issue a special order.
[His Imperial Majesty's Sign-Manual.]
[Privy Seal.]
The 11th day of the 2nd month of the 22nd year of Meiji.
(Countersigned)
Count KURODA KIYOTAKA, Minister President of State.
Count ITO HIROBUMI, President of the Privy Council.
Count OKUMA SHIGENOBU, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs.
Count SAIGO TSUKUMICHI, Minister of State for the Navy.
Count INOUYE KAORU, Minister of State for Agriculture and Commerce.
Count YAMADA AKIYOSHI, Minister of State for Justice.
Count MATSUGATA MASAYOSHI, Minister of State for Finance and Minister of State for Home Affairs.
Count OYAMA IWAO, Minister of State for War.
Viscount MORI ARINORI, Minister of State for Education.
Viscount ENOMOTO TAKEAKI, Minister of State for Communications.

## ARTICLE I

The House of Peers shall be composed of the following Members:—
    1. The members of the Imperial Family.
    2. Princes and Marquises.
    3. Counts, Viscounts, and Barons who have been elected thereto by the members of their respective orders.
    4. Persons who have been elected, one Member for each Fu (City) and Ken (Prefecture), by and from among the tax-payers of the highest amount of direct national taxes on land, industry, or trade therein, and who have afterwards been nominated thereto by the Emperor.

## ARTICLE II

The male members of the Imperial Family shall take seats in the House on reaching their majority.

## ARTICLE III

The members of the orders of Princes and of Marquises shall become Members on reaching the age of full twenty-five years.

## ARTICLE IV

The members of the orders of Counts, Viscounts and Barons, that after reaching the age of full twenty-five years have been elected by the members of their respective orders, shall become Members for a term of seven years. Rules for their election shall be specifically determined by Imperial Ordinance.
The number of Members mentioned in the preceding clause shall not exceed one-fifth of the entire number of the respective orders of Counts, Viscounts, and Barons.

## ARTICLE V

Any man of above the age of full thirty years, who has been nominated Member by the Emperor for meritorious services to the State or for erudition, shall be a life Member.

## ARTICLE VI

One Member shall be elected in each Fu and Ken from among and by the fifteen male inhabitants thereof of above the age of full thirty years, paying therein the highest amount of direct national taxes on land, industry, or trade. When the person thus elected receives his nomination from the Emperor, he shall become Member for a term of seven years. Rules for such election shall be specifically determined by Imperial Ordinance.

## ARTICLE VII

The number of Members that have been nominated by the Emperor, for meritorious services to the State, or for erudition, or from among men paying the highest amount of direct national taxes on land, industry, or trade in each Fu or Ken, shall not exceed the number of the Members having the title of nobility.

## ARTICLE VIII

The House of Peers shall, when consulted by the Emperor, pass vote upon rules concerning the privileges of the nobility.

## ARTICLE IX

The House of Peers decides upon the qualification of its Members and upon disputes concerning elections thereto. The rules for these decisions shall be resolved upon by the House of Peers and submitted to the Emperor for His Sanction.

## ARTICLE X

When a Member has been sentenced to confinement, or to any severer punishment, or has been declared bankrupt, he shall be expelled by Imperial Order.
With respect to the expulsion of a Member, as a disciplinary punishment in the House of Peers, the President shall report the facts to the Emperor for His decision.
Any Member that has been expelled shall be incapable of again becoming a Member, unless permission so to do has been granted by the Emperor.

## ARTICLE XI

The President and Vice-President shall be nominated by the Emperor, from among the Members, for a term of seven years.
If an elected Member is nominated President or Vice-President, he shall serve in that capacity for the term of his membership.

## ARTICLE XII

Every matter, other than what provision has been made for in the present Imperial Ordinance, shall be dealt with according to the provisions of the Law of the Houses.

## ARTICLE XIII

When in the future any amendment or addition is to be made in the provisions of the present Imperial Ordinance, the matter shall be submitted to the vote of the House of Peers.
This work is in the public domain because, according to Article 13 of the Copyright Act of Japan, this work is not eligible for copyright. The provisions of Article 13 shall not grant copyright to a work falling under any of the following categories:
* the Constitution and other laws and regulations;
* public notices, instructions, circular notices and the like issued by organs of the State or local public entities, incorporated administrative agencies or local incorporated administrative agencies;
* judgments, decisions, orders and decrees of courts, as well as rulings and judgments made by government agencies in proceedings of a quasi-judicial nature;
* translations and compilations prepared by organs of the State or local public entities, incorporated administrative agencies or local incorporated administrative agencies of [any of] the materials listed in the preceding three items.
Public domainPublic domainfalsefalse
This work is in the public domain in the U.S. because it is an edict of a government, local or foreign. See § 313.6(C)(2) of the Compendium II: Copyright Office Practices. Such documents include "legislative enactments, judicial decisions, administrative rulings, public ordinances, or similar types of official legal materials" as well as "any translation prepared by a government employee acting within the course of his or her official duties."
These do not include works of the Organization of American States, United Nations, or any of the UN specialized agencies. See Compendium III § 313.6(C)(2) and 17 U.S.C. 104(b)(5).
A non-American governmental edict may still be copyrighted outside the U.S. Similar to {{PD-in-USGov}}, the above U.S. Copyright Office Practice does not prevent U.S. states or localities from holding copyright abroad, depending on foreign copyright laws and regulations.
Public domainPublic domainfalsefalse