The Proceedings in Chambers are the transcripts of any IMTFE proceedings not performed in open court. These are not to be overlooked, however, for they include much material unique from the rest of the Transcripts. The Proceedings in Chambers contains mostly discussions of jurisdiction, juridical procedure, and other matters of law. It also has a number of interesting discussions regarding more personal requests of various members involved in the trial. One example of this is the discussions regarding permitting Hirota Kōki to attend his wife’s funeral. This section is divided into 6 volumes totalling 1690 pages. It should be noted that several of the Proceedings in Chambers are out of order. Be sure to check several entries on either side of the entry of interest. 7 January 1948, for example, is found between 10 December 1947 and 6 January 1948. To assist in cross-referencing with the trial Transcripts, page ranges for each volume are given. There is unfortunately no index available at the University of Canterbury for the Proceedings in Chambers. However, each issue is well labelled making it less time consuming to skim through the entire 6 volumes. Some of the discussions that occurred in Chambers were initiated in open court. Therefore, the Transcripts and Pritchard and Zaide’s Comprehensive Index and Guide to the Proceedings of the International Military Tribunal for the Far East (1987) can be of some assistance in terms of pointing one in the right direction within the Proceedings in Chambers.
The Northcroft collection is missing the following Proceedings in Chambers entries. It is otherwise complete:
29 April 1946
4 May 1946 (1 page)
11 May 1946 (9 pages)
24 June 1946 (known to be missing)
9 September 1946 (known to be missing)
31 January 1947 (RE Okawa’s medical condition. Untraceable)
9 April 1947 (RE Okawa’s medical condition. Untraceable)
15 May 1947 (15 pages)
24 June 1947 (2 pages)
13 August 1947 (9 pages)
29 August 1947 (known to be missing)
10 December 1947 (10 pages)
1 October 1948 (known to be missing)
10 October 1948 (known to be missing)
