Civil Enforcement Act

When an attaching obligee has filed an action seeking performance of a seized claim (referred to as a "suit for collection" below) against a third party obligor, the court in charge of the case may, upon petition by the third party obligor, order any other obligee who has seized the claim by the time of the service of the complaint to intervene on the plaintiff's side as a co-litigants

The court may render the judicial decision referred to in the preceding paragraph without hearing oral arguments.

Effects of a judgment in a suit for collection extend even to any attaching obligees who had been ordered to intervene pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (1) but had failed to intervene.

When upholding the plaintiff's claim in a suit for collection against a third party obligor who is obligated to make a statutory deposit pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (2) or (3) of the preceding Article, the court in charge of the case must include a statement that the payment of money for the claim should be made by the method of a statutory deposit in the main text of the judgment.

When the plaintiff of the judgment prescribed in the preceding paragraph is to receive distribution or payment in judicial enforcement or an auction, a statutory deposit of money equivalent to the amount of the distribution or payment must be made.

An attaching obligee is liable to compensate an obligor for any damages resulting from a failure to enforce a seized claim.

An enforcement court may, upon petition by the attaching obligee, issue an order to assign the seized monetary claim to the attaching obligee at face value in lieu of payment (referred to as an "assignment order" below).

An assignment order must be served upon the obligor and the third party obligor.

If, by the time an assignment order is served upon the third party obligor, another obligee carries out a seizure or a provisional seizure or makes a distribution demand in connection with the monetary claim subject to the assignment order, the assignment order does not become effective.

An appeal may be filed against an order on the petition referred to in paragraph (1).

An assignment order is not effective until it becomes final and binding.

With regards to the application of the provisions of the preceding paragraph if a seized monetary claim is a claim stated in the items of Article 152, paragraph (1) or a claim under paragraph (2) of the Article (excluding cases where a monetary claim related to the obligations stated in the items of Article 151-2, paragraph (1) is included in claims of the attaching obligee), the phrase "unless it becomes final and binding" in the paragraph is deemed to be replaced with "until it becomes final and binding, and four weeks have passed from the date when the order of seizure is served to an obligor".

If an appeal against an enforcement decision has been filed on the grounds that a document stated in Article 39, paragraph (1), item (vii) or (viii) was submitted after the issuance of an assignment order, the court of appeal must withhold the judicial decision on the appeal against an enforcement decision, except in the case of setting aside the assignment order on another ground.

If an assignment order has become effective, as long as the monetary claim for the assignment order exists, the claim and enforcement costs of the attaching obligee is deemed to have been performed, in the amount of the face value of the claim, at the time of the service of the assignment order upon the third party obligor.

When a seized claim is one subject to a condition or one with a due date, or when it is difficult to collect the claim since it relates to counter-performance or due to any other grounds, the enforcement court may, upon petition by the attaching obligee, issue an order to transfer the claim to the attaching obligee at the price specified by the enforcement court in lieu of payment (referred to as a "transfer order" below), issue an order that orders a court enforcement officer to sell the claim by the method specified by the enforcement court in lieu of collection (referred to as a "sale order" below), issue an order to appoint an administrator and order the administrator to conduct administration of the claim (referred to as an "administration order" below), or issue any other order that orders a realization through a reasonable method (collectively referred to in Article 167-10, paragraph (1) as a "transfer order, etc.").

An enforcement court must, in the case of issuing an order under the preceding paragraph, interrogate the obligor; provided, however, that this does not apply when the obligor is in a foreign state or the domicile of the obligor is unknown.

An appeal may be filed against an order on the petition referred to in paragraph (1).

An order under paragraph (1) is not effective until it becomes final and binding.

If the seized claim is a claim stated in the items of Article 152, paragraph (1) or a claim under paragraph (2) of that Article (excluding cases where a monetary claim related to the obligations stated in the items of Article 151-2, paragraph (1) is included in claims of the attaching obligee), the phrase "unless it becomes final and binding" in the preceding paragraph is deemed to be replaced with "until it becomes final and binding, and four weeks have passed from the date when the order of seizure is served to an obligor".

When a court enforcement officer has sold a seized claim, the officer must, in lieu of the obligor, notify the third party obligor of the transfer of the claim by delivering an instrument bearing a certified date.

The provisions of Article 159, paragraphs (2) and (3) and the preceding Article apply mutatis mutandis to a transfer order, the provisions of Article 159, paragraph (7) apply mutatis mutandis to an appeal against an enforcement decision filed against a transfer order, the provisions of Article 65 and Article 68 apply mutatis mutandis to a sale by a court enforcement officer based on a sale order, the provisions of Article 159, paragraph (2) apply mutatis mutandis to an administration order, and the provisions of Article 84, paragraphs (3) and (4), Article 88, Article 94, paragraph (2), Article 95, paragraphs (1), (3) and (4), Articles 98 through 104 and Articles 106 through 110 apply mutatis mutandis to administration based on an administration order, respectively. In this case, the phrase "after the payment of the sales price" in Article 84, paragraphs (3) and (4) is deemed to be replaced with "after the passage of the period referred to in Article 107, paragraph (1) as applied mutatis mutandis pursuant to Article 161, paragraph (7)".

In the cases falling under either of the following items, an enforcement court may, upon petition by an attaching obligee effecting a seizure, order a third party obligor to make a statutory deposit of money equivalent to the total amount of the claim subject to the seizure to an official depository at the place of performance of the obligation (in this Article and Article 167-10 referred to as a "statutory deposit order" below):

if a decision specified in Article 133, paragraph (1) of the Code of Civil Procedure applicable mutatis mutandis under Article 20 has been made regarding the domicile or name of the attaching obligee effecting a seizure or the obligee's statutory agent; or

if the matters in lieu of the domicile or name of the attaching obligee effecting a seizure or the obligee's statutory agent specified pursuant to the provisions of Article 133, paragraph (5) of the Code of Civil Procedure (including as applied mutatis mutandis pursuant to other Acts) are indicated in a title of obligation.

A statutory deposit order must be served upon the third party obligor.

An appeal may be filed against an order to deny the petition stated in paragraph (1).

No appeal may be entered against a statutory deposit order.

An obligee who has had a claim for delivery of a vessel seized may, when one week has passed from the day on which an order of seizure is served upon the obligor, demand the third party obligor to deliver the vessel to the custodian appointed by the district court having jurisdiction in the locality of the vessel.

Judicial enforcement against a vessel delivered to a custodian pursuant to the provisions of the preceding paragraph is carried out by the means of enforcement against a vessel.

If the custodian prescribed in paragraph (1) has received delivery of a vessel, if an order commencing compulsory auction proceedings is issued for the vessel, the custodian is deemed to be a custodian appointed pursuant to the provisions of Article 116, paragraph (1).

An obligee who has had a claim for delivery of movables seized may, when one week has passed from the day on which an order of seizure is served upon the obligor, demand the third party obligor to deliver the movables to the court enforcement officer who has received a petition by the attaching obligee.

When a court enforcement officer has received delivery of movables, the officer sells the property through the procedure of sale in enforcement against movables, and must submit the proceeds of the sale to the enforcement court.

When an assignment order or a transfer order has become effective and binding for the claim prescribed in Article 150, or when a sale based on a sale order has been terminated, a court clerk must, upon petition, commission registration of transfer of the statutory lien, pledge or mortgage for the attaching obligee or the purchaser who acquired the claim, and commission deletion of registration under that Article.

In the case of making a commission under the preceding paragraph (excluding the case prescribed in the following paragraph), the commission document must have attached to it an authenticated copy of an assignment order or a transfer order, or a transcript of the document prepared by a court enforcement officer regarding a sale based on a sale order.

In the case of making a commission under paragraph (1), when making a commission under Article 18 of the Real Property Registration Act (Act No. 123 of 2004) as applied mutatis mutandis pursuant to Article 16, paragraph (2) of that Act (including as applied mutatis mutandis pursuant to other laws and regulations), information proving that an assignment order or a transfer order has been issued or information proving the contents of the document prepared by a court enforcement officer regarding a sale based on a sale order must be provided together with the commission information.

The registration and license tax and any other costs required for a commission under paragraph (1) are borne by the attaching obligee or the purchaser prescribed in the paragraph.

If registration, etc. has been made pursuant to the provisions of Article 150, when a document proving that a payment or a statutory deposit has been made for the seized claim has been submitted, a court clerk must, upon petition, commission deletion of that registration, etc. The same applies when the petition for enforcement against a claim has been withdrawn or when an order setting aside the order of seizure has become final and binding.

The registration and license tax and any other costs required for a commission under the preceding paragraph are borne by the obligor in the case referred to in the first sentence of that paragraph, and by the attaching obligee in the case referred to in the second sentence of that paragraph.

Obligees entitled to distribution or payment are obligees who have carried out a seizure or a provisional seizure or have made a distribution demand by any of the following times:

the time when the third party obligor made a statutory deposit under Article 156, paragraphs (1) through (3);

the time when a complaint for a suit for collection is served upon the third party obligor;

the time when a court enforcement officer received delivery of proceeds based on a sale order; or

in the case of a seizure of a claim for delivery of movables, the time when a court enforcement officer received delivery of the movables.

An enforcement court must implement distribution or payment in any of the following cases, in addition to the cases prescribed in Article 109 as applied mutatis mutandis pursuant to Article 161, paragraph (7):

cases where a statutory deposit is made under Article 156, paragraph (1) through (3) or Article 157, paragraph (5);

cases where a sale is carried out based on a sale order;

cases where proceeds were submitted pursuant to the provisions of Article 163, paragraph (2).

The provisions of Articles 84 through 86 and Articles 88 through 92 apply mutatis mutandis to the procedure of distribution or payment to be implemented by an enforcement court pursuant to the provisions of the preceding paragraph.

If a seized claim is a claim stated in the items of Article 152, paragraph (1) or a claim under paragraph (2) of the Article (excluding cases where a monetary claim related to the obligations stated in the items of Article 151-2, paragraph (1) is included in claims of the attaching obligee (at least one person where they are several persons)), distribution or payment must not be implemented until four weeks have passed from the date when the order of seizure is served to the obligor.