Civil Enforcement Act

If a statutory deposit has been made pursuant to the provisions of Article 156, paragraph (1) or (2) or Article 157, paragraph (5) as applied mutatis mutandis pursuant to Article 167-14, paragraph (1), and distribution is to be implemented since there are two or more obligees and it is not possible to fully perform the claims and enforcement costs of the respective obligees with the deposit money, the enforcement court transfers its case to the procedure of enforcement against a claim at the district court having jurisdiction in the locality of the enforcement court.

In the cases prescribed in the preceding paragraph, if another order of seizure or disposition of seizure has been made for the monetary claim subject to a seizure, the enforcement court may transfer its case to the procedure of enforcement against a claim at the enforcement court that has issued the order of seizure or at the district court having jurisdiction in the locality of the summary court to which the court clerk who has made that disposition of seizure belongs, in addition to the procedure of enforcement against a claim at the district court prescribed in that paragraph.

If the statutory deposit prescribed in paragraph (1) has been made, and there is only one obligee, or there are two or more obligees and it is possible to fully perform the claims and enforcement costs of the respective obligees with the deposit money, the court clerk prepares a statement of delivery of the deposit money, delivers payment money to the obligees, and delivers any surplus to the obligor.

In the cases prescribed in the preceding paragraph, if another order of seizure has been issued for the monetary claim subject to a seizure, the enforcement court may transfer its case to the procedure of enforcement against a claim at the district court having jurisdiction in the locality of the enforcement court or at the enforcement court that has issued the order of seizure.

If another order of seizure has been issued for the monetary claim subject to a seizure, if the enforcement court that has issued the order of seizure is to implement distribution or payment pursuant to the provisions of Article 109 as applied mutatis mutandis pursuant to Article 161, paragraph (7) or pursuant to the provisions of Article 166, paragraph (1), item (ii), the earlier enforcement court transfers its case to the procedure of enforcement against a claim at the enforcement court that has issued the order of seizure.

No appeal may be entered against an order under paragraph (1), paragraph (2), paragraph (4) or the preceding paragraph.

The provisions of Article 84, paragraphs (3) and (4), Article 88, Article 91 (excluding paragraph (1), items (vi) and (vii)), Article 92, paragraph (1) and paragraphs (3) through (7), and Article 166, paragraph (3) apply mutatis mutandis to the procedure of delivery of payment money implemented by a court clerk pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (3), the provisions of paragraph (3) of the preceding Article apply mutatis mutandis to an order under paragraph (1), (2), (4) or (5), and the provisions of paragraph (6) of that Article apply mutatis mutandis to cases where an order under paragraph (1), (2), (4) or (5) has become effective, respectively. In this case, the term "order of seizure" in Article 166, paragraph (3) is deemed to be replaced with "disposition of seizure".

An enforcement court may, when it finds it to be reasonable by taking into consideration the contents of the monetary claim to be seized and any other circumstances, transfer its case to the procedure of enforcement against a claim at the district court having jurisdiction in the locality of the enforcement court.

No appeal may be entered against an order under the preceding paragraph.

The provisions of Article 167-10, paragraph (3) apply mutatis mutandis to an order under paragraph (1), and the provisions of paragraph (6) of that Article apply mutatis mutandis to cases where an order under paragraph (1) has become effective. In this case, the phrase "the petition for a disposition of seizure or the petition referred to in paragraph (1)" in paragraph (6) of that Article is deemed to be replaced with "the petition for a disposition of seizure," and the phrase "the petition for an order of seizure or the petition for an order for realizing a claim" in the paragraph is deemed to be replaced with "the petition for an order of seizure."

To apply the provisions of Chapter I and Chapter II, Section 1 to enforcement against a claim arising from a small claims action, the phrase "proceedings that take place in the enforcement court" in Article 13, paragraph (1) is deemed to be replaced with "proceedings for enforcement against a claim arising from a small claims action prescribed in Article 167-2, paragraph (2)", the term "enforcement court" in Article 16, paragraph (1) is deemed to be replaced with "court clerk", the phrase "civil enforcement carried out by an enforcement court" in Article 17 is deemed to be replaced with "enforcement against a claim arising from a small claims action prescribed in Article 167-2, paragraph (2)", the phrase "the enforcement court or court enforcement officer" in Article 40, paragraph (1) is deemed to be replaced with "the court clerk", and the phrase "a court clerk of the enforcement court" in Article 42, paragraph (4) is deemed to be replaced with "a court clerk".

The provisions of Articles 146 through 152, Article 155, Article 156 (excluding paragraph (3)), Article 157, Article 158, Article 164, paragraphs (5) and (6), and Article 165 (excluding items (iii) and (iv)) apply mutatis mutandis to enforcement against a claim arising from a small claims action. In this case, the term "enforcement court" in Article 146, Article 155, paragraphs (4) through (6) and (8) and Article 156, paragraph (4) is deemed to be replaced with "court clerk", the phrase "issue an order of seizure" in Article 146, paragraph (1) is deemed to be replaced with "make a disposition of seizure", the term "order of seizure" in Article 147, paragraph (1), Article 148, paragraph (2), Article 150, Article 155, paragraphs (1), (6) and (7) and Article 156, paragraph (1) is deemed to be replaced with "disposition of seizure", the phrase "claim subject to a seizure" in Article 147, paragraph (1) and Article 148, paragraph (1) is deemed to be replaced with "monetary claim subject to a seizure", the phrase "an order of seizure is issued" in Article 149 is deemed to be replaced with "a disposition of seizure is made", the phrases "a judicial decision" and "the decision" in Article 155, paragraph (7) are deemed to be replaced with "a disposition by a court clerk" and "the disposition by a court clerk" respectively, the phrase "an order setting aside the order of seizure" in Article 164, paragraph (5) is deemed to be replaced with "an order setting aside the disposition of seizure or a disposition by a court clerk setting aside the disposition of seizure", and the term "distribution or payment" in Article 165 (including the caption) is deemed to be replaced with "delivery of payment money".

The provisions of Article 167-5, paragraphs (6) through (8) apply mutatis mutandis to cases where a disposition is made by a court clerk under Article 155, paragraph (6) which is replaced and applied mutatis mutandis in the preceding paragraph.

Judicial enforcement for a monetary claim related to any of the duties stated in the items of Article 151-2, paragraph (1) is carried out pursuant to the provisions of the preceding Subsections, and also, when a petition has been filed by the obligee, is carried out by the enforcement court by the method prescribed in Article 172, paragraph (1); provided, however, that this does not apply when the obligor is unable to perform the obligation related to that monetary claim due to a lack of the ability to pay or when the obligor is to fall into extreme poverty through performance of the obligation.

In the case of carrying out judicial enforcement for the monetary claim prescribed in the preceding paragraph pursuant to the provisions of the paragraph by the method prescribed in Article 172, paragraph (1), the enforcement court must, when determining the amount of money to be paid by the obligor to the obligee, particularly take into account the disadvantages to be incurred by the obligee through default of the obligation and the financial resources of the obligor and the mode of their performance of the obligation in the past.

When there has been a change in circumstances, an enforcement court may, upon petition by the obligor, set aside an order under paragraph (1) retroactively as of the time when that petition is filed (or, if there is a change in circumstances after that petition is filed, the time of the change in circumstances).

When the petition referred to in the preceding paragraph has been filed, an enforcement court may order a stay of enforcement for an order under paragraph (1) until a judicial decision on the petition becomes effective, while either requiring or not requiring security to be provided.

No appeal may be entered against an order under the preceding paragraph.

The provisions of Article 172, paragraph (2) through (5) apply mutatis mutandis to the case referred to in paragraph (1), the provisions of paragraph (3) and paragraph (5) of that Article apply mutatis mutandis to the case referred to in paragraph (3), and the provisions of Article 173, paragraph (2) apply mutatis mutandis to the enforcement court referred to in paragraph (1).

If the obligee has a claim for periodic payments with provisions on fixed due dates related to any of the duties stated in the items of Article 151-2, paragraph (1), if any part of the claim is in default, judicial enforcement by the method prescribed in paragraph (1) of the preceding Article may be commenced even for the portion of the claim for periodic payments for which the fixed due date is to arrive within six months, notwithstanding the provisions of Article 30, paragraph (1).

If an obligee who has an authenticated copy of an enforceable title of obligation on a claim related to the obligations stated in the items of Article 151-2, paragraph (1) has filed a petition stated in any of the following items, the obligee is deemed to have filed the petition provided for in that item at the same time as that petition; provided, however, that this does not apply if the obligee has expressed a contrary intention at the time of filing the petition stated in that item.

a petition under Article 197, paragraph (1): a petition for an order of seizure against a claim (limited to a claim prescribed in the items of Article 206, paragraph (1)) disclosed by the obligor (or, if the obligor has a statutory agent, the statutory agent) in the procedure related to that petition, or against a claim whose information has been provided pursuant to the provisions of the following paragraph;

a petition under Article 206, paragraph (1): a petition for an order of seizure against a claim prescribed in the items of that paragraph whose information has been provided by a person stated in the items of that paragraph in the procedure related to that petition.

In the case prescribed in the preceding paragraph (limited to the case where a petition stated in item (i) of that paragraph has been filed), if the obligor (or, if the obligor has a statutory agent, the statutory agent) who was summoned by the enforcement court does not disclose their property, the enforcement court must, except where the obligee has expressed a different intention, order the municipality (including special wards; the same applies in Article 206, paragraph (1), item (i)) in which the obligor's address is located to provide information on the matters specified in that item.

The provisions of Article 205, paragraphs (3) through (5) apply mutatis mutandis to a judicial decision under the preceding paragraph, and the provisions of Article 208 apply mutatis mutandis to the provision of information ordered by that judicial decision, respectively.

A request under Article 17 regarding the portion of the record of an asset disclosure case that relates to the provision of information under Article 208, paragraph (1) as applied mutatis mutandis pursuant to the preceding paragraph may be made only by the following persons:

the petitioner;

obligee having an authenticated copy of an enforceable title of obligation on a claim related to the obligations stated in the items of Article 151-2, paragraph (1) or a right to demand compensation for damage for infringement on human life or body from an obligor;

obligee who has submitted a document proving that the obligee has a general statutory lien (limited to one pertaining to Article 306, item (iii) of the Civil Code) for property of the obligor;

obligor; or

person who has provided the information.

The provisions of Article 210, paragraph (2) apply mutatis mutandis to a person stated in item (ii) or (iii) of the preceding paragraph who has obtained information on the portion of the record of an asset disclosure case that relates to the provision of information under Article 208, paragraph (1) as applied mutatis mutandis pursuant to paragraph (3).

If a petition for an order of seizure against a claim is deemed to have been filed pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (1), and the enforcement court is still unable to specify the claim to be seized even after carrying out the procedure on the asset disclosure date prescribed in Article 197, paragraph (3) or making a judicial decision under paragraph (2) or Article 206, paragraph (1), the enforcement court may specify a reasonable period and order the obligee to make, within that period, a proposal of the matters necessary for specifying the claim to be seized. In this case, if the obligee does not make a proposal of the matters necessary for specifying the claim to be seized within that period, the petition for an order of seizure is deemed to have been withdrawn.