Civil Enforcement Act

An enforcement court must appoint an administrator simultaneously with the issuance of a commencement order for forced administration.

A trust company (meaning a person who obtained the license referred to in Article 3 or Article 53, paragraph (1) of the Trust Business Act (Act No. 154 of 2004)), a bank, or any other corporation may become an administrator.

An administrator may conduct administration, collect earnings and conduct a realization regarding the immovable property for which a commencement order for forced administration has been issued.

An administrator must, to lease immovable property beyond the period specified in Article 602 of the Civil Code, obtain the consent of the obligor.

When there are several administrators, they perform their duties jointly; provided, however, that they may divide the duties among them by obtaining the permission of the enforcement court.

When there are several administrators, it is sufficient for a third party to manifest their intention to any one of them.

An administrator may remove immovable property from the obligor's possession and take possession of it.

In the cases of the preceding paragraph, if an administrator finds it to be necessary to open a closed door, the administrator may request assistance from a court enforcement officer.

The provisions of Article 57, paragraph (3) apply mutatis mutandis to a court enforcement officer who has been requested to provide assistance pursuant to the provisions of the preceding paragraph.

If a commencement order for forced administration has been issued for a building in which the obligor resides and the obligor is unable to find another place to reside, the enforcement court, upon petition, may permit use of the building to the extent necessary for the obligor and any cohabiting relatives whose living expenses are paid from the same resources as the obligor (including a person whose relationship with the obligor is, de facto, that of husband and wife or adoptive parent and adopted child, even though they have not registered a marriage or adoption; referred to as the "obligor's household" below) to reside in it for a period it has specified.

When the obligor has obstructed the administration by the administrator or when there is any change in circumstances, the enforcement court may, upon petition, void or change an order under the preceding paragraph.

An appeal may be filed against an order on the petition referred to in the preceding two paragraphs.

If the obligor would fall into extreme poverty through forced administration, the enforcement court may, upon petition, order the administrator to give the obligor the necessary money or earnings, depending on the extent of their poverty, from the earnings or the realization price.

The provisions of paragraph (2) of the preceding Article apply mutatis mutandis to an order under the preceding paragraph, and the provisions of paragraph (3) of that Article apply mutatis mutandis to an order based on the petition referred to in the preceding paragraph or the petition referred to in paragraph (2) of the preceding Article as applied mutatis mutandis pursuant to this paragraph.

An administrator is supervised by the enforcement court.

An administrator must perform their duties with due care of a prudent manager.

If an administrator fails to have the due care referred to in the preceding paragraph, the administrator is jointly and severally liable to compensate for damage to any person having an interest.

An administrator may receive advance payments of expenses necessary for forced administration as well as a remuneration determined by the enforcement court.

An appeal may be filed against an order under the preceding paragraph.

The enforcement court may, upon petition by a person having an interest or by its own authority, dismiss an administrator if there are material grounds to do so. In this case, the enforcement court must interrogate the administrator.

An administrator must, upon the termination of the administrator's office, make a report of account to the enforcement court without delay.

If a document stated in Article 39, paragraph (1), item (vii) or (viii) has been submitted, forced administration may be continued in the same state as at the time of the submission, except for the procedure of distribution or payment. In this case, the administrator must make a statutory deposit of the money to be allotted to distribution or payment and notify the enforcement court of the circumstances.

When it is possible to fully perform the claims and enforcement costs of the respective obligees with the amount of money deposited pursuant to the provisions of the preceding paragraph, the enforcement court must cancel the forced administration procedure, except for the procedure of distribution or payment

An obligee having an authenticated copy of an enforceable title of obligation and an obligee who has proved that the obligee has a general statutory lien based on any of the documents stated in the items of Article 181, paragraph (1) may make a distribution demand to the enforcement court.

An appeal may be filed against a judicial decision to deny a distribution demand.

The amount of money to be allocated to distribution or payment is that obtained by deducting the tax or public charges imposed on the immovable property, the remuneration for the administrator and any other necessary expenses from the earnings or the realization price remaining after giving any portion of this under Article 98, paragraph (1).

If it is unlikely that any money to be allotted to distribution or payment will arise, the enforcement court must cancel the forced administration procedure.

An administrator must pay expenses provided in paragraph (1) of the preceding Article, calculate the amount of money to be allotted to distribution or payment for each period specified by the enforcement court, and implement of distribution or payment.

If there is only one obligee or if there are two or more obligees and it is possible to fully perform the claims and enforcement costs of the respective obligees with the money to be allotted to distribution or payment, the administrator delivers payment money to the obligee and delivers any surplus to the obligor.

Except in the cases prescribed in the preceding paragraph, if an agreement is reached among the obligees regarding distribution of the money to be allocated to distribution or payment, the administrator implements distribution in accordance with the agreement.

The obligees who are to receive distribution are the following:

the attaching obligee who falls under any of (a) through (c) below:

an obligee who has filed a petition for forced administration by the time of expiration of the period referred to in paragraph (1);

an obligee who has filed a petition for the enforcement against earnings from secured immovable property prescribed in Article 180, item (ii) for exercise of a general statutory lien by the time of expiration of the period referred to in paragraph (1);

an obligee who has filed a petition for the enforcement against earnings from secured immovable property prescribed in Article 180, item (ii) by the time of expiration of the period referred to in paragraph (1) (excluding the obligee stated in (b) above) if that petition is based on a security interest that has been registered (including provisional registration for preservation prescribed in Article 53, paragraph (2) of the Civil Preservation Act) before registration of the seizure involving in the first commencement order for forced administration;

the obligee effecting a provisional seizure (limited to an obligee who has filed a petition to effect a provisional seizure through forced administration by the time of expiration of the period referred to in paragraph (1)); and

obligees who made a distribution demand by the time of expiration of the period referred to in paragraph (1).

If the agreement referred to in paragraph (3) is not reached, the administrator must notify the enforcement court of the circumstances.

If any of the grounds stated in the items of Article 91, paragraph (1) (excluding item (vii)) exist for the claim of an obligee who is to receive distribution or payment, the administrator must make a statutory deposit of the money equivalent to the amount of the distribution or payment and notify the enforcement court of the circumstances. The same applies when an obligee has failed to appear to the enforcement court to receive distribution

An enforcement court must implement the procedure of distribution or payment, immediately if notification has been given under Article 107, paragraph (5) and at the time when the grounds for statutory deposit were extinguished if notification has been given under Article 104, paragraph (1) or the preceding Article.

When the respective obligees have received full performance of their claims and enforcement costs through distribution or payment, the enforcement court must cancel the forced administration procedure.

The provisions of Article 46, paragraph (1), Article 47, paragraph (2), the main clause of Article 47, paragraph (6), Article 47, paragraph (7), Article 48, Article 53, Article 54, Article 84, paragraphs (3) and (4), Article 87, paragraphs (2) and (3) and Article 88 apply mutatis mutandis to forced administration, and the provisions of Article 84, paragraphs (1) and (2), Articles 85 through 86 and Articles 89 through 92 apply mutatis mutandis to the procedure of distribution or payment implemented by the enforcement court pursuant to the provisions of Article 109. 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)".

Judicial enforcement against a vessel of not less than twenty tons gross (excluding oar or paddle watercrafts or any other craft that uses solely or mainly oars or paddles for propulsion; referred to as a "vessel" in this Section and the following Chapter) (referred to as "vessel enforcement" below) is carried out through a compulsory auction.

The district court having jurisdiction in the locality of the vessel at the time of issuance of an order commencing compulsory auction proceedings has jurisdiction over vessel enforcement as the enforcement court.

To commence proceedings for a compulsory auction, the enforcement court must issue an order commencing compulsory auction proceedings, and order a court enforcement officer to confiscate the document proving the nationality of the vessel and any other documents needed for the vessel to sail (referred to as the "ship's papers" below) and to submit them to the enforcement court; provided, however, that the order to a court enforcement officer is not necessary if the ship's papers have already been confiscated based on a commencement order issued before that commencement order.

In an order commencing compulsory auction proceedings, the enforcement court must declare that a vessel must be seized for the obligee and prohibit the obligor from allowing the vessel to depart.

When a court enforcement officer has confiscated the ship's papers before the service of an order commencing compulsory auction proceedings or registration of a seizure, the seizure becomes effective at the time of the confiscation.