Civil Enforcement Act

A person who has filed a petition, made an offer, or filed a notification with an enforcement court in connection with a civil enforcement procedure, or been served with a document or an electronic or magnetic record (meaning any record which is produced by electronic, magnetic or any other means unrecognizable by natural perceptive senses and is used for information processing by a computer; the same applies below) by an enforcement court in connection with a civil enforcement procedure must notify the enforcement court of the place (limited to within Japan) if they are to be served with documents. In this case, the person may also notify the enforcement court of the designated person to be served.

The provisions of Article 104, paragraphs (2) and (3) and Article 107 of the Code of Civil Procedure apply mutatis mutandis to the cases referred to in the first sentence of the preceding paragraph.

Service of documents about a person who has not filed a notification under the first sentence of paragraph (1) (excluding the person prescribed in Article 104, paragraph (3) of the Code of Civil Procedure as applied mutatis mutandis pursuant to the preceding paragraph) are to be made at the person's domicile, residence, business office, or office that is indicated in the case record.

If service under the preceding paragraph is to be effected but it is not possible to effect service pursuant to the provisions of Article 106 of the Code of Civil Procedure as applied mutatis mutandis pursuant to Article 20 (excluding when service is possible pursuant to the provisions of Article 109-2 of that Code as applied mutatis mutandis pursuant to Article 20), the court clerk may send the document to the domicile, residence, business office, or office referred to in the paragraph by registered mail or using services for delivering correspondence that are prescribed in Article 2, paragraph (2) of the Act on Correspondence Delivery by Private Business Operators (Act No. 99 of 2002) that are provided by a general correspondence delivery provider prescribed in paragraph (6) of the Article or specified correspondence delivery provider prescribed in paragraph (9) of the Article and that are specified by the Rules of the Supreme Court as services equivalent to registered mail. In this case, the provisions of Article 107, paragraphs (2) and (3) of the Code of Civil Procedure apply mutatis mutandis.

An interested person, in connection with the civil enforcement that the enforcement court carries out, may file a request with the court clerk to inspect or copy the hard-copy case records (meaning the portion of a case record excluding the electronic or magnetic case record prescribed in paragraph (1) of the following Article), or to be issued an authenticated copy, transcript, or extract of the record.

The provisions of Article 91, paragraphs (4) and (5) of the Code of Civil Procedure apply mutatis mutandis to requests made under the preceding paragraph.

An interested person, in connection with the civil enforcement that the enforcement court carries out, may file a request with the court clerk pursuant to the provisions of the Rules of the Supreme Court to inspect the content of electronic or magnetic case records (meaning the portion of a case record relating to matters recorded in files stored on a computer (including input and output devices; the same applies below) used by the court pursuant to the provisions of this Act and other laws and regulations; the same applies in this Article) displayed in a manner prescribed by the Rules of the Supreme Court.

An interested person, in connection with the civil enforcement that the enforcement court carries out, may file a request with the court clerk, pursuant to the provisions of the Rules of the Supreme Court, to copy the matters recorded in electronic or magnetic case records by recording the matters in files stored on computers by using an electronic data processing system (meaning an electronic data processing system connecting a computer used by the court to a computer used by the other person of the procedure via a telecommunications line; the same applies below) or any other method prescribed by the Rules of the Supreme Court.

An interested person, in connection with the civil enforcement that the enforcement court carries out, may file a request with the court clerk, pursuant to the provisions of the Rules of the Supreme Court, to issue a document stating all or part of the matters recorded in electronic or magnetic case records as certified by the court clerk to contain information identical to the matters recorded in the electronic or magnetic record according to the methods prescribed by the Rules of the Supreme Court, or to provide an electronic or magnetic record containing all or part of the matters as certified by the court clerk to contain information identical to the matters recorded in the electronic or magnetic case records according to the methods prescribed by the Rules of the Supreme Court, by recording it in a file stored on a computer used by the person via an electronic data processing system prescribed by the Rules of the Supreme Court or any other method prescribed by the Rules of the Supreme Court.

The provisions of Article 91, paragraph (5) of the Code of Civil Procedure apply mutatis mutandis to requests made under paragraphs (1) and (2).

An interested person, in connection with the civil enforcement that the enforcement court carries out, may file a request with the court clerk, pursuant to the provisions of the Rules of the Supreme Court, to issue a document stating the matters related to the case as certified by the court clerk with respect to the matters according to the methods prescribed by the Rules of the Supreme Court, or to provide an electronic or magnetic record containing the matters as certified by the court clerk with respect to the matters according to the methods prescribed by the Rules of the Supreme Court, by recording it in a file stored on a computer used by the person via an electronic data processing system prescribed by the Rules of the Supreme Court or any other method prescribed by the Rules of the Supreme Court.

If necessary for civil enforcement purposes, the enforcement court or court enforcement officer may request a government agency or public office for assistance.

In a case provided for in the preceding paragraph, the enforcement court or court enforcement officer may request the government agency or public office with jurisdiction a certificate it needs concerning taxes or other relevant public charges imposed on the property that is the subject matter of civil enforcement (this includes any building that stands on that property, if the property is land, and includes the site on which the property stands, if the property is a building).

The provisions of the preceding paragraph apply mutatis mutandis if a person who seeks to file a petition for civil enforcement needs the certificate referred to in that paragraph for filing that petition.

A person that is required to submit or present a certificate of recorded information (meaning a document that states the matters recorded in a file stored on a computer used by the court (simply referred to as a "file" below) and certified by the court clerk to contain information identical to the matters recorded in the relevant file; the same applies below) related to the matters stated in the following items to a court, court clerk, or court enforcement officer in civil enforcement proceedings pursuant to the provisions of this Act, in lieu of that submission or presentation, may submit the information prescribed by the Rules of the Supreme Court as information necessary for identifying the matters stated in the relevant item below, pursuant to the provisions of the Rules of the Supreme Court. In this case, the person is deemed to have submitted or presented the relevant certificate of recorded information.

judicial decisions;

disposition by a court clerk;

judicial settlements or mediation;

beyond what is referred in the preceding three items, a document or an electronic or magnetic record that has the same effect as a final and binding judgment; and

electronic records (meaning electronic or magnetic records prepared by a court clerk pursuant to the provisions of Article 160, paragraph (1) of the Code of Civil Procedure (including as applied mutatis mutandis pursuant to other laws and regulations) or other laws and regulations to record and publicly authenticate the formality, details, progress, etc. of proceedings on a court date or any other date; the same applies in Article 39, paragraph (1), items (iv) and (iv)-2 and Article 167-2, paragraph (1), item (iv)) certifying that a title of obligation prescribed in Article 22, items (ii) through (iv)-2 is withdrawn or is not valid for other reasons.

The court's jurisdiction provided for in this Act is exclusive.

A petition or other statement connected with civil enforcement proceedings (referred to as a "motion or statement" in this Article through Article 19-6) which, pursuant to the provisions of this Act or other laws and regulations concerning the petition or other statement, is to be filed or entered with the court (including those to be filed or entered with that court's presiding judge, authorized judge, commissioned judge, or court clerk) through a document or other tangible medium (meaning a document, transcript, extract, authenticated copy, or duplicate of a document, duplicate of a bill or note, or any other paper or other tangible object into which information that can be perceived with the human senses, as characters and shapes, has been entered; the same applies below), may be filed or entered by recording in a file the matters to be stated in the document or other tangible medium using electronic data processing systems pursuant to the provisions of the Rules of the Supreme Court, notwithstanding the provisions of the laws and regulations.

The provisions of Article 132-10, paragraphs (2) through (6) of the Code of Civil Procedure apply mutatis mutandis to petitions and other statements filed by the method prescribed in the preceding paragraph. In this case, the term "service" in Article 132-10, paragraph (5) and (6) is deemed to be replaced with "service or delivery."