Litigation representative

A person who carries on a lawsuit on behalf of a party. Apart from an agent whom a law or regulation allows to act in court, only an attorney (弁護士) may be one, though in a summary court (簡易裁判所) the court may permit someone who is not an attorney to be one, and may revoke that permission at any time (Code of Civil Procedure, Article 54). In the case entrusted to them, a litigation representative may carry out the procedural acts for a counterclaim (反訴), a third party joining the suit (参加) (Articles 42 and 47), compulsory execution (強制執行), and the provisional seizure (仮差押え) and provisional disposition (仮処分) that preserve a right sued on, or set a provisional position, in a civil lawsuit (Civil Provisional Remedies Act, Article 1), and may receive payment (Code of Civil Procedure, Article 55, paragraph (1)), but needs special authority to file a counterclaim, withdraw the action, settle, give up the party's claim or accept the other side's (請求の放棄又は認諾), file an appeal to the court of second instance (控訴), a final appeal (上告) or a petition to the Supreme Court to accept a final appeal, or withdraw any of these, and appoint a representative, among others (paragraph (2)); their authority cannot be restricted, unless they are not an attorney (paragraph (3)). Where there are several, each represents the party alone, and an arrangement by the party to the contrary has no effect (Article 56); a statement of fact a litigation representative makes has no effect if the party at once retracts or corrects it (Article 57). The authority does not end because the party dies or loses the capacity to sue or be sued, a corporate party ceases to exist by merger, or the party's legal representative (法定代理人) dies or loses their authority, among other events (Article 58, paragraph (1)). Where the authority is lacking, the court must order it put right within a set period, an act done without it takes effect from the time it was done once ratified, and the authority's ending has no effect until the party or the representative notifies the other party (Article 59, applying Article 34, paragraphs (1) and (2), and Article 36, paragraph (1)). A litigation representative entrusted with a case, other than one acting with a summary court's permission, must as a rule make filings in it through the courts' electronic system, and must register to be served (送達) through it (Article 132-11, paragraphs (1) and (2)).