# 民法 / Civil Code — 第五百十三条 (Article 513)

- Law: 民法 (Civil Code), 明治二十九年法律第八十九号
- English title "Civil Code": Ministry of Justice translation
- Kind: Act — the distinction between 法律 (Act), 政令 (Cabinet Order), 省令 (Ministerial Order) and 条例 (local ordinance) decides who may issue it and what it may say.
- Provision: 第五百十三条 (Article 513)（更改） — address `art-513`
- Text in force since: 2026-06-24
- URL (the page that opens at this provision): https://japanlaw.org/ja/civil-code/art-513
- Permanent URL (e-Gov law ID, never renamed): https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-513
- Every provision below carries its address and both URLs on the line under it.
- Japanese text: e-Gov 法令検索, Digital Agency (デジタル庁). English: as marked on each line below.

Only the Japanese as published by the government has legal effect; the text
below is a copy of it. Every English rendering below is a translation and
says which kind: the Ministry of Justice's translation, or this
site's machine translation, whose model and date the Sources list names.
They are never merged and never substituted for one another.

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### 第五百十三条（更改） — (Novation)
<sup>caption: Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>
<sup>art-513 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/civil-code/art-513 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-513</sup>

      **第一項**  当事者が従前の債務に代えて、新たな債務であって次に掲げるものを発生させる契約をしたときは、従前の債務は、更改によって消滅する。
      <sup>art-513/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/civil-code/art-513/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-513/par-1</sup>
      If the parties conclude a contract which gives rise to a new obligation that falls under any of the following as a replacement of the previous obligation, the previous obligation is extinguished by novation:
      <sup>Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>

        **一**  従前の給付の内容について重要な変更をするもの
        <sup>art-513/par-1/item-1 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/civil-code/art-513/par-1/item-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-513/par-1/item-1</sup>
        an obligation that makes a material change to the content of the performance of the previous obligation;
        <sup>Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>

        **二**  従前の債務者が第三者と交替するもの
        <sup>art-513/par-1/item-2 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/civil-code/art-513/par-1/item-2 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-513/par-1/item-2</sup>
        an obligation for which the previous obligor is substituted by a third party; or
        <sup>Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>

        **三**  従前の債権者が第三者と交替するもの
        <sup>art-513/par-1/item-3 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/civil-code/art-513/par-1/item-3 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-513/par-1/item-3</sup>
        an obligation for which the previous obligee is substituted by a third party.
        <sup>Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>

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## Sources

- e-Gov 法令検索, Digital Agency (デジタル庁) — 民法 — the text in force from 2026-06-24 (https://laws.e-gov.go.jp/law/129AC0000000089/20260624_508AC0000000045), retrieved 2026-10-11
- Japanese Law Translation Database System, Ministry of Justice (法務省) — Civil Code — Ministry of Justice translation (part 1 of 2) (https://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/en/laws/view/4848/tb), retrieved 2026-10-11
- This site's parser, version 190 — 民法 — structure, counts, cross-references and defined terms, computed 2026-10-11