Civil Execution Act

This refers to laws and regulations related to civil execution, but it can be used in either a formal or substantive sense. In the former case, it refers to the Civil Execution Code as a written law, while in the latter case, it includes not only the Civil Execution Act, but also other laws such as the Court Act, the Enforcement Officer Act, and the Act on Civil Litigation Costs, as well as the Civil Execution Regulations.

The formal Civil Execution Act was enacted in 1979 as Act No. 4 of 1979, and came into effect in October of the following year. When the Act was first enacted, it stipulated four types of civil execution: "compulsory execution," "execution of provisional attachment and provisional disposition," "auction as enforcement of security interest," and "auction based on retention and auction for liquidation pursuant to the provisions of the Civil Code, Commercial Code, and other laws" (Article 1 of the Act). Prior to the enforcement of the Civil Execution Act, the provisions of the former Civil Procedure Code, Part 6, "compulsory execution," and the provisions of the Auction Act, respectively, stipulated separately for compulsory execution and for enforcement of security interests such as mortgages. The Civil Execution Act was enacted to integrate the former Civil Procedure Code, Part 6, and the former Auction Act, streamlining and modernizing the procedures for civil execution and enhancing and strengthening its functions. Subsequently, in 1989, the Civil Preservation Act (Act No. 91 of 1989) was enacted, and the procedures related to provisional attachment and provisional disposition that were originally stipulated in the Civil Execution Act were transferred to this Act.In addition, in 2003, a new Chapter 4 was added to the Civil Execution Act, which deals with asset disclosure procedures, and this law remains in place to this day.

The current Civil Execution Act consists of 207 articles and is divided into Chapter 1 "General Provisions," Chapter 2 "Compulsory Execution," Chapter 3 "Auctions, etc. as Enforcement of Security Interests," Chapter 4 "Property Disclosure Procedures," and Chapter 5 "Penalties." In particular, Chapter 2 is subdivided into Section 1 "General Provisions," Section 2 "Compulsory Execution of Claims for Payment of Money," and Section 3 "Compulsory Execution of Claims for Non-Payment of Money." In Section 2, in 2004, provisions on the procedure for "Compulsory Execution of Claims in Small Claims Actions" (Article 167-2 et seq.) were added to Section 4 "Compulsory Execution of Claims and Other Property Rights," and Section 5 "Special Provisions for Compulsory Execution of Monetary Claims Pertaining to Persons Obliged to Provide Support" (Article 167-15 et seq.) was established.

[Takeyoshi Uchida and Tetsuo Kato]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

民事執行に関する法規のことをいうが、これには形式的意義と実質的意義に用いられる場合とがある。前者においては、成文法としての民事執行法典をさし、後者においては、民事執行法のほかに裁判所法、執行官法、民事訴訟費用等に関する法律などの法律や民事執行規則なども含まれる。

　形式的意義の民事執行法は、1979年、昭和54年法律第4号として制定、翌年10月より施行された。同法は制定当初、民事執行として「強制執行」「仮差押え及び仮処分の執行」「担保権の実行としての競売」「留置権による競売及び民法、商法その他の法律の規定による換価のための競売」（同法1条）の4種のものを定めていた。民事執行法施行以前は、強制執行については旧民事訴訟法第6編強制執行の規定が、抵当権などの担保権の実行については競売法の規定が、それぞれ別個に定められていたが、民事執行法は、この旧民事訴訟法第6編と旧競売法を統合し、民事執行の手続を合理化、近代化して、その機能の充実と強化を図ることを目的として制定されたものである。その後、1989年に、民事保全法（平成1年法律第91号）が制定され、当初民事執行法に規定されていた仮差押えおよび仮処分に係る手続がこれに移行され、また、2003年に民事執行法には新たに第4章として財産開示手続が追加され、今日に至っている。

　現在の民事執行法は207か条からなり、第1章「総則」、第2章「強制執行」、第3章「担保権の実行としての競売等」、第4章「財産開示手続」、第5章「罰則」に分かれている。とくに第2章は、第1節「総則」、第2節「金銭の支払を目的とする債権についての強制執行」、第3節「金銭の支払を目的としない請求権についての強制執行」、に細分化されているが、第2節では、2004年、第4款「債権及びその他の財産権に対する強制執行」に「少額訴訟債権執行」の手続（167条の2以下）の規定が付け加えられ、また第5款として「扶養義務者等に係る金銭債権の強制執行の特例」（167条の15以下）が設けられた。

［内田武吉・加藤哲夫］

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