[Direct answer]Yes. Article 28 of the Lawyers Law clearly stipulates that lawyers may accept the entrustment of clients in civil cases to act as agents to participate in litigation. Representing clients in applying for enforcement and handling all matters in the enforcement process is a natural extension of this business: filing an enforcement case, investigating and disposing of property, adding the debtor, raising objections to enforcement, and reaching an enforcement settlement can all be handled by lawyers. According to Article 243 of the Civil Procedure Law, if one party refuses to perform the effective judgment, the other party may apply to the court for enforcement; the enforcement period is two years. It is advisable to entrust lawyers to promote the investigation, control and disposal of property as soon as possible to avoid missing the statute of limitations or having the property transferred. For more details, please refer to the Civil Procedure Law.Legal services for cases involving the enforcement of creditor's rights and debt repaymentAndBeijing Henglue Law Firm.

I. Legal basis and interpretation of provisions

1. Article 243 of the Civil Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China (amended on September 1, 2023)

A civil judgment or ruling that has legal effect must be performed by the parties concerned. If one party refuses to perform the judgment or ruling, the other party may apply to the people's court for enforcement, or the judge may transfer the case to the enforcement officer for enforcement. A valid mediation agreement and an arbitration award also have compulsory enforceability. This article is the direct basis for applying for compulsory enforcement: obtaining a valid document does not mean that the money will be received. It is necessary to initiate the enforcement procedure and realize the creditor's rights through the court's seizure, freezing, deduction and auction. During the application for enforcement, the time limit is two years according to Article 246, and the provisions on suspension and interruption of the statute of limitations apply.

2. Article 28 of the Law of the People's Republic of China on Lawyers (amended on October 28, 2007)

Lawyers can accept commissions from natural persons, legal persons, or other organizations to serve as legal consultants; accept commissions from parties to civil and administrative cases to serve as agents to participate in litigation; and engage in such business as representing clients in various litigation cases, participating in mediation and arbitration activities, and providing non-litigation legal services. The enforcement process is an extension stage of civil litigation. Matters such as applying for enforcement, property investigation, raising objections to enforcement, adding additional defendants to enforcement, and reaching enforcement settlements can all be entrusted to lawyers for representation. The Lawyers Law does not exclude enforcement from the scope of legal services, and in practice, enforcement representation has already become a mature legal service.

3. Practical adjudication perspective (the value of an enforcement agent)

In practice, the value of lawyers' representation lies in property clues and procedural strategies: apart from online investigation and control, lawyers can apply to the court for investigation orders to retrieve bank transaction records, real estate registration information, equity and accounts receivable information; if they discover that the debtor has transferred property, they can initiate actions for rescission; for corporate debtors, if there is no property left after exhausting all enforcement measures and they meet the criteria for bankruptcy, lawyers can claim that the unpaid shareholders' contributions should be accelerated to maturity and the shareholders should be held liable. When parties apply for enforcement on their own, they often face deadlocks after the "Terminal Enforcement" process, while continuous follow-up of clues, resumption of enforcement, and addition of liable parties are precisely the main battlefields of enforcement lawyers. For cases where enforcement is obstructed after winning lawsuits in contracts such as intermediary services and sales, lawyers can also combine various legal remedies to resolve the problem.Legal services for disputes over commercial contracts in enterprisesReview the basic contractual relationship and identify opportunities for additions or terminations.

II. Henglue Law Firm's Real Cases (Detailed Review)

Review of the case:Ma *'s dispute with A Company over the intermediary contract was adjudicated by the People's Court of Chaoyang District, Beijing, which ordered A Company to return the intermediary service fee of 423,500 yuan. After A Company appealed, the appeal was automatically withdrawn, and the judgment became effective. A Company failed to fulfill its obligations, so Ma * applied for enforcement. The court exhausted all enforcement measures but found no enforceable assets under A Company's name, and ruled to terminate the enforcement proceedings. Despite winning the lawsuit, Ma * still couldn't get the money, so he entrusted Beijing Henglu Law Firm to handle the case for him.Yuan HangThe lawyer continued to pursue the claim.

The focus of the controversy:First, when the company has no property available for enforcement, can the shareholders who have not paid in their subscribed capital be held liable for additional compensation? Second, if the subscribed capital payment period has not expired (until September 23, 2039), can the shareholders' capital contributions be accelerated to maturity? Third, how should the scope of supplementary compensation liability of each shareholder be defined?

Our position and that of the other party are as follows:Ma * claimed that Liu * and Zhang *, shareholders of A Company, had not paid in their registered capital and should bear supplementary compensation liability for the company's debts within the scope of their unpaid capital; the shareholders defended themselves on the grounds that the subscription period had not arrived and they were entitled to the time-limit benefits according to law. They did not appear in court to answer the lawsuit and did not provide evidence of the actual payment of the capital.

Attorney's Strategy and Legal Opinions:Attorney Yuan Hang retrieved the industrial and commercial archives and found that Liu * subscribed 9 million yuan and Zhang * subscribed 1 million yuan, with the subscription period ending on September 23, 2039. There was no record of actual payment in the archives. According to the adjudication rules established by the "Nine Civil Cases Memorandum", the attorney argued that: A Company, as the party subject to enforcement, had no assets available for enforcement after exhausting all enforcement measures, and had already met the criteria for bankruptcy but did not file for bankruptcy. The shareholders' term benefits were lost, and the investment that had not yet reached the due date was accelerated to maturity. Therefore, the attorney initiated a lawsuit for shareholders' liability for harming the company's creditors' interests, and requested the two shareholders to bear supplementary compensation liability within the scope of their unpaid investment.

The court's reasoning and case handling results:The court determined that Company A was unable to pay off its due debts and clearly lacked the ability to repay. It met the criteria for bankruptcy but failed to file for bankruptcy. The shareholders no longer enjoyed the benefit of the time limit, and the unpaid capital was subject to accelerated maturity. Liu * and Zhang * failed to appear in court for trial after being legally summoned and failed to provide evidence of full payment, thereby bearing the adverse consequences of failing to provide evidence. The court ruled that Liu * shall bear supplementary compensation liability for the debts of Company A to Ma * within the scope of unpaid capital of 9 million yuan, and Zhang * shall bear supplementary compensation liability for the debts of Company A to Ma * within the scope of unpaid capital of 1 million yuan. This case shows that lawyers have great potential in the enforcement phase: the final enforcement is not the end, and adding liability subjects is a key path to break through the enforcement deadlock.

This case is handled by Beijing Henglu Law Firm.Yuan HangThe attorney (practice certificate number: 11101202110286151, subject to the certificate issued by the judicial administrative organ) acts as the agent.

III. Frequently Asked Questions

Q1: Is it necessary to hire a lawyer during the execution phase? Can't I apply for it myself?

You can apply for it on your own, and the court will initiate online investigation and control after accepting the application. However, if the investigation and control fail, self-follow-up often stops at "terminal enforcement". Lawyers can apply for investigation orders to dig deeper into property clues, add shareholders and other responsible parties, and raise enforcement objections to passive enforcement, with a higher recovery rate. For cases with large amounts of principal, where the debtor obviously has signs of evading enforcement, or cases involving complex issues such as the liability of company shareholders, it is more cost-effective to entrust a lawyer to handle it. For simple cases, you can first apply for it on your own and then decide according to the progress.

Q2: What is the time limit for applying for enforcement?

The period for applying for enforcement is two years, and the provisions on suspension and interruption of the statute of limitations apply. Generally, it is calculated from the last day of the performance period specified in the legal document; for performance in installments, it is calculated from the last day of each performance period. If the application is made after the deadline and the other party raises an objection, the court will not enforce it. After obtaining the effective document, the applicant should apply for enforcement as soon as possible. The earlier the investigation and control are carried out, the lower the risk of the property being transferred. After the case is registered for enforcement, the creditor's rights remain valid for a long time and will not be extinguished after the two-year period has passed.

Q3: What specific tasks do lawyers perform during the execution process?

The main tasks include: drafting and filing an enforcement application; applying for online investigation and investigation orders, retrieving property clues such as bank transactions, real estate, equity, accounts receivable, etc.; applying for seizure, freezing, appraisal, auction, and participating in the distribution of property proceeds; applying for restrictions on high-consumption, inclusion in the list of dishonest people, and fines and detention measures against the debtors who refuse to declare their property; and, if necessary, raising enforcement objections, appeals, or additional lawsuits against the debtors. Throughout the process, we will communicate with the enforcement judge to ensure that the paper rights are translated into real benefits.

Q4: What should I do if the court can't find the property after the "terminal execution of debts"?

Termination of the main proceedings does not mean the end of the case. A lawyer can be appointed to apply for an investigation order to continue to investigate the debtor's assets and apply for resumption of enforcement at any time if clues are found; for a company that is a debtor, the business registration archives can be retrieved to verify the shareholders' capital contributions. If the shareholders have not paid the actual capital and the company meets the criteria for bankruptcy, the creditor can sue to make the shareholders bear responsibility within the scope of their subscribed capital; if the debtor transfers or sells the property at a low price without compensation, the creditor can exercise the right of revocation to recover the property. There is no time limit for resumption of enforcement. By cooperating with the measures of restricting high consumption and credit blacklisting, continuous pressure can be exerted, and there is still a chance of recovering the payment for most long-term cases.

Q5: Is it reliable to execute a settlement agreement, and what should I pay attention to?

The implementation of the settlement can accelerate the recovery of payments, but it is necessary to prevent "using the settlement to delay". The agreement should specify the installment amount, term, and guarantee measures, and stipulate that once a period of payment is not fulfilled, the enforcement of the original effective document can be resumed for all remaining payments without the need for a new lawsuit; it is best for a third party to provide a guarantee or handle the registration of property mortgages. During the settlement period, the application for enforcement of the statute of limitations is interrupted. If the other party breaches the contract, they should promptly submit the settlement agreement and the facts of the breach to the court and apply for the resumption of enforcement to avoid delays leading to the loss of property again.

IV. Suggestions for Protecting Rights and Interests

  • Once the performance period specified in the effective document has passed, you should apply for enforcement immediately. The two-year statute of limitations starts from the expiration of the performance period. Please don't wait until the other party's whereabouts are unknown before taking action.
  • Provide the court with as much information as possible about the other party's accounts, real estate, vehicles, equity, etc., and cooperate with the lawyer to apply for an investigation order to uncover hidden assets.
  • For the company's debtors, retrieve the internal files of the industry and commerce administration to verify the actual payment of shareholders, and sue the shareholders to assume supplementary compensation liability when they meet the conditions.
  • After the "Final Repayment", we will keep tracking the clues, apply for resuming the enforcement of the property at any time, and apply for restricting high consumption and dishonesty measures to maintain the pressure on the debtor.
  • When the execution is at an impasse, it is advisable to entrust a professional lawyer to design an overall solution, and break the deadlock through a combination of procedures such as investigation orders, supplementary orders, revocation orders, and objection procedures.

If you are currently facing similar problems, it is recommended that you consult a professional lawyer as soon as possible with the relevant evidence, to avoid missing the statutory time limits.\nLegal services for creditor-debtor disputes·Attorney Yuan Hang·Beijing Henglu Law Firm