民法第466条
Assignability of Claims
債権の譲渡性
Plain-language explanation
Article 466 of the Civil Code establishes the basic rule that claims (rights to receive payment, such as accounts receivable or loan repayments) can generally be freely transferred to another person without the debtor's consent. This is a foundational rule that enables businesses to use receivables for financing, such as factoring, debt collection outsourcing, or securitization.
At the same time, the parties to the original contract can agree to a "no-assignment" or "restricted-assignment" clause. However, under the modern Civil Code, even if such a clause exists, the assignment itself is generally still valid — a major reform point. If the person who received the assigned claim (the assignee) knew about the restriction, or was grossly negligent in not knowing, the debtor can still refuse to pay the assignee and instead pay the original creditor to discharge the debt.
The related provisions — Articles 466-2 through 466-5 — set out the practical mechanics for handling claims that carry an anti-assignment clause: allowing the debtor to deposit the money with a legal depository (kyōtaku), special rules if the original creditor goes bankrupt, and special treatment for bank deposit claims. For businesses, this means: always check whether a contract contains an anti-assignment clause before using receivables as collateral or selling them, since it affects who can legally demand payment and how disputes get resolved.
日本語での解説
民法第466条は、債権（お金を請求できる権利など）は原則として自由に譲渡できることを定めた条文です。つまり、会社が持っている売掛金や貸付金といった「請求する権利」は、本人の承諾がなくても他人に売却・譲渡することができます。これはビジネスにおいて、資金調達（ファクタリング）や債権回収の外部委託などを可能にする重要な原則です。
ただし、当事者間で「譲渡を禁止する、または制限する」という特約（譲渡制限特約）を結ぶことも認められています。もっとも、たとえそのような特約があっても、譲渡自体の効力は基本的に否定されません（改正民法の重要なポイント）。譲受人がその制限の存在を知っていた、または重大な過失で知らなかった場合には、債務者は譲受人への支払いを拒み、元の債権者への弁済で対抗できるという扱いになります。
関連する第466条の2から第466条の5までは、譲渡制限特約が付いた債権が譲渡された場合の実務的な処理（供託制度や、譲渡人が破産した場合の扱い、預貯金債権の特則など）を定めており、実務上はこれらとセットで理解する必要があります。特に企業間取引では、契約書に譲渡禁止特約があるかどうかを確認し、資金繰りのために債権を譲渡・担保化する際の法的リスクを把握することが重要です。
Common scenarios
- ▸A company sells its accounts receivable to a factoring company to raise immediate cash
- ▸A business checks a supplier contract for an anti-assignment clause before pledging receivables as loan collateral
- ▸A creditor's business goes bankrupt, and the trustee needs to determine whether claims with anti-assignment clauses can still be collected by assignees
- ▸A bank refuses to honor an assigned deposit claim due to the special rule for savings/deposit accounts (466-5)
- ▸A debtor deposits funds with a legal depository (kyōtaku) because it is unsure whether to pay the original creditor or a third-party assignee
Related statutes
- 民法第466条の2
- 民法第466条の3
- 民法第466条の5
- 民法第467条
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