Judicial Yuan

History Before the 1980s, the impact of the Constitutional Court was limited by authoritarian governance. The Court could be seen as an instrument of the Kuomintang regime. It never accepted a case on the constitutionality of the Temporary Provisions, which were the basis of authoritarian rule; The Court declined to hear challenges to these Provisions, and issued a number of decisions that facilitated Kuomintang rule within the confines of at least nominal constitutionalism. For the most part, the court served as a legal advisor to the government, rendering decisions that unified interpretations of statutes or ordinances or providing legitimacy for these politically expedient solutions as a result of extension of legislative representatives' terms. In Interpretation No 31 of 1954, the court extended the legislative representatives' terms, ruling that 'the nation was under crisis and the country could not hold the election for the second term legally'. In the 1960s and 1970s, the Constitutional Court further affirmed the constitutionality of adding extra seats to both the Legislative Yuan and the National Assembly by means of legislative enactments in Interpretation Nos 117 and 150. Important decisions Important decisions of the Constitutional Court are listed as the following. Interpretations made before the Constitutional Court Procedure Act Interpretation No. 31 In 1954, the Council of Grand Justices extended the terms of members of the Legislative Yuan and the Control Yuan elected in 1948, ruling that: As a result of the council's ruling, first-term members of the Legislative and Control Yuans continued to serve for the next four decades until 1992, resulting in distortions of representation. Following the death of some of those representatives, the Temporary Provisions against the Communist Rebellion were amended to allow vacancies to be filled by holding supplementary elections or by adding more seats for representatives elected locally in Taiwan. Interpretation No. 261 The Council of Grand Justices issued interpretation No. 261 on June 21, 1990. The Council of Grand Justices ruled on the constitutionality of the continued sitting in the National Assembly of members elected on the mainland in 1948 and ordered that: The court further required the government to hold a nationwide second-term election of the national representatives including a certain number of representatives-at-large for the proper functioning of the constitutional system. Interpretation No. 499 The Constitutional Court, in voiding the 5th amendment of the Additional Articles of the Constitution, developed criteria by which the constitutionality of a constitutional amendment should be judged: • a constitutional amendment must be enacted in accordance with constitutional due process; and • since a constitutional amendment is enacted on the basis of powers bestowed by the constitution, it cannot alter ‘the existing constitutional provisions of essential significance, such as the principle of the democratic republic, the principle of sovereignty of and by the people, the core contents of fundamental rights of people, and the principle of checks and balances of governmental powers.’ Judgements made after the Constitutional Court Procedure Act == Ordinary courts ==

Supreme court The Supreme Court () is the court of last resort for civil and criminal cases. A civil case can be appealed to the Supreme Court only when more than NT $1,500,000 is at stake. Except for petty offences enumerated in Article 376 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, any criminal case may be appealed to the Court. This Court exercises jurisdiction over the following cases: • appeals from judgments of High Courts or their branches as courts of first instance in criminal cases; • appeals from judgments of High Courts or their branches as courts of second instance in civil and criminal cases; • appeals from rulings of High Courts or their branches; • appeals from judgments or rulings rendered by the civil court of second instance by the summary procedure, the amounts in controversy exceeding NT $1,500,000, and with permission granted in accordance with specified provisions; • civil and criminal retrials within the jurisdiction of the court of third instance; • extraordinary appeals; or • any other case as specified by laws. High court There are six high courts () branches in Taiwan: The High Courts and its branches exercise jurisdiction over the following cases: • Appeals from judgments of the District Courts or their branches as courts of the first instance in ordinary proceedings of civil and criminal cases; • Interlocutory appeals from rulings of the District Courts or their branches in ordinary proceedings; • First instance criminal cases relating to rebellion, treason, and offenses against friendly relations with foreign states; • Military appellate cases whose judgments are imprisonment for a definite period rendered by the High Military Courts and their branches; and • Other cases prescribed by law. The high courts and its branch courts are divided into civil, criminal and specialized divisions. Each division is composed of one division chief judge and two associate judges. Additionally, the high courts and its branch courts have a clerical bureau, which is headed by a chief clerk who assists the president with administrative affairs. Each district court may establish one or more summary divisions for the adjudication of cases suitable for summary judgment. The civil summary procedure is for cases involving an amount in controversy of not more than 300,000 New Taiwan dollar and for simple legal disputes. Currently there are a total of 45 divisions in Taiwan. Additionally, there is a Taiwan Kaohsiung Juvenile Court, established in accordance with the Law Governing the Disposition of Juvenile Cases. Each of the district courts have civil, criminal and summary divisions and may establish specialized divisions to handle cases involving juveniles, family, traffic, and labor matters as well as motions to set aside rulings on violations of the Statute for the Maintenance of Social Order. Each division has a Division Chief Judge who supervises and assigns the business of the division. Each district court has a public defender’s office and a probation officer’s office. A single judge hears and decides cases in ordinary and summary proceedings as well as in small claims cases. A panel of three judges decides cases of great importance in ordinary proceedings as well as appeals or interlocutory appeals from the summary and small claims proceedings. Criminal cases are decided by a panel of three judges, with the exception of summary proceedings which may be held by a single judge. The Juvenile Court hears and decides only cases involving juveniles. ==Special courts==

Administrative court The administrative courts () handle cases regarding administrative litigation. The current administrative litigation system adopts a "Two Level Two Instance System" litigation procedure. The administrative courts are classified into the High Administrative Court, which is the court of first instance, and the Supreme Administrative Court, which is the appellate court. The first instance of the High Administrative Court is a trial of facts. The Supreme Administrative Court is an appellate court. Intellectual Property and Commercial Court The Intellectual Property and Commercial Court () handles cases regarding intellectual properties and commerce. Disciplinary court The disciplinary court () maintains official discipline and punishes public servants, regardless of rank or appointment, for violations of the law or negligence in his or her duty in accordance with Article 77 of the Constitution. == Judges ==

Article 80 of the Constitution states that Judges shall be above partisanship and shall, in accordance with law, hold trials independently, free from any interference. Furthermore, Article 81 states that Judges shall hold office for life. No judge shall be removed from office unless he has been guilty of a criminal offense or subjected to disciplinary measure, or declared to be under interdiction. No judge shall, except in accordance with law, be suspended or transferred or have his salary reduced. Judges shall be appointed from those persons who have passed the Examination of Judicial Officials, completed the Training Course for Judicial Officials and possessed distinguished records after a term of practice. ==President and Vice President of the Judicial Yuan ==

, the acting President of the Judicial Yuan. Since a constitutional amendment ratified in 1997, the President and Vice President of the Judicial Yuan need to be justices. However, they are not subject to the 8-year term limit like the other 13 justices. In the current constitution, the President and Vice President of the Judicial Yuan are appointed by the President of the Republic with the approval of the Legislative Yuan. Before 1947 Constitution 1947 Constitution 1997 Constitution amendment == See also ==