January 2022
Angela Wu and Tina Lee
To establish a pyramidal civil litigation system, the Judicial Yuan adopted the draft amendments to the Code of Civil Procedure and the Enforcement Law of the Code of Civil Procedure on December 3, 2021. The highlights of these amendments mainly include the transformation of the third instance trial into a strict trial of law, reform of the retrial system, thorough implementation of the legal representation system, the enhancement of procedural efficiency, etc.
According to the Judicial Yuan, the drafts amendments mainly expand the application scope of discretionary review and reduce the scope of the third-instance trial so that the third instance court does not overly intervene with the determination of facts to thoroughly carry out the gist of transforming the third instance trial into a strict trial of law so that the third instance court can dedicate itself to the creation of law, the consistency of adjudications, and cases involving legal opinions basically important for reflecting the core value of a trial of law.
The draft amendments also modify the retrial system accordingly to take into account the remedy rights and interests of the parties and expand the scope of the mandatory legal representation system by amending the requirements for special agents to enhance the function of legal representation and protect the rights and interests of the parties. In addition, requirements relating to the service system are also revised to enhance the procedural efficiency of courts.
The amendments to the Code of Civil Procedure and the Implementation Law of the Code of Civil Procedure are summarized below:
1. The third instance trial as a strict trial of law: The trial scope of the third instance court is reduced so that it may dedicate itself to the creation of law, the consistency of adjudications, and cases involving legal opinions basically important for reflecting the core value of a trial of law.
2. Change of the retrial system: The grounds of retrial are added, repeated retrial applications are prohibited, and the provisions on exceptions to the unchanged period for retrial are revised.
3. Enhancement of the legal representation system: It is specifically stipulated that for a property lawsuit to which a general litigation procedure applies, the first instance trial with its litigation subject matter amounting to or valued at over NT$5 million, the second instance trial its litigation subject matter amounting to or valued at over NT$1.5 million, and all third instance trial cases are all subject to the mandatory legal representation system with the legal representation function enhanced. In addition, the requirements for special agents are revised.
4. Enhancement of the procedural efficiency: Provisions on the service system, the preparation and service of court decisions in electronic form, safeguard of the appeal rights and interests of the parties under detention, etc., are revised.
5. Amendments to the Implementation Law of the Code of Civil Procedure: The provisions on the application of the old and new laws are specifically stipulated, the provisions on the effective date of the amendments are simplified, and the full text is revised accordingly.