District courts in Taiwan
Chinese name
Chinese地方法院
Japanese name
Kanji地方法院
Kanaちほうほういん

The district courts (Chinese: 地方法院; pinyin: Dìfāng Fǎyuàn; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Tē-hng Hoat-īⁿ) are the ordinary trial courts of general jurisdiction under the law of Taiwan. Currently there are 22 district courts under the jurisdiction of the Republic of China (Taiwan).

History

District courts (地方法院, chihō-hōin) were first established in Taiwan in 1896. The jurisdiction of the district courts changed several times in the Japanese era. There were five (5) district courts in Taiwan as of 1945, the end of the Japanese rule, when the courts were incorporated into the Republic of China court system.

No.NameJapaneseJurisdictionPresent division equivalent
1Taihoku District Court臺北地方法院Northern Taihoku PrefectureTaipei, New Taipei, Keelung
 Giran Branch宜蘭支部Southern Taihoku PrefectureYilan
Karenkō Branch花蓮港支部Karenkō Prefecture, Taitō PrefectureHualien, Taitung
2Shinchiku District Court新竹地方法院Shinchiku PrefectureTaoyuan, Hsinchu city/county, Miaoli
3Taichū District Court臺中地方法院Taichū PrefectureTaichung, Changhua, Nantou
4Tainan District Court臺南地方法院Southern Tainan PrefectureTainan
 Kagi Branch嘉義支部Northern Tainan PrefectureChiayi city/county, Yunlin
5Takao District Court高雄地方法院Takao Prefecture, Hōko PrefectureKaohsiung, Pingtung, Penghu

Note that the Empire of Japan was granted extraterritoriality in China from late 19th century until World War II. During this time, Taihoku District Court also handled the trial cases regarding Japanese citizens (including Taiwanese and Korean) in the Chinese provinces of Fujian, Guangdong and Yunnan.

After World War II, more district courts were established as the population growth. The newest district court, Ciaotou District Court, was established in September 2016 in Kaohsiung.[1] This makes the total count of district courts in Taiwan to 22.

List of District Courts

There are currently 20 district courts under the jurisdiction of the Taiwan High Court and 2 district courts under the jurisdiction of the Fuchien High Court.[2] The Kinmen and Matsu district courts are under the jurisdiction of the Fuchien High Courts as those counties are part of Fujian Province and not part of Taiwan Province. The jurisdictions of district courts do not always follow the boundary of the administrative divisions.[3]

No.NameChineseJurisdiction No.NameChineseJurisdiction
1Changhua臺灣彰化地方法院Changhua County 12New Taipei臺灣新北地方法院Western New Taipei
2Chiayi臺灣嘉義地方法院Chiayi, Chiayi County 13Penghu臺灣澎湖地方法院Penghu County
3Ciaotou臺灣橋頭地方法院Northern Kaohsiung 14Shilin臺灣士林地方法院Northern Taipei and northern New Taipei
4Hsinchu臺灣新竹地方法院Hsinchu, Hsinchu County 15Pingtung臺灣屏東地方法院Pingtung County
5Hualien臺灣花蓮地方法院Hualien County 16Taichung臺灣臺中地方法院Taichung
6Kaohsiung臺灣高雄地方法院Southern Kaohsiung 17Tainan臺灣臺南地方法院Tainan
7Keelung臺灣基隆地方法院Keelung and eastern New Taipei 18Taipei臺灣臺北地方法院Southern Taipei and southern New Taipei
8Kinmen福建金門地方法院Kinmen County 19Taitung臺灣臺東地方法院Taitung County
9Lienchiang福建連江地方法院Lienchiang County (Matsu Islands) 20Taoyuan臺灣桃園地方法院Taoyuan City
10Miaoli臺灣苗栗地方法院Miaoli County 21Yilan臺灣宜蘭地方法院Yilan County
11Nantou臺灣南投地方法院Nantou County 22Yunlin臺灣雲林地方法院Yunlin County

Divisions

Each District Court may establish summary division for different regions under it, for the adjudication of cases suitable for summary judgment and small claims cases. The civil summary procedure is for cases involving an amount in controversy of not more than 500,000 New Taiwan dollars[4] and for simple legal disputes.[2] The small claims cases are cases demanding payment for less than 100,000 NTD.[5] Currently there are a total of 45 divisions in Taiwan.[2] Additionally, there is a Taiwan Kaohsiung Juvenile Court, established in accordance with the Law Governing the Disposition of Juvenile Cases.[2]

Each of the District Courts has civil, criminal and summary division 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.[2] Each division has a Division Chief Judge who supervises and assigns the business of the division. Each District Court has a Public Defenders' Office and a Probation Officers' Office.[2]

Judges

A single judge hears and decides cases in ordinary and summary proceedings as well as in small claims cases.[2] 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.[2] Criminal cases are decided by a panel of three judges, with the exception of summary proceedings which may be held by a single judge.[2] The Juvenile Court hears and decides only cases involving juveniles.[2]

Jurisdiction

District Courts have jurisdiction over the following cases:[2]

  • Ordinary or summary civil and criminal cases as well as civil small claim cases as courts of the first instance;
  • Civil and criminal appeals or interlocutory appeals from decisions rendered by the summary divisions;
  • Juvenile matters;
  • Family matters;
  • Traffic cases;
  • Civil compulsory execution cases;
  • Non-contentious matters;
  • Civil protection writs;
  • Rehabilitation of delinquents;
  • Labor-management disputes;
  • Elections and recalls;
  • Violations of the Statute for the Maintenance of Social Order;
  • Other cases prescribed by law.

Dispute

On 31 March 2017, Taipei District Court finished a judgment of first instance, this is the first time, the collegial court invoked the concept of "civil disobedience", and Identify the motive and purpose of the protest act, are related to public affair. They said the people of Sunflower Movement (As Huang Kuo-chang, Lin Fei-Fan, Chen Wei-ting, and related people) all are innocent.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Ciaotou District Court
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 See, Taipei District Court, About Us - Organization, http://www.judicial.gov.tw/en/english/branches/branch.asp (last visited Mar. 28, 2012)
  3. ↑ Directory of the Judicial Branch
  4. ↑ Article 427 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
  5. ↑ Article 436-8 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
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