TAIWAN Law and Practice Contributed by: Jui-Hua Fan, Hsiang-Yang Hsieh, Chia-Hsin Wu, Chi-Ying Lee and Jin-Han Hsieh, Formosa Transnational Attorneys At Law
4.3 Direct/Indirect Purchasers Taiwanese antitrust law does not provide an ad hoc basis for a class/collective action; it is thus uncertain whether a class/collective action could be brought by indirect purchasers and/or direct purchasers. 4.4 Class Certification While Taiwan does not have a class certification pro - cedure held by the court, public interest groups must obtain approval from the competent authority to initi - ate class actions. This approval requires the group to meet criteria such as adequate membership or assets, alignment of the lawsuit with their charter, and repre - sentation of at least 20 victims. These class actions are limited in scope, as they can only seek to stop specific behaviours of the defendant and cannot pur - sue other claims, such as damages. As part of the approval process, the competent authority is required to hear the defendant’s opinion before granting per - mission to file the lawsuit. 5. Choice of Jurisdiction 5.1 Rules on Jurisdiction and Applicable Law Jurisdiction Generally speaking, a district court will have proper jurisdiction over a civil lawsuit if defendants have domiciles or residences in the territory subject to the court’s jurisdiction. At the same time, when a civil lawsuit is based on tor - tious activities, a district court will have proper juris - diction over the lawsuit if the harm or injury occurs within the territory subject to the court’s jurisdiction. Applicable Law In a civil lawsuit where a foreign element is present (for instance, if any of the parties are foreigners or foreign companies), the courts will determine the applicable law. Generally speaking, the law of the country that is most connected to the subject matter will be the applicable law.
The aforementioned periods will not be affected by the TFTC’s decisions. 3.2 Typical Length of Private Antitrust Litigation Private Enforcement It usually takes six months to one and a half years for courts to render first instance judgments in private enforcement cases (civil lawsuits). The above timetable does not cover the time during which the appellate court and the Supreme Court ren - der their judgments upon appeal. In situations where there is a parallel investigation by the TFTC, parties may not apply for an order to stay the civil proceedings. This is because Taiwanese courts are not bound by the TFTC’s findings of facts and will make their own decisions on antitrust law issues in civil proceedings. Taiwanese antitrust law does not provide an ad hoc basis for a class action or collective action. None - theless, the Civil Procedure Code allows for opt-in collective actions. Parties with common interests can select representatives, or designate a public interest group under certain circumstances, to file an action on behalf of all. With court approval, a public announce - ment may be made, allowing others with the same interest to join the collective action within a specified period. Additionally, authorised public interest groups can initiate civil class actions to halt unlawful conduct. 4.2 Opting In or Out Taiwan primarily employs an opt-in system for collec - tive actions. Individuals who have opted in to a collec - tive action lawsuit retain the right to withdraw from the proceedings prior to the conclusion of oral arguments. For class actions initiated by authorised public inter - est groups seeking to halt specific behaviours of the defendant, affected parties are afforded an opt-out option. 4. Class and Collective Actions 4.1 Statutory Basis
235 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook