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
3. Limitation Periods and the Duration of Litigation 3.1 Statute of Limitations Pursuant to Article 32 of the TFTA, a civil damage claim arising from a violation of the TFTA may be ini - tiated only within one of the two following periods, whichever lapses earlier: • two years from the date when the injured party becomes aware of the violation and knows the identity of the person liable for the harm; or • ten years from the date on which the infringing conduct is committed. 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.
Non-Intervention of TFTC in Antitrust Damage Lawsuits In most cases, the TFTC does not intervene in actions seeking compensatory damages brought by parties injured by violations of antitrust law. 2.4 Proof Administrative Litigation Proceedings Generally speaking, in administrative litigation pro - ceedings, a party bears the burden of proof regard - ing the facts that they allege in their favour, except either where the law provides otherwise or where the circumstances render it manifestly unfair. In addition, courts will look into the factual matters and request the parties or any other third parties to produce evi - dentiary materials that the courts deem necessary. At the same time, the parties may request the courts to investigate factual issues and produce evidence that the parties would like the courts to take into con - sideration. In addition, the parties may request the courts to order the other parties or any other third par - ties to produce evidentiary materials that are relevant to the cases. Civil Proceedings Plaintiffs in civil proceedings will have to produce evi - dence that suffices to establish each element required for a tort claim. Tortfeasor defendants will usually not have to establish any facts in relation to the elements required for a tort claim. In relation to whether the enterprise has violated the provisions of the TFTA, if the TFTC has determined that the case constitutes a violation of the TFTA and has issued rulings accordingly, the civil court tends to adopt the TFTC’s opinion, incorporate the reason - ing of the TFTC’s rulings in its judgment, or include the TFTC’s rulings decision as evidence. However, the court will still determine whether civil liability is estab - lished independently. 2.5 Pass-On Defence In situations where a party to a proceeding raises a “pass-on” defence, the party raising the defence must bear the burden of proof. In other words, said party needs to produce evidence that sufficiently establish - es the facts supporting the “pass-on” defence.
4. Class and Collective Actions 4.1 Statutory Basis
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
192 A NTITRUST LI T IGATI O N 2026
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