TAIWAN Law and Practice Contributed by: Peng-Kwang Chen, I-Ming Chen, Pamela Huang and Claudia Huang, Formosa Transnational Attorneys At Law
• In exceptional situations like the division of prop- erty of spouses or labour disputes related to wage claims, to protect the economically disadvan- taged individuals, the amount of security deposit must not be higher than one-tenth of the claimed amount. • As for provisional injunction, the security deposit is typically set at the full amount of the subject matter value. 4.7 Application/Motion Timeframe There are no fixed legal deadlines for courts to issue rulings on applications or motions, and Taiwan law does not provide the parties the right to request an issuance of an application/motion within a set time- frame from the court. However, in family law cases, when the victim is in imminent danger due to domestic violence, the court is required to issue an emergency protection order within four hours to provide immedi- ate protection. In civil cases, there is no discovery process that requires parties to exchange evidence and legal information before trial; however, there is a somewhat similar mechanism that enables the parties to obtain information related to the disputes in certain cases. If a party requires documents held by the other party (eg, medical records held by a hospital) to support their arguments, the party may request the court to order the other party to submit relevant documents. The requesting party must specify: • the document to be produced; • the disputed fact to be clarified by such document; • the content of such document; • why such document is in the possession of the opposing party; and • why the opposing party is obligated to produce such document. 5.2 Discovery and Third Parties If a party requires a document held by a third party as evidence, they may apply to the court to order the 5. Discovery 5.1 Discovery and Civil Cases
third party to produce the document. The requesting party must specify each of the matters listed in the second paragraph of 5.1 Discovery and Civil Cases . The applying party must also clearly demonstrate why the document is in the possession of the third party, and the basis upon which the third party is obligated to produce it. 5.3 Discovery in This Jurisdiction As mentioned in 5.1 Discovery and Civil Cases , Tai- wan does not have a discovery system similar to that of the United States. However, a party has the duty to produce the following documents in a civil lawsuit: • documents to which such party has referred in the proceedings; • documents that the requesting party is entitled to request or inspect under the law; • documents which are created in the interests of the requesting party; • commercial accounting books; and • documents which are created regarding matters relating to the lawsuit. Where a party disobeys a court’s order to produce documents without good cause, the court may, at its discretion, presume the truth of the requesting party’s allegation with regard to such document, or the fact to be proved by such document. 5.4 Alternatives to Discovery Mechanisms In civil proceedings, the burden of proof lies with the party making a claim in that party’s interest. The party with the burden of proof is responsible for produc- ing evidence to support its claims. The following are common approaches used when offering evidence (please also see 7.4 Rules That Govern Admission of Evidence ). • Documentary evidence – parties typically explain and cite the content of relevant documents in their complaint as documentary evidence. These documents are attached to pleadings or briefs and submitted to the court. • Witnesses – the parties may apply to the court to summon witnesses. Witnesses will testify before court, and their statements are documented in court transcripts.
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