TAIWAN Law and Practice Contributed by: Peng-Kwang Chen, I-Ming Chen, Pamela Huang and Claudia Huang, Formosa Transnational Attorneys At Law
tive relief, and a debtor may appeal to the decision henceforth. In contrast, when it comes to the issuance of a provi- sional injunction maintaining a temporary status quo, the court shall allow the parties to express their opin- ions before a decision is made. 6.4 Liability for Damages for the Applicant In the event that a provisional seizure, provisional injunction, or provisional injunction maintaining a temporary status quo is revoked for specific reasons, such as the creditor fails to initiate a lawsuit within the prescribed period, the creditor will be held liable for any damages to the debtor caused by the injunctive relief. Therefore, the court usually requires the creditor to provide a security deposit before granting any form of injunctive relief, as described in 4.6 Costs of Interim Applications/Motions . 6.5 Respondent’s Worldwide Assets and Injunctive Relief If the legal requirements for a provisional seizure order are met, a court will grant injunctive relief against the debtor’s assets (refer to 6.1 Circumstances of Injunc- tive Relief ). Such injunctive relief will merely state the total amount of money/value of the debtor’s assets to be seized, but will not specify which of the debtor’s properties are to be seized. In contrast, if a provisional injunction order is granted, such injunction relief will identify the subject matter it pertains to. Whether provisional seizure orders or provisional injunction orders issued by Taiwan courts will be rec- ognised and enforced against the debtor’s assets in a foreign country depends on the civil procedure laws of that foreign jurisdiction. 6.6 Third Parties and Injunctive Relief As a general rule, injunctive relief is effective against the parties directly involved in a legal dispute. How- ever, during the process of enforcing injunctive relief, its effects may extend to a third party. For example, if the creditor obtained a provisional seizure against the debtor, and the debtor has an
account receivable against a third party, the enforce- ment court might prohibit that third party from making payments directly to the debtor. If a third party fails to follow the enforcement court’s order and continues to make payments to the debtor, the enforcement court may, at the request of the credi- tor, directly enforce against the third party’s property. 6.7 Consequences of a Respondent’s Non- Compliance If a provisional injunction is violated, the enforce- ment court has the authority to impose penalties ranging from TWD30,000 (approximately USD925) to TWD300,000 (approximately USD9,250). If the debtor continues to disobey, the court may impose further fines or place the debtor into custody. However, in practice, it is extremely rare for the court to put the debtor into custody. 7. Trials and Hearings 7.1 Trial Proceedings Civil actions are usually conducted as follows. • The plaintiff initiates a lawsuit by filing a complaint with the court and prepaying the required court fee. • The court then arranges trial dates (known as “preparatory sessions”) to prepare for the final oral argument, during which the parties will exchange pleadings and present evidence (including witness/ expert examination) and their assertions. Typically, there are two to three preparatory sessions, where the judge clarifies the matters in dispute and those not contested between the parties. • Subsequently, a date is set for final oral argument (known as “oral argument session”), which usu- ally occurs only once. During final oral argument, the parties present their points of view thoroughly and completely. After the oral argument session, the parties may not present any new evidence or assertions to the court, and the court will deliver its judgment based on information presented to that point. • Upon the judgment’s delivery to both parties, they retain the option to file an appeal with a higher
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