TAIWAN Law and Practice Contributed by: Peng-Kwang Chen, I-Ming Chen, Pamela Huang and Claudia Huang, Formosa Transnational Attorneys At Law
Chinese Arbitration Association This association is experienced in handling media- tion and arbitration cases. It has a register of arbitra- tors and mediators and provides various training for arbitrators and mediators. It also organises seminars and symposiums on mediation, arbitration and other related topics, such as the annual Arbitration Week to promote the arbitration system. Township and County-Administered City Mediation Committee This committee offers mediation of civil matters (eg, matters involving property, marriage, damage compensation, etc), and criminal matters (eg, pub- lic insults, injuries, etc). The Township and County- Administered City Mediation Act regulates such medi- ation processes. The Arbitration Law regulates the conduct of arbitra- tion and the recognition or enforcement of arbitral awards in Taiwan. 13.2 Subject Matters Not Referred to Arbitration Subject matters for arbitration are limited to matters in respect of which the parties may reach a settlement in accordance with law, such as most civil disputes. Some matters including family relationships or crimi- nal offenses cannot be referred to arbitration. 13.3 Circumstances to Challenge an Arbitral Award A party may apply to the court to revoke the arbitral award on grounds including: • the arbitral award concerns a dispute not relevant to the subject matter of the arbitration agreement or exceeds the agreement’s scope; • the grounds for the arbitral award are not pro- vided despite being required by law, unless such absence of grounds was corrected by the arbitral tribunal; 13. Arbitration 13.1 Laws Regarding the Conduct of Arbitration
agreement reached in litigation, or a mediation agree- ment, has the same legal effect as a final and binding judgment, and may serve as a writ of execution. As ADR mechanisms have become more established, the mediation utilisation rate has increased signifi- cantly in recent years. According to Judicial Yuan sta- tistics, the number of successful mediation cases in civil cases has shown significant growth. Cases han- dled by the District Courts increased rapidly from over 40,000 cases in 2017 to over 60,000 cases in 2020. 12.2 ADR Within the Legal System In principle, ADR is not compulsory and does not form part of court procedures. However, some cases are subject to mediation before an action is initiated, including: • cases with a subject matter value of less than TWD500,000 (approximately USD16,667); • labour cases; • major commercial cases to which the Commercial Case Adjudication Act is applicable; and • cases related to family matters. If a party fails to appear at the mediation session with- out a good reason, the court may impose a fine up to TWD3,000 (approximately USD100) for civil cases and family matters, and up to TWD300,000 (approximate- ly USD10,000) for major commercial cases, on the defaulting party. In some cases that apply to small- claim proceedings and labour cases, if a party fails to appear at the mediation session without a good reason after being duly notified to do so five days prior to the session, the court may, on a motion by the party appearing, order oral arguments to be con- ducted immediately and enter a judgment based on the appearing party’s statements. 12.3 ADR Institutions The Taiwan government has been promoting ADR for many years, and the courts themselves have estab- lished a list of mediators. There are also many ADR organisations in Taiwan offering and promoting ADR. Some examples follow.
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