TAIWAN Law and Practice Contributed by: Peng-Kwang Chen, Pamela Huang, Claudia Huang and Ching-Tzu (Katie) Chang, Formosa Transnational Attorneys At Law
ney to represent them for the appeal before the Supreme Court. The High Court will review the appeal before for- warding the case to the Supreme Court. If the appeal does not meet the required formalities or other legal requirements and the appellant fails to correct such deficiencies within the time period ordered by the judge, the High Court will dismiss the appeal by a ruling. One common ground for dismissal is the appellant’s failure to appoint a lawyer to represent the appellant in the Supreme Court proceedings. 10.4 Issues Considered by the Appeal Court at an Appeal In civil cases, issues considered by the appeal court vary, depending on if the case is appealed to the High Court or to the Supreme Court. When Appealing to the High Court Other than reviewing the arguments and evi- dence presented by the parties in the District Court, the High Court may (re-)investigate the facts. The parties are limited to arguing within the scope of the arguments and evidence presented in the District Court, and are, in principle, pro- hibited from introducing new means of attack or defence, except in circumstances including: • the failure to present evidence or arguments is due to a violation of the law by the District Court; • the facts occurred after the conclusion of the oral argument in the District Court; or • the party was unable to present such evi- dence or arguments due to reasons not imputable to the party.
However, in practice, the courts tend to inter- pret these exceptions broadly with the result that most arguments and evidence newly introduced to the High Court are allowed. When Appealing to the Supreme Court The Supreme Court bases its decision on the facts established at the High Court. The parties are not permitted to introduce new evidence or means of attack or defence beyond the scope of those already submitted or argued in the lower courts. 10.5 Court-Imposed Conditions on Granting an Appeal The court cannot impose any conditions on granting an appeal. 10.6 Powers of the Appellate Court After an Appeal Hearing In civil cases, powers that the appellate courts have after hearing an appeal are as follows. When Appealing to the High Court If the High Court finds that the appeal is not justi- fied, it will enter a judgment denying it. If the High Court finds that the appeal is justified, it will, within the scope of the demand made by appeal, enter a judgment to reverse or amend the judgment from the District Court. In the case that there is a material procedural defect in the District Court’s judgment, the High Court may reverse the judgment and remand the case back to the District Court. This is an extraordinary situation for the purpose to main- tain the system of court instances. When Appealing to the Supreme Court If the Supreme Court finds that the appeal is jus- tified, and the facts of the case are unclear, it will
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