18 December, 2007
Taiwan to Establish More Specialized Courts
Taiwan's new Chief Justice Lai In-Jaw announced yesterday (Dec. 17) at a year-end press conference that the Judicial Yuan has drafted legislation that will authorize the Yuan to create new specialized courts with limited jurisdiction to hear cases involving finance, construction, and medical disputes. The Intellectual Property Court, Taiwan's first specialized court, is scheduled to begin hearing cases in July.
The Expert Trial Participation Act bill will now be sent to the Legislative Yuan. It is the second major piece of legislation intended to reform the structure of Taiwan's court system along with the the Organic Act of the Judicial Yuan. But since the current legislative session ends this Friday ( Dec. 21), it is unlikely that either bill will pass until the new Legislature convenes after elections in January.
