The Court shall undergo the preliminary proceedings before the first date of trial.
During the preliminary proceedings, the court shall handle the following matters:
1. To define the scope of the prosecution and to determine whether the provisions cited in the indictment by the prosecutor should be modified;
2. To inquire the accused and the defense attorney whether they plead guilty to the crime charged by the prosecutor;
3. To arrange the contentious issues of the case;
4. To inform the parties of the motion for the investigation of evidence;
5. To handle matters relating to the disclosure of evidence;
6. To handle matters relating to the admissibility of the evidence and to determine whether it is necessary to conduct investigation on particular items of the evidence;
7. To provide an opportunity for the parties, the defense attorney, or the assistant of the accused to state their opinions regarding the evidence that was investigated ex officio;
8. To order an expert examination or conduct an inspection;
9. To determine the scope, sequence and methods of the investigation of evidence;
10. To handle matters relating to the procedures of the selection of the citizen judges and the Alternative citizen judges; and
11. To handle other matters relating to the trial.
The court shall make a trial plan based on the outcome of the above handling conducted in accordance with the preceding paragraph. The format and matters that should be contained in the trial plan shall be prescribed by the Judicial Yuan.
The preliminary proceedings may be conducted by a judge serving as the commissioned judge. The commissioned judge who conducts the preliminary proceedings shall have the same authority as the court or the presiding judge, except for making the rulings specified in Paragraph 1 of Article 50, Paragraph 1 of Article 60, Paragraphs 1 and 2 of Article 62 of this Act, and Article 121 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

The court shall designate the date of the preliminary proceedings on which it shall summon the accused as well as notify the prosecutor, the defense attorney and the assistant of the accused to be present at the court.
The court may, where it deems necessary, summon or notify the person concerned to be present at court on the date of preliminary proceedings.
The preliminary proceedings may only be conducted with the presence of the prosecutor and the defense attorney.
The summons or notification of the date of the first preliminary proceedings shall be served fourteen days before the said date at the latest.

In handling matters relating to the various Subparagraphs of Paragraph 2 of Article 47, the court may conduct necessary examination on the parties, the defense attorney, the assistant of the accused, and the person concerned.

The preliminary proceedings shall be held in open court except for any of the following circumstances:
1. Where it is otherwise provided by the law;
2. Where the court makes a ruling that the preliminary proceedings shall not be held in public court for reasons concerning the possible threats posed to national security, public order, or social values; or
3. Where the court, after hearing opinions of the parties , the defense attorney, or the assistant of the accused, makes a ruling that the preliminary proceedings shall not be held in public court in order to facilitate the proper undergoing of the proceedings.
No interlocutory appeal may be filed against a ruling made pursuant to the preceding paragraph.
The citizen judges and the alternate citizen judges do not need to be present at court in the preliminary proceedings.

Where it is necessary to prepare for the preliminary proceedings, the prosecutor and the defense attorney should be in contact so as to confirm the following matters:
1. The facts of the offense and the provisions cited in charges that are written in the indictment of the prosecutor as well as the statements or grounds of defense stated by the accused;
2. The contentious issues of the case;
3. The items of evidence that both parties plan to petition for investigation, the facts to be proven, as well as the scope, sequence and methods of the investigation of evidence;
4. The opinions of both parties on the petition for the investigation of evidence.
Before the first date of preliminary proceedings the defense attorney shall consult with the accused to ascertain the facts of the alleged offense and to organize the contentious issues of the case.
The court, if it deems it appropriate, may contact the prosecutor and the defense attorney before the start of preliminary proceedings to negotiate on matters necessary for the undergoing of the proceedings.

Where it is necessary to prepare for the preliminary proceedings, the prosecutor shall submit a written pleading for the preliminary proceedings to the court, with its duplicate copies served to the accused or the defense attorney, which shall contain the following matters in concrete detail:
1. The items of evidence that the prosecutor petitions for investigation and its relevance with the facts to be proven; and
2. The name, gender, domicile or residence of the witness, the expert witness, or the interpreter to be summoned and the estimated time for their respective examination.
To supplement or correct the matters of the preceding paragraph, the prosecutor shall submit another written pleading for the preliminary proceedings or make an oral statement at court in the proceedings.
The written pleadings and statement mentioned in the preceding two paragraphs shall not contain facts and evidence that bear no relevance to the facts written on the indictment or would likely lead the court to form a predetermined opinion about the case.
The prosecutor shall exercise caution in terms of filing petition for the investigation of evidence pursuant to paragraphs 1 and 2 of this article.
The court may, after hearing opinions of the prosecutor and the defense attorney, set a deadline for the submission of the written pleadings or statement mentioned in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this article.

The prosecutor shall disclose the files and the exhibits of the case to the defense attorney or the accused right after filing the prosecution. However, the prosecutor may refuse or restrict the disclosure once there is one of the following circumstances, and shall inform the defense attorney or the accused of the reasons in writing:
1. Where the contents of the files and the exhibits are irrelevant to the facts of the offense;
2. Where the disclosure may infringe the investigation of another case;
3. Where the disclosure is related to privacy or business secrets of the parties or of a third party; or
4. Where the disclosure may pose harm to other people's lives or bodies.
The disclosure referred to in the preceding paragraph shall mean that the defense attorney may review, take note of, copy, photocopy or video-record the files and the exhibits; alternatively, it shall mean that the accused may petition to the prosecutor for delivering copies of the files and the exhibits upon depositing the necessary fees; or further alternatively, it shall mean that the accused shall be presented an opportunity to review the original copy of the files and the exhibits upon the approval of the prosecutor, with the precondition that the files and the exhibits are kept safe and intact. The standards and methods of payment referred to above shall be determined by the Executive Yuan.
The prosecutor shall make the disclosure within five days after receiving the petition made by the defense attorney or the accused. Where the prosecutor cannot fulfil the disclosure within five days, the prosecutor may reach an agreement with the defense attorney or the accused on an appropriate extension of the time limit.

The defense attorney shall, after the disclosure is made by the prosecutor pursuant to the preceding article, submit a written pleading for the preliminary proceedings, with its duplicate copies served to the prosecutor, which shall contain the following matters in concrete detail:
1. A statement on whether the accused pleads guilty to the facts cited in the indictment; and where the accused pleads not guilty, his or her statements on the defense of the accused, as well as the statement on whether he or she contests the facts stated in the indictment;
2. Opinions on the admissibility of the evidence that the prosecutor petitions to investigate and on whether there is a need for the investigation;
3. The evidence the accused petitions to investigate and its relevance with the facts to be proven;
4. The name, gender, domicile or residence of the witness, expert witness, or interpreter to be summoned and the estimated time for their respective examination; and
5. Opinions on the provisions applied in the indictment by the prosecutor.
To supplement or correct the matters of the preceding paragraph, the defense attorney shall submit another written pleading for the preliminary proceedings or make an oral statement at court in the proceedings.
Paragraphs 3 to 5 of Article 52 apply mutatis mutandis to the circumstances of the preceding two paragraphs.
The accused may submit a written pleading or a statement on matters of the various subparagraphs of Paragraph 1 of this article. Paragraphs 3 and 4 of Article 52 apply mutatis mutandis to this circumstance.

In circumstances where the defense attorney or the accused petition to the court for the investigation of evidence pursuant to Paragraph 1, Paragraph 2, or Paragraph 4 of the preceding article, the defense attorney or the accused shall disclose the following matters to the prosecutor:
1. Evidence upon which a petition for investigation is made;
2. Records of the statements made by the witness, expert witness, or interpreter before the date of trial; or where there is no such a record, a written statement on the statements the said persons are expected to make on the trial dates.
Paragraph 3 of Article 53 apply mutatis mutandis to the circumstance of the preceding paragraph.

The prosecutor shall, after the defense attorney conducts the disclosure pursuant to the preceding article, express his or her opinions on the admissibility of evidence that the defense attorney and the accused petitioned to investigate and on whether there is a need for the investigation.
Where there is a need to supplement or correct the matters provided in the preceding paragraph, the prosecutor shall make another submission to the court independently.
Paragraph 5 of Article 52 apply mutatis mutandis to the circumstances of the preceding two paragraphs.

Where the prosecutor or the defense attorney deems the opposing party violated the obligation of disclosure in accordance with provisions of Articles 53 or 55, the said prosecutor or defense attorney may petition for the court to make a ruling to order the disclosure of evidence.
In making the ruling pursuant to the preceding paragraph, the court may designate the date, the method or additional conditions for the disclosure.
Before making the ruling pursuant to Paragraph 1 of this Article, the court shall hear the opinions of the party against whom such a petition is made; where it deems it necessary, the court may order the prosecutor to submit to the court the inventory of the exhibits or order the parties or the defense attorney to submit the evidence to the court, which shall not be subject to any review, note-taking, copying, photocopying, or video-recording by anyone.
An interlocutory appeal may be filed against the ruling made pursuant to Paragraph 1 of this Article. The execution of the ruling ordering the disclosure made by a court shall be suspended pending the hearing of the interlocutory appeal.
The court that hears the interlocutory appeal shall make its ruling immediately, and shall make its own ruling if it finds the interlocutory appeal meritorious.

Where the prosecutor or the defense attorney fails to comply with the order made pursuant to Paragraph 1 of the preceding article by executing the disclosure, the court may dismiss the petition made by the said party for the investigation of evidence by a ruling or order the said prosecutor or defense attorney to disclose all the evidence that is in their possession or keeping.

Before making a ruling pursuant to the preceding article, the court shall carefully review circumstances including the types of obligation that is violated, the reasons for the violation, and the detriment caused by the violation in a prudent manner.

A person who has possession of the contents of the cases files and exhibits of Article 53 shall not use the contents for a purpose that is not justifiable.
A person who violates the preceding paragraph shall be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than one year, detention, or a fine of not more than NT$ 150,000.

An agent of the complainant or an agent of a participant to the litigation, if he or she is an attorney, may make a petition to the prosecutor for reviewing the case files and exhibits, of which note-taking, copying, photocopying, or video-recording is allowed.
A participant to the litigation who has not retained an agent or the agent he or she retained is not an attorney may, after the filing of the prosecution, petition the prosecutor for delivering copies of the case files and exhibits upon depositing the necessary fees.
The prosecutor may restrict the scope of disclosure where the contents of the case files and exhibits referred to in Paragraphs 1 and 2 of this article are irrelevant to the facts of offense, where there are sufficient grounds to believe that the said contents may infringe the investigation of another case, where the disclosure is related to privacy or business secrets of the parties or a third party, or where the disclosure may pose harm to other people's lives or bodies. The prosecutor shall inform the petitioner of the reasons of restriction in writing
Where the petitioner disagrees with the prosecutor's restriction made pursuant to the preceding paragraph, the agent of the complainant, participant to the litigation, or an agent thereof may petition to the court for revoking or correcting the said restriction. The petition made by the agent shall not contradict the express intention of the complainant or the participant to the litigation.
No interlocutory appeal may be filed against a ruling made by the court pursuant to the preceding paragraph.

Before the conclusion of the preliminary proceedings the court shall make a ruling on the admissibility of evidence upon which an investigation is conducted upon petition or on its own initiative, unless there is a need to investigate the admissibility of the evidence in the trial proceedings on the trial dates.
The court shall dismiss by a ruling, before the conclusion of the preliminary proceedings, the petition for the investigation of evidence filed by a party or a defense attorney when it deems unnecessary.
Where there exists one of the following circumstances a petition for the investigation of evidence shall be deemed unnecessary:
1. Where the evidence cannot be investigated;
2. Where the evidence is not of critical relevance to the facts to be proven;
3. Where the evidence is unnecessary because the facts to be proven are clear; or
4. Where the evidence has been petitioned before.
The court may conduct a necessary investigation before making a ruling pursuant to the Paragraphs 1 and 2 of this article. However, the court may not order a submission of the evidence that a party petitioned for investigation unless it deems it necessary.
Where after the making of a ruling pursuant to the Paragraphs 1 and 2 of this article the basic facts on which the court's ruling based on has changed so that a different ruling is called for, the court shall make a new ruling. The same shall apply to a situation where the evidence a party petitioned for investigation is subsequently found no longer necessary.
With regard to evidence upon which an investigation is not conducted upon petition or on its own initiative until the trial date, the court shall make a ruling on its admissibility before conducting an investigation on it. The same shall apply to a situation where the evidence a party petitioned for investigation is found unnecessary.
A piece of evidence that is ruled by a court to be inadmissible or unnecessary may not be presented or investigated upon on the trial date.
No interlocutory appeal may be filed against a ruling made pursuant to Paragraphs 1, 2, 5, or 6 of this article.

After completing handling matters provided in Paragraph 2 of Article 47, the court shall confirm the outcome of the handling and review the trial plan together with the parties and the defense attorney, as well as pronouncing the conclusion of the preliminary proceedings.
The court may, if it deems necessary, make a ruling to reopen the previously closed preliminary proceedings.

After the conclusion of the preliminary proceedings the parties and the defense attorney may not petition for investigation on a new piece of evidence unless where there is one of the following circumstances:
1. Where all the parties and the defense attorney agree to the investigation on a new piece of evidence and the court deems it appropriate;
2. Where the new piece of evidence in question was acquired or its existence was known only after the conclusion of the preliminary proceedings;
3. Where the investigation on a new piece of evidence would not disrupt the continuation of the litigation proceedings to a great extent;
4. Where the investigation on a new piece of evidence is necessary for challenging the testimony given by the witness during the trial proceedings;
5. Where the failure to investigate the piece of evidence in question before the conclusion of the preliminary proceedings was not due to the negligence on part of the parties; or
6. Where disallowing the investigation of the piece of evidence in question would be obviously unfair.
The circumstances in the various subparagraphs of the preceding paragraph shall be explained by the party which petitioned for the investigation of the piece of evidence in question.
A petition that is not made in consistency with the provisions of Paragraph 1 of this article shall be dismissed by the court.