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Chapter Law Content

PART I GENERAL PRINCIPLES
CHAPTER IV LITIGATION PROCEEDINGS
Section 5 Oral Argument
Article 192
Oral-argument sessions start with the parties?stating their respective demands for judgment for the relief sought.
Article 193
A party shall make factual and legal statements regarding matters involved in the action.
A party may not quote documents in lieu of oral statements, except where it is necessary to quote certain passages from the documents and then, he/she may do so by reading the essential part.
Article 194
A party shall state its evidence in accordance with the provisions of Part II, Chapter I, Section 3.
Article 195
Parties shall make truthful and complete statements with regard to the facts they present.
A party shall make statements concerning the facts and evidence presented by the opposing party.
Article 195-1
Where a party's means of attack or defense involves the privacy or a business secret of either party or a third person, the court may, on motion, order the hearing not be held in public if the court considers it appropriate to do so. The same rule shall apply when the parties have consented the hearing not be held in public.
Article 196
Except as otherwise provided, the means of attack or defense shall be presented in due course according to the phase of litigation before the conclusion of the oral-argument sessions.
Where a party, attempting to delay litigation or through gross negligence, presents an attack or defense in a dilatory manner at the possible cost of a timely conclusion of the litigation, the court may deny the means of attack or defense so presented. The same rule shall apply when the purpose of the means of attack or defense presented is unclear and the presenting party fails to provide a necessary explanation after being ordered to do so.
Article 197
A party may object to any violation of the provisions regulating litigation procedure, except where the party waives the right of objection or makes further statements or representations without objecting to the violation.
The proviso of the preceding paragraph does not apply when the provision regulating litigation procedure in issue is not provided solely for the interests of the parties.
Article 198
The presiding judge shall start, conclude, and direct oral argument and announce the court's decision.
The presiding judge may prohibit any person from speaking who disobeys his/her order.
When the oral argument needs to be continued, the presiding judge shall promptly designate the date for continuation.
Article 199
The presiding judge shall exercise care when directing the parties to present appropriate and complete arguments about the facts and the laws regarding the matters involved in the action.
The presiding judge shall question the parties or direct them to make factual and legal representations, state evidence, or make other necessary statements and representations; where the presented statements or representations are ambiguous or incomplete, the presiding judge shall direct the presenting party to clarify or supplement.
The associate judges may, after informing the presiding judge, question or direct the parties.
Article 199-1
Where the plaintiff's statements and factual representations may lead to an assertion of several legal relations and his/her assertion is ambiguous or incomplete, the presiding judge shall direct him/her to clarify or supplement.
Where the defendant asserts a reason to extinguish or prevent the plaintiff's claim and there exists ambiguity as to whether such reason is raised as a means of defense or counterclaim, the presiding judge shall elucidate.
Article 200
A party may move the presiding judge to conduct necessary interrogation and may, after informing the presiding judge, conduct interrogation himself/herself.
Where the presiding judge considers either the party's motion for interrogation or the interrogation conducted by the party to be inappropriate, the presiding judge may decline to conduct such interrogation or prohibit the party from conducting such interrogation.
Article 201
Where any person who participates in the oral argument raises an objection on the ground that the presiding judge's ruling on the proceeding, or the presiding judge's or the associate judge's interrogation or direction is in violation of law, the court shall make a ruling on such objection.
Article 202
The presiding judge shall appoint a judge who is to be commissioned to act in accordance with the provisions of this Code.
Except as otherwise provided, any request to be made by the court shall be made by the presiding judge.
Article 203
In order to elucidate or ascertain relations involved in the action, the court may take the followings measures:
1. Order the parties or their statutory agents to appear in person;
2. Order the parties to produce drawings/illustrations, schedules/lists, translations of documents written in a foreign language, or other documents and objects;
3. Temporarily retain in the court the documents and objects produced by a party or a third person;
4. Conduct inspections, order expert testimony, or request an agency or organization to conduct an investigation in accordance with the provisions of Part II, Chapter I, Section 3.
Article 204
The court may order arguments to be held separately where a party asserts multiple claims in an action, unless such multiple claims or the means of attack or defense thereof are related.
Article 205
The court may order arguments to be held jointly where the claims in multiple actions are initiated separately but are related or could be asserted in a single action.
Arguments of several actions that have been ordered to be held jointly may be decided jointly.
An action initiated in accordance with the provision of Article 54 shall be jointly argued and decided with the original action, except where the court considers it unnecessary or considers that the provision of Article 184 shall apply.
Article 206
The court may restrict the order of the arguments where a party asserts several independent means of attack or defense with regard to the same claim.
Article 207
The court shall appoint an interpreter where a person who participates in the argument does not understand the language used in the R.O.C. The same principle shall apply when the judge does not understand the dialect used by a participant in the argument.
The court shall appoint an interpreter where a person who participates in the argument has hearing, sound, or language impairments. However, the court may also question such person in writing or direct such person to express statements in writing.
The provisions regarding expert witness shall apply mutatis mutandis to the situations provided in the preceding two paragraphs.
Article 208
The court may prohibit any party from making statements if that party lacks the capacity to express himself/herself.
In the case provided in the preceding paragraph, unless an advocate or assistant also appears, the oral-argument session shall be postponed; if the party is prohibited from making statements again at the newly designated session, he/she shall be deemed to have failed to appear.
The provisions of the two preceding paragraphs shall apply mutatis mutandis when an advocate or assistant lacks the capacity to express himself/herself.
Article 209
Except as otherwise provided, the court shall take evidence in the oral-argument sessions.
Article 210
The court may, if necessary, order the concluded oral argument to be reopened before announcing the decision.
Article 211
Where there is any substitution of a judge participating in the oral argument, the parties shall state orally the purport of their previous arguments. Notwithstanding, the presiding judge may order the court clerk to read aloud the previous transcript instead. transcript.
Article 211-1
Where the parties, statutory agents, advocates, assistants, or other interested persons in an action have technology equipment to mutually exchange sound and video with the court to allow the court to proceed with the action, the court may on motion or at its discretion proceed with the action with that equipment where the court deems appropriate.
The court shall consult the opinions of the parties in the case of the preceding paragraph.
In the case of the first paragraph, the place stated in the summon where the parties should be present shall be the place of the equipment.
Where the transcript or other documents regarding the proceeding conducted pursuant to the first paragraph require a signature by the person making the statement, the court shall deliver the documents to the whereabout of the person who makes the statement, who shall confirm with the content therein and sign on the documents before returning to the court by facsimile or other technology equipment.
The Judicial Yuan shall prescribe regulations regarding the proceeding in the first paragraph and the delivery of documents in the preceding paragraph.
Article 212
The court clerk shall prepare an oral argument transcript, indicating the following matters:
1.The place and date of the oral argument;
2.The full names of the judges, the court clerk, and the interpreter;
3.The subject matter of the action;
4.The names of the appearing parties, statutory agents, advocates, assistants, and other persons who were summoned to appear; and
5.A statement as to whether the argument was held in public, and, if not, the reason therefor.
Article 213
The oral argument transcript shall indicate the purport of the progress of the argument and the following matters with particularity:
1. Any abandonment or admission of the claim, and admission of facts;
2. Any statement or withdrawal of evidence and any objection to the violation of provisions regulating to litigation procedure;
3. Any other statements or representations which are required to be indicated in the transcript by this Code;
4. Any testimony of a witness or an expert witness, and any inspection findings;
5. Decisions other than those which must be made in writing and included in the dossier;
6. Announcement of the decision.
Except as provided in the preceding paragraph, the presiding judge may order the entry in the transcript of important statements or representations made by the parties and the parties?failure to make statements or representations after being directed to do so.
Article 213-1
The court may, on motion, or on its own initiative, use a tape recorder or other machines or equipment to aid in making the oral argument transcript. The Judicial Yuan shall prescribe relevant regulations.
Article 214
Where a party indicates in a pleading his/her statements or representations presented at the oral argument session and submits such pleading to the court at that session, the presiding judge may, as he/she deems appropriate, order the court clerk to annex such pleading to the transcript and make a note of such fact in the transcript.
Article 215
Where the transcript references a document that is included in the dossier or indicates that such document shall be appended thereto, the matters indicated in such document shall take the same effect as those indicated in the transcript.
Article 216
The transcript and the document provided in the preceding article, indicating matters specified in the first subparagraph through the fourth subparagraph of the first paragraph of Article 213, shall, on motion, be read aloud to the persons concerned in the court, or such persons as may be permitted to inspect them. A note to such effect shall be made in the transcript.
Where the person concerned objects to entries in the transcript, the court clerk may rectify or supplement such entries. If the objection is considered meritless, the court clerk shall make a note of the objection in the transcript.
Article 217
The presiding judge and the court clerk shall sign their names in the transcript; if for whatever reason the presiding judge cannot sign, the senior associate judge shall sign instead; if no judge can sign, the court clerk may sign alone; if the court clerk cannot sign, the presiding judge or other judges may sign. A note to the above effect, if any, shall be made in the transcript.
Article 218
No words in the transcript may be erased or altered; any words added to or crossed out shall be identified along with the impression of a seal and with a note of the number of the affected words; the crossed out words must be left legible.
Article 219
The transcript exclusively shall evidence the fact that the formalities of the oral argument have been observed.