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Chapter Law Content

Title: Attorney Regulation Act CH
Category: Ministry of Justice(法務部)
Chapter 7 Associations
Section 1 Local Bar Associations
Article 51
Attorneys who practice law in law firms and total 30 or above in a juristic district of any district court may establish a local bar association, and designate the judicial district of such court as the region of such association. However, where any other local bar association is founded due to changes to the judicial district of any court in the original region of a local bar association, the latter local bar association should designate the modified judicial district of such court as its region.
Attorneys may jointly establish a local bar association in multiple judicial districts of district courts where there is no existing bar association.
Multiple bar associations may merge with one another.
Article 52
A local bar association shall be a legal person. Its competent authority should be the competent social administrative authorities in the place where it is located; its industry competent authority should be the local District Prosecutors' Office in the place where it is located.
A local bar association should aim at improving the moral character and ability of attorneys, improving the legal practice environment for attorneys, and urging attorneys to participate in charitable activities.
Article 53
A local bar association shall have 3 to 21 directors and 3 to 7 supervisors elected by members or from member representatives.
Article 54
The general meeting or the member representative meeting of a local bar association should discuss and approve the following matters:
1. Resolution on budgets and acknowledgement of final accounts;
2. Formulation and amendment of the association's charter;
3. Formulation and amendment of the rules of procedure for the general meeting or the member representative meeting;
4. Resolution on and approval of major property disposals;
5. Resolution on and approval of dissolution of the association; and
6. Other matters stipulated in the association's charter.
Article 55
The chairman a local bar association shall be the representative of the association.
If the chairman is unable to perform his/her duties for any reason, the vice chairman shall act as his/her representative; if there is no vice chairman or if the vice chairman is unable to perform his/her duties, the managing director (if any) shall be appointed by the chairman to act as his/her representative; if there is no managing director, the chairman shall appoint a director to act as his/her representative; if the chairman fails to or is unable to appoint a director as his/her representative, the managing director or directors shall elect one director from among themselves to act as the chairman's representative.
Article 56
A local bar association shall hold one general meeting or one member representative meeting convened by the chairman every year. The chairman shall convene an interim meeting upon the request of one fifth of the association’s members or member representatives or the request of the board of supervisors.
A general meeting or a member representative meeting shall require half of that association’s members or member representatives to constitute a quorum, unless otherwise provided in the association's charter.
Member representatives referred to in the preceding paragraph shall attend the meeting in person.
Any member who cannot attend a meeting in person as described in Paragraph 2 hereof may delegate another member in writing to act as his/her agent; however, the number of proxies in a single meeting shall not exceed one-third of the number of members present in person in such meeting, and each member may only accept one other member's delegation as his/her representative.
Members shall attend a meeting in person if the meeting requires less than half of the members to constitute a quorum.
Resolutions of the general meeting or the member representative meeting shall be adopted upon a majority consent of the attendance; provided, however, that the following matters should be agreed upon by more than two-thirds of the attendance:
1. Formulation and amendment of the association's charter;
2. Dismissal of a member or a member representative;
3. Removal of the chairman, the vice chairman, a managing director, a director or a managing supervisor, a supervisor and the convener of the board of supervisors;
4. Disposal of major properties;
5. Dissolution of the association; and
6. Other important matters related to the rights and obligations of the members.
Article 57
A local bar association shall establish and draft its charter, which shall be submitted to the local District Prosecutors' Office, competent social administrative authorities and the National Bar Association for reference. The same procedures shall apply in case of any amendment to the charter.
Article 58
The charter of a local bar association shall contain the following matters:
1. Name, location and its region;
2. Purpose, mission and organization;
3. Number, term of office, duties, authority, election and dismissal of the chairman, directors and supervisors and alternate directors and supervisors;
4. Number, term of office, duties, authority, election and dismissal of any vice director, managing director, convener of the board of supervisors, or managing supervisor (if any);
5. Functions of the board of directors and the board of supervisors;
6. Remuneration to the chairman (in case of a full-time chairman);
7. Rules of procedures for general meetings, member representative meetings and board of directors/supervisors meetings;
8. Rules of admission and withdrawal for general members and special members;
9. Membership fees for general members and special members;
10. Rights and obligations of general members and special members;
11. Matters concerning the maintenance and promotion of members' common interests, and the preparation and transmission of members' personal data;
12. Number of and election standards for member representatives (if any);
13. Matters and methods of compliance with attorney ethics;
14. Methods of notice regarding meetings and agendas;
15. Implementations of legal aid, legal services for the general public, and other charitable activities in society;
16. On-the-job continuing legal education for attorneys;
17. Matters relating to the insurance and welfare of attorneys;
18. Budgeting and accounting;
19. Disclosure of final accounts for income and expenditure, cashier accounts, assets and liabilities and property catalogs;
20. Procedures for disposal of major properties; and
21. Procedures for amendment to the charter.
The content of the charter in the preceding paragraph in contradiction with those that should be formulated in the charter of the National Bar Association and be applied to the nation shall be rendered null and void.
Article 59
When holding general meetings, member representative meetings and board of directors/supervisors meetings, a local bar association shall make a report to the competent local social administrative authorities and the local District Prosecutors' Office having jurisdiction over such bar association.
Article 60
Where a local bar association violates any law or its charter, or encumbers public welfare, the competent local social administrative authorities may warn it, cancel its resolution, or order it to suspend whole or a part of its business, and to improve such violation or encumbrance within a specified time limit; in case any improvement is not made within the time limit or such violation or encumbrance is serious, the competent local social administrative authorities may impose the following penalties on such bar association:
1. Removal or dismissal of its staff;
2. Governmental intervention within a limited time period; and
3. Dissolution.
Warning or cancellation of resolutions referred to in the preceding paragraph may also be administered by the local District Prosecutors' Office having jurisdiction over the local bar association after being reported to the Ministry of Justice for approval.
Article 61
A local bar association shall report to the competent local social administrative authorities and the local District Prosecutors' Office having jurisdiction the following information:
1. Member roster or member representative roster, and information on admissions to and withdrawals from the bar association;
2. Minutes of general meetings, member representative meetings and board of directors/supervisors meetings; and
3. The association's charter and resume book of employed staff.
The information stated in Subparagraph 1 of the preceding paragraph shall be submitted to the National Bar Association.