Taiwan, China: Legal Environment

Business Contract

General Observation: You must state precisely the obligations of the vendor and the methods of quality control.
Law Applicable to the Contract: Taiwan did not sign the Convention of Vienna because it's not recognized as an independent country. A foreign law can be applied: to be negotiated when writing the contract. If not it is the Code of Commerce will apply.
Advisable Incoterms: Choose FOB or CIF, or more. For more information on Incoterms consult the website of the International Chamber of Commerce.
Language of Domestic Contract: Chinese or English.
Other Laws Which Can Be Used in Domestic Contracts: A foreign law can be applied: to be negotiated when writing the contract. If not, the Code of Commerce will apply.

National Organisations: In order to register a patent, a trademark or a technical design, it is necessary to present it beforehand to the Intellectual Property Office (TIPO) and apply to an expert in Taiwanese patents recognized by the authorities.
Regional Organisations: Chinese Intellectual Property Protection Association.
International Membership

Type of property and law	Validity	International Agreements Signed
Patent Patent Act	20; 12 or 10 years
Trademark Trademark Act	10 years
Design Patent Act	12 years.
Copyright Copyright Act	The life of the author and fifty years after the author's death.

Equal Treatment of Nationals and Foreigners: Foreigners can be guaranteed an impartial trial from the country's judicial system.
The Language of Justice: The judicial language used in the country is Mandarin Chinese, having an interpreter is possible.
Recourse to an Interpreter: Having an interpreter is possible.
Legal Similarities: Taiwanese Law today is mainly based on the civil law system.

The Constitution of Taiwan	It is the supreme law of the land and contains 175 articles in the original text.
The Civil Code	The Civil Code regulates all aspects of trade, agency, employment, contracts, leases, loans, mandates, partnership, suretyship and tort.
The Code of Civil Procedures	The Code of Civil Procedure governs procedurally all civil matters including commercial.
The Criminal Code	All criminal matters are governed substantively by the Criminal Code
The Code of Criminal Procedure	The Code of Criminal Procedure governs procedurally all criminal matters.
The Administrative laws

Judicial Yuan	Serves as the highest judicial organ.
The Supreme Court	The court of last resort in the Republic of China. It is inferior only to the Judicial Yuan that considers constitutional issues.
Taiwan High Court
Fuchien High Court Kinmen Branch Court	This Court handles appeal and objection cases from the district courts of Kinmen County and Lienchiang County; and also criminal and other cases subject to a legal decision of the High Court.
The Supreme Administrative Court	The high administrative courts decide questions of both fact and law, while the Supreme Administrative Court decides only questions of law.
High Administrative Courts	The high administrative courts decide questions of both fact and law, while the Supreme Administrative Court decides only questions of law.
Commission on the disciplinary sanctions of functionaries	The Control Yuan may impeach a public official for malfeasance, dereliction of duty, other neglect of duty, or if the head of any of the various branches, ministries or commissions or the highest local administrative head requests a disciplinary measure against a public official for these reasons. The Commission on the Disciplinary Sanctions of Functionaries, under the Judicial Yuan, exercises jurisdiction over such cases.
Judicial Personal Study Center of the Judicial Yuan

Lawyer: The lawyer's first role is to inform his clients about their rights and obligations. Then he can represent them in court and make a speech for the defense.
Judge: He is the one who decides if the law has been broken or not, as well as the penalties which ensue.

Arbitration: Arbitration is a solution for settling disputes. An arbitrator is called in who has to make the final decision.
Arbitration Law: Taiwan amended its Arbitration Law in 1998 to comply with the international standard as defined by the UNCITRAL Model Law. Many of the important provisions of the Model Law can be found in Taiwan’s Arbitration Law.
Moreover Taiwan has implemented investment guaranty agreements with 31 nations.
Conformity to International Commercial Arbitration Rules
Appointment of Arbitrators: Parties may represent themselves or be represented by any advocate of their choice, whether or not legally qualified.
Arbitration Procedure: However, where the parties have not agreed on the arbitration procedure, the rules of the Arbitration Law shall apply. Where the Arbitration Law does not provide such rules, Taiwan’s Code of Civil Procedure, or other rules deemed appropriate by the arbitration tribunal, shall apply. The rules on service of process prescribed by the Code of Civil Procedure shall apply in arbitration. The Arbitration Law further provides that if expressly authorized by the parties, the arbitration tribunal may apply rules of equity when rendering its decision.
Permanent Arbitration Bodies: Chinese Arbitration Association, Taipei

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