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  • Interpretation
  • No.134【Under Translation】
  • Date
  • 1972/12/01
  • Issue
    • May the defendant argue that the judgment is illegal when the court has failed to serve a copy of the complaint to the defendant but the defendant has been informed of the content of the complaint, and the judgment of the case has been rendered after oral arguments?
  • Holding
    •        A plaintiff who brings a private legal action against numerous defendants shall provide the court with copies of the complaint for all the defendants. If a plaintiff fails to provide the required number of copies of the complaint to the court, the court shall order the plaintiff to provide the missing copies within a specific time period if the circumstances permit. The aforementioned rule is a part of the statutory procedure for bringing a private legal action with a written complaint. If the plaintiff fails to comply with the court order, the court shall dismiss the plaintiff’s complaint. However, if the court fails to serve a copy of the complaint to the defendant but the defendant has already been informed of the content of the complaint, and the judgment of the case has been rendered after oral arguments, the defendant may not argue that the judgment is illegal for the reason that the court has failed to serve him or her a copy of the complaint. shall therefore be supplemented and clarified accordingly.
      
  • Reasoning
    •        A plaintiff who brings a private legal action against numerous defendants shall provide the court with copies of the complaint for all the defendants. Article 320, Paragraph 3, of the Criminal Procedure Law specifies that if a plaintiff fails to provide the required number of copies of the complaint to the court, the court shall order the plaintiff to provide the missing copies within a specific time period if the circumstances permit. The aforementioned rule is a part of the statutory procedure for bringing a private legal action with a written complaint. If the plaintiff fails to comply with the court order, J.Y. Interpretation No. 1320 holds that the court shall dismiss the plaintiff’s complaint (See Article 343 of the Criminal Procedure Law, applicable mutatis mutandis to Article 273 of the Criminal Procedure Law). It is the court’s obligation to serve a copy of the complaint to each defendant. Thus, Article 328 of the Criminal Procedure Law provides that, except when the court has summoned or detained the defendant, the court shall promptly serve a copy of the complaint to each defendant. In addition, if the defendant has already been informed of the content of the complaint, and the judgment of the case has been rendered after oral arguments, the defendant may not argue that the judgment is illegal for the reason that the court has failed to serve him or her a copy of the complaint. shall therefore be supplemented and clarified accordingly.      
      
    • *Translated by Li-Chih Lin, Esq., J.D.
      
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