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  • Interpretation
  • No.160【Under Translation】
  • Date
  • 1979/12/21
  • Issue
    • Is Article 466, Paragraph 1, of the Civil Procedure Code, which provides that the plaintiff may not file a second appeal if the amount of compensation for a property dispute in the appeal is less than NT$ 8000, constitutional?
  • Holding
    •        Article 466, Paragraph 1, of the Civil Procedure Code, which provides that the plaintiff may not file a second appeal if the amount of compensation for a property dispute in the appeal is less than NT$ 8000, is constitutional.   	
      
  • Reasoning
    •        The right to sue provided to the people in Article 16 of the Constitution of the Republic of China is a right protected by the judiciary. The aforementioned right to sue was upheld in J.Y. Interpretation No.154, which stated that when a person’s right is infringed, he or she has a right to bring a legal action for remedy and the court which has the jurisdiction of the case has a duty to adjudicate the case. While the Constitution provides a right to sue to the people, it does not specify that a person’s right to sue must be protected by providing the plaintiff a right to exhaust all legal remedies including granting a right to appeal to an intermediate appellate court or the court of last resort (the Supreme Court). Whether a person’s right to sue is properly protected under the Constitution shall be determined by the nature of an individual case and shall be governed by fair and reasonable legislations enacted by the legislature. Not every plaintiff must be afforded an opportunity to exhaust all legal remedies in order to protect his or her right to sue under the Constitution. Article 466, Paragraph 1, of the Civil Procedure Code is enacted based on this principle. It provides that if the amount of compensation for a property dispute in the appeal is less than NT$ 8000, the plaintiff may not file a second appeal. This litigation restriction is applicable to all litigants for the purpose of settling disputes. It is hard to argue that this litigation restriction will infringe upon the right to sue guaranteed by the Constitution. Whether this litigation restriction shall be modified or revised in the future is for the legislature to decide. The legislative discretion is not a justifiable reason to hold Article 466, Paragraph 1, of the Civil Procedure Code unconstitutional. 
      
    •        In sum, the provisions set forth in Article 466, Paragraph 1, of the Civil Procedure Code are in compliance with Articles 1, 16 and 23 of the Constitution of the Republic of China. 
      
    • * Translated by Li-Chih Lin, Esq., J.D.
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