Applications for retirement and pension by civil servants pursuant to the law are an exercise of a legally granted right founded on the Constitution, and should be protected. In the event requests for certifications of working period and non-receipt of pension are refused, they may be used as grounds for an appeal or administrative litigation. The relevant sections of Interpretation Yuan-tze Nos. 338 and 1285 shall be amended accordingly. 

　　The parts in Judgment P.T. No.98 (Ad. Ct., 1961) that are incompatible with this Interpretation shall no longer be applicable.

       Reference to laws or orders applicable in final and binding judgments in Article 4, Paragraph 1, Subparagraph 2, of the Grand Justices Council Adjudication Act means laws, orders or their equivalents based on which the final court judge makes the judgment. The foregoing has been interpreted in this Yuan*s Interpretation No. 154. We are of the view that this case should be determined by this Yuan.  

       According to Article 16 of the Constitution, the people have rights of appeal and of instituting legal proceedings. This means that when the people*s rights are infringed upon, they shall have a right to appeal or to sue, and the governing appeal institutes or courts are under obligation to view, determine or judge the case in accordance with the law. With respect to civil servants, their right to appeal or sue is treated differently. For an illustration, civil servants are under the obligation to abide by the law and orders of the authority that are within the scope of their duty, unless the said orders are obviously against the law or exceed the authority*s scope of supervision. Subordinate civil servants may only put forward their views in disagreement, but may not appeal under the Administrative Appeal Act (See Articles 1 and 2 of the Public Functionary Service Act and Interpretation Yuan-tze No. 311). Other than the aforementioned exceptional circumstance, civil servants are not barred from seeking administrative or legal relief when their constitutionally- or legally-guaranteed rights are abridged due to the relevant authority*s illegal or improper administrative acts.  Applications for retirement and pension by civil servants pursuant to the law are an exercise of a legally granted right founded on the Constitution, and should be protected. In the event requests for certifications of working period and non-receipt of pension are refused, they may be used as grounds for an appeal or administrative litigation. The relevant sections of Interpretation Yuan-tze Nos. 338 and 1285 shall be amended accordingly. The parts in Judgment P.T. No.98 (Ad. Ct., 1961) that are incompatible with this Interpretation shall no longer be applicable. This Interpretation merely affirms that civil servants may institute appeals or administrative litigation pursuant to the law. The question as to whether the relevant authority shall grant the aforementioned certification is one of substance which shall be handled by the various authorities in accordance with the law, and is beyond the scope of this Interpretation.

*Translated by Wei-Feng Huang of THY Taiwan International Law Offices.