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  • Interpretation
  • No.225【Under Translation】
  • Date
  • 1988/04/29
  • Issue
    • Is the Code of Civil Procedure constitutional in providing that the plaintiff bears the court costs where the suit is withdrawn after it is instituted?
  • Holding
    •        Civil litigation is a proceeding whereby the party appeals to the judicial organ for determining his private rights for his personal interest. Payment of court costs is one of the prerequisites for the institution of an action. Even if the suit is withdrawn by the plaintiff after it has been brought, he is still obligated to pay the court costs incurred in connection with the institution of the suit. The provision of the Code of Civil Procedure, Article 83, Paragraph 1, that "if the plaintiff withdraws his action, he shall bear the costs thereof" is not in conflict with Article 15 of the Constitution.
  • Reasoning
    •        Civil litigation is a proceeding whereby the party appeals to the judicial organ for determining his private rights for his personal interest. To be fair, all court costs and expenses incurred should of course be borne by the litigant parties. This is the reason that the Code of Civil Procedure embraces the non-gratuitous principle, and the payment of the court costs in the sum specified by the Act of Costs of Civil Actions is one of the prerequisites for the institution of an action. If this essential requirement is not met when the action is brought and the defect is not amended within the period fixed by the presiding judge, the court must dismiss the case by an order in pursuance of the Code of Civil Procedure, Article 249, Paragraph 1, Subparagraph 6. While the court shall, when delivering the final decision, order ex officio that the defeated party or another party who brought the meaningless lawsuit bears such court costs and other fees and expenses arising out of the proceeding, a lawsuit is not necessarily ended by court adjudication, and a plaintiff who withdraws his suit after instituting the proceeding and before a final and binding judgment is made is entitled to again bring a suit. Thus, to avoid abuse of the process, the plaintiff who initiates the lawsuit must be made to pay all costs for such proceeding. We conclude that the provision of the Code of Civil Procedure, Article 83, Paragraph 1, that "if the plaintiff withdraws his action, he shall bear the costs thereof," being necessary for the furtherance of the public interest, is not in conflict with Article 15 of the Constitution. 
      
    • *Translated by Raymond T. Chu.
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