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  • Interpretation
  • No.352【Under Translation】
  • Date
  • 1994/06/17
  • Issue
    • Is Section 37-1 of the Land Act inconsistent with Article 86, Item 2, of the Constitution?
  • Holding
    •        The capacity to practice as a land scrivener, a specific profession, as prescribed in Article 86, Item 2, of the Constitution, shall be designated and accredited by the Ministry of Examination.  Article 37-1, Paragraph 2, of the Land Act coincides with the above rationale and is hence consistent with the Constitution.   
      
  • Reasoning
    •        The registration of land involves the interest of the people in their estate. The land scrivener who is capable of dealing with land registration as a profession on behalf of clients is required to have relevant specific knowledge and expertise. Hence, the position of land scrivener is regarded as a specific profession. As prescribed in Article 86, Item 2, of the Constitution, the capacity to practice as a professional shall be designated and accredited by the Ministry of Examination. Article 37-1, Paragraph 2, of the Land Act as amended and promulgated on December 29, 1989, prescribes that “the land scrivener shall satisfy the criteria of or be accredited by the examiners for the position of land scrivener provided that, however, prior to the amendment and promulgation of said Act, those who have been practicing as land scriveners and upon whom the government has conferred the certificate of land scrivener or who have been engaging in business and have applied on behalf of others for the registration card of a professional for cases involving land registration shall be allowed to continue in practice. Those who have not received the said certificate or the said registration card may continue to practice for five years.” The purport of the above Article is to establish a sound system with respect to the position of land scrivener, thus coinciding with the essence of the relevant stipulation in the Constitution. Further, the said Act allows those who have been engaging in the practice of land registration in the capacity of land scrivener and have acquired pursuant to the relevant law at that time the certificate or registration card for such a qualification to continue to practice. For those who have been engaging in the practice of land registration and have yet to acquire any certificate or registration card for such a qualification, no legitimate right may be sustained. The said Act allows five years as the period of grace, within which those who have not yet obtained a certificate or registration card may decide whether to attend the examination, to apply for accreditation, or to change careers, thus sufficiently taking their interest into consideration. The doctrine concerning the retrospective effect in the application of law is not an issue involved hereof. To sum up, the said Article of the Land Act is not inconsistent with the Constitution.
      
    •  *Translated by Dr. Cheng-Hwa Kwang, Professor of Law, Ming Chuan University
      
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