2.1 Administrative Litigation

Established on September 1, 1933, the Administrative Court of our country made final judgments over which there was no appellate review. On October 2, 1998, a statute was passed to make administrative litigation occur within a two-levels-two-instances court system, and this transformed the former Administrative Court into the Supreme Administrative Court, a court of legal review and last instance. On July 1, 2000, three High Administrative Courts, located in Taipei, Taichung, and Kaohsiung, were established as courts of factual trial and first instance. For the purpose of facilitating citizens’ access to the court, administrative litigation was transformed into the current three-levels-two-instances system of administrative litigation on September 6, 2012. Since then, administrative litigation panels with jurisdiction over summary proceeding cases, rulings for traffic infractions, and petitions against detention have been established in district courts. Other cases and the appeals for judgments or rulings rendered by the administrative litigation panels at district courts are also adjudicated by the High Administrative Courts.

2.2 Taichung High Administrative Court

In April 1993, the Judicial Yuan was planning to build an administrative court for the Taiwan Area. (In 1999, the court was named the High Administrative Court, in accordance with the Organic Law of Administrative Courts.) The Judicial Yuan requested that the Administrative Court, the Taichung Branch of the Taiwan High Court, and the Taiwan Taichung District Court to discuss this new court's location with the Ministry of Defense, the General Command of the Army, and the Ministry of Finance. Part of the land used by the Tank Base of the Army at the crossroads of Fuxing Road and Wuquan South Road, Taichung City, was chosen as the site. On October 24, 1994, the Committee for Planning the Construction of Administrative Court for the Taiwan Area was established. The Taichung Branch of the Taiwan High Court took a coordinating role. The Graduate Institute for Construction, of Tunghai University, was hired to draw up the design, and The Wang Jaufang Architect Office was chosen to design the building and oversee its construction. Construction began on June 30, 1996, but, after its completion, the interiors of the building were affected by the September 21 Earthquake in 1999. In April of 2000, all the repairs, decoration, and equipment procurement were completed. The New Judicial Building for Taichung, after four years of construction, was open for use on July 1, 2000, just in time for the new system of administrative litigation. This Court has since become the only administrative court in the central area, offering better protection for public-law rights and the interests of the people living in the central area.

The New Judicial Building for Taichung, shared by this Court and the Taichung Branch of Taiwan High Court, was located at No. 99, Wuquan South Road, Taichung City. The left half of the building (when one is facing it) was the space used by this Court. The New Judicial Building consists of five floors above ground and one floor underground. When viewing it from a bird’s eye perspective, it is like a flying eagle extending its wings. The size of the land is 27,360 square meters. The size of all the floors is 36,949.79 square meters. The underground floor is the equipment room and parking space. The five floors above the ground are the Service Area, Courtrooms, and Office Area. The building was designed to be elegant and spacious. Each part of the building was built for good light and air circulation. There are enjoyable flowers and trees in the gardens. As a whole, the building not only provides a good environment to the people who work there, but it also provides a comfortable environment to other people who come to the Court for litigation or other purposes. Geographically, this Court is two kilometers away from the Taichung Train Station and a ten-minute walk from the new Wuquan Train Station. A two-minute drive may connect this Court with the provincial highway no. 63 and, further, with the Highway, making it a convenient location for people who need to come to court. This Court has, since its establishment on July 1, 2000, adjudicated public law cases and controversies, and it gradually established specialized tribunals for tax cases, environmental law cases, and cases that involve indigenous peoples, setting new milestones for the protection of human rights through administrative litigation.

• Release Date:2021-05-13
• Update:2021-05-13