Originally from Baker & McKenzie International Arbitration Yearbook 2010-2011

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A. LEGISLATION, TRENDS AND TENDENCIES

A.1 Overview

The Commercial Arbitration Act of Taiwan was promulgated on 20 January 1961, amended respectively on 11 June 1982 and 26 December 1986, and was subsequently renamed as the Arbitration Law on 24 June 1998. Thereafter, the Arbitration Law was further amended on 10 July 2002 and 30 December 2009. The Arbitration Law, which contains eight chapters (namely, Arbitration Agreement, Constitution of Arbitral Tribunal, Arbitral Proceedings, Enforcement of Arbitral Awards, Revocation of Arbitral Awards, Settlement and Mediation, Foreign Awards, and Additional Provisions), embodies the fundamental principles of international arbitration. Pursuant to Article 1 of the Arbitration Law, arbitrable matters are not limited to commercial disputes and parties may enter into an arbitration agreement to arbitrate any disputes that may be resolved by settlement.

There are existing laws which provide for compulsory arbitration mechanisms, under which a party may refer a dispute to arbitration even if it has not entered into an arbitration agreement with the counterparty. For example, Article 166(1) of the Securities and Exchange Act states that any disputes arising between the stock exchange and securities firms, or between securities firms themselves shall be resolved by arbitration even in the absence of an executed arbitration agreement. In the event that a party to a dispute files a legal action in violation of the above, the other party may petition the court to dismiss such action as provided by Article 167 thereof.