Restrictions are needed to keep people from abusing each another with frivolous lawsuits during divorce proceedings, women’s groups said yesterday.
“Frivolous lawsuits waste legal resources and are a form of domestic violence which should be subject to restraining orders,” said Garden of Hope Foundation executive director Chi Hui-jung (紀惠容), citing the case of Wang Min (王敏) — the former wife of Meridigen Biotech Co Ltd founder Yogi Hsuan (宣昶有) — who said she has been subjected to more than 40 lawsuits since their divorce proceedings were initiated.
The lawsuits piled up because after Hsuan lost a court case against Wang, he filed identical suits against her family members and split complaints into individual cases to maximize the number of times Wang and her family would be required to appear in court, Judicial Reform Foundation executive secretary Hsiao Yi-ming (蕭逸民) said.
“Frivolous lawsuits can be a form of stalking, because while a former spouse might not know where you live, you cannot avoid a court summons,” Modern Women’s Foundation deputy chief executive Lin Mei-hsun (林美薰) said.
“It is the same as domestic violence because it is an attempt to control and oppress a person,” she said. “Even if there is no possibility of winning a case, a person cannot work and their reputation suffers if they are issued 10 summons.”
Lin said that while judges can theoretically issue restraining orders against frivolous lawsuits, few do so and there is no mandated penalty for violations.
Introducing fines and other penalties might be possible as part of the passage of upcoming legislation on stalking and sexual harassment, she said.
Chi called for issue to be included in a national policy conference on judicial reform agenda, including mechanisms to report lawyers who assist with frivolous lawsuits.
“There is a need to require security deposits so people have to pay for the legal costs of the defendant and provide compensation if the suit fails,” she said.
Lin said that small security deposits are already required for civil cases, but not criminal cases, which comprise a large portion of frivolous suits.
“The right to litigation is protected in the Constitution and is not something that should be restricted lightly, but there are limits to any right,” Hsiao said, calling for better communication between the courts to ensure that plaintiffs do not bring identical cases to more than one court.
“Determining what lawsuits are frivolous could be troublesome and require substantial judicial time and energy, so the rules should be written,” said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chou Chun-mi (周春米), a former judge.
She said that while it would be impossible to completely restrict the right to sue, there was room to discuss reasonable restrictions.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as
RSS