Guide to Foreign and International Legal Citations - New York ...

circumstances when the Legislature has proposed a constitutional amendment, a change to
national territory, or an impeachment of the president or vice president.
The Control Branch monitors the efficiency of public service and investigates instances
of corruption. The twenty-nine Members of the Control Branch are appointed to six-year terms
by the President and approved by the National Assembly.
The Examination Branch functions as a civil service commission and includes the
Ministry of Examination, which recruits officials through competitive examination, and the
Ministry of Personnel, which manages the civil service. The President appoints the head of the
Examination Branch.
The Judicial Branch administers Taiwan’s courts. It includes a sixteen-member
Council of Grand Justices, which has exclusive authority to interpret the Constitution and which
also renders binding interpretations of statutes and regulations. Grand Justices are appointed by
the President, with the consent of the National Assembly, to nonrenewable, nine-year terms. The
court system is composed primarily of the Supreme Court, High Court, and District Courts, all of
which have general jurisdiction over civil and criminal matters. The District Courts have
original jurisdiction over civil and criminal cases, and the High Courts have appellate jurisdiction
to review District Court decisions and original jurisdiction for treason cases. The Supreme Court,
as the court of last resort, has appellate jurisdiction to review all lower court decisions on
questions of law. Parallel to these courts of general jurisdiction are the Administrative Courts
(the Supreme Administrative Court and the High Administrative Courts), which hear public law
controversies, and the Committee on the Discipline of Public Functionaries, which presides over
trials of civil servants accused of misconduct. Judges of these courts are selected in the same
manner as other civil servants.
The Constitution provides for local self-government, which is conducted at the
following three levels: province and special municipalities, county and provincial cities, and
rural and urban townships or county municipalities. The heads of the local governments are
elected by the people to four-year terms. Limited legislative powers concerning local affairs are
exercised primarily by the municipal and county councils, which are elected by the people.
Internet Resources:
Office of the President
http://www.president.gov.tw/index_c.html
National Assembly
http://www.nasm.gov.tw/
Executive Yuan
http://www.ey.gov.tw/
Legislative Yuan
http://www.ly.gov.tw/
Judicial Yuan
http://www.judicial.gov.tw/
Control Yuan
http://www.cy.gov.tw/
Examination Yuan
http://www.exam.gov.tw/
Ministry of Justice
http://www.moj.gov.tw/
Ministry of Economic Affairs
http://www.moea.gov.tw/
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
http://www.mofa.gov.tw/mofa91/web/index.
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