Law Information | Laws & Regulations Database of Taipei City

1. For the purpose of protecting the rights and interest of the parties in administrative proceedings and other interested persons, the Government of Taipei City makes this Directions to carry out the provisions of Article 46 of the Administrative Procedure Act.
2. Unless otherwise provided for by applicable laws or regulations, the Taipei City Government and its municipal organizations and schools shall follow the rules set forth in this Directions when administering the applications for examining, transcribing, copying or taking photographs of the relevant materials and records to the administrative proceeding (hereinafter collectively referred to as "examination of materials").
3. In addition to the parties of an administrative proceeding, other legally interested persons may also apply for examination of materials. The legally interested person referred to in the preceding paragraph shall include: (1) the persons whose right under public or private law or legal interest will be affected by the final outcome of the administrative proceeding but who has not participated in such administrative proceeding; (2) the parties or participants of another legal action, investigation or administrative proceeding where the existence or non-existence of such parties' or participants' right under public or private law or legal interest is relevant to the present administrative proceeding; and (3) the persons who can actually prove that there exists an interest at stake. The time that a party or interested person may apply for examination of materials shall not be limited to the period when the administrative proceeding is in progress. An application for examination of materials may also be made prior to or after the completion of the administrative proceeding.
4. An application for examination of materials shall be limited to the scope that is necessary for the applicant to assert or protect legal interest. The organizations hereunder may not deny an application for examination of materials made by the applicant in accordance with the preceding paragraph, except for the following: (1) the draft or proposed action on the administrative proceeding by the organization's handling officer, the minutes of the organization's meeting where decision is not made collegially, the instruction comment by a superior authority, the opinion by another agency or organization or the documents in preparation of operation made prior to the administrative disposition; (2) the materials involving national defense, military affairs, diplomacy or classified official business which shall be kept confidential pursuant to the applicable laws or regulations; (3) the materials involving personal privacy, professional secret, trade secret which shall be kept confidential pursuant to the applicable laws or regulations; (4) the materials that, if disclosed, would likely violate the right of a third party; or (5) the materials which, if disclosed, would likely seriously impair the normal performance of duties relating to the order of society, public safety or other public interests. In the event of an application for examining the materials set forth in Item (1), (4) or (5) of the preceding paragraph, the organization handling the application may still at its discretion approve the application in part or in its entirety. In the event that an application involving examination of materials set forth in Item (3) of the preceding paragraph, the organization may at its discretion approve the examination of such materials if the disclosure or providing thereof is necessary for the public interest or the protection of people's life, body or health, or is consented by the relevant interested parties. If only a portion of the materials is unsuitable for examination by the applicant by reason of the first and second paragraphs of this Article and that such unsuitable portion could be separated from other portions of the materials, the organization handling the application shall permit the applicant to examine those portions which are suitable for examination, and shall not deny the application outright.
5. If all or a portion of the materials for which an application for examination is made has been destroyed or lost due to expiration of retention period or other reasons, the organization handling the application may deny the application partially or in its entirety.
6. An application for examination of materials must be made in writing, together with relevant evidence, specifying the reasons for the application. If the applicant is an interested person, the proof of the interest at stake must also be submitted with the application. An applicant may engage an agent for examination of materials by submitting a power of attorney therefor. The written application and the power of attorney referred to in the preceding paragraph may also be submitted by way of a transcript made by the organization in accordance with the applicant's oral statements, provided, however, the applicant's obligation to submit relevant evidence and to specify reasons for the application for examination may not be dispensed with.
7. Each organization hereunder shall render its approval or denial of an application for examination of materials within the fifteen-day period beginning the date immediately following the receipt date thereof, which period may be extended for an additional period of no more than fifteen days. The review of the application prior to approval or denial mentioned in the preceding paragraph shall be performed by the organization's operation implementation unit.
8. The organization receiving the application for examination of materials shall notice the applicant of the time and site of the examination once the application is reviewed and approved. If the application is denied, the organization shall specify the reasons for such denial. In scheduling the time of examination of materials set forth in the preceding paragraph, the organization shall allow the applicant a period for preparation of the examination, which shall not be more than 10 days. Upon request by the applicant, the denial set forth in the first paragraph shall be made in writing.
9. If the applicant or agent cannot attend the designated site at the scheduled date to make examination of materials due to a justifiable reason, the applicant may request a rescheduling of the examination time. If the applicant or the agent thereof fails or is late to attend the examination of materials at the scheduled time without a proper reason, the organization receiving the application may deny the applicant's request for rescheduling.
10. When the applicant or agent is performing examination of materials, the organization shall appoint personnel to assist the examination process and keep the examination in good order, and to make adequate arrangement in the event of any violation of the rules of the examination by the person performing the examination. In addition to the arrangement stated in the preceding paragraph, the origination may set up recording device to preserve evidence which may be necessary in the event a dispute should arise during the process of examination of materials.
11. The applicant or agent performing the examination of materials shall present his/her personal identification, pay the examination fees, and sign or seal the examination register before proceeding to examination of materials; and shall record the time of concluding the examination, sign and return the original files to the handling personnel for checking and signoff.
12. Upon approval by the organization presiding the examination of materials, the applicant or agent may bring one assistant to the examination site to assist the examination of materials, but the assistant may not examine materials at the site alone. The assistant mentioned in the preceding paragraph shall present his/her personal identification and record his/her name on the examination register upon arrival at the site of the examination of materials.
13. An examination of materials shall be concluded within 2 hours of time. If necessary, such time may be extended for no more than 2 hours. The person performing the examination of materials shall not intentionally delay the progress of the examination; if a violation thereof should occur, the organization presiding the examination of materials may demand the correction of such violation at the scene, and may terminate the examination if necessary.
14. The person performing the examination of materials shall maintain the completeness of the files, and shall not highlight, remark, alter, replace, remove, destroy, damage or conceal any of the materials, nor shall such person carry a all or a portion of the materials out of the examination site without authorization; and in the event of any violation, the organization presiding the examination of materials may terminate the examination at the scene immediately. If the organization presiding the examination of materials deems an occurrence of the circumstances set forth in the preceding paragraph involves criminal liability, it may refer the violating person to a judicial official for investigation or prosecution.
15. The organization handling the examination of materials may deny, in part or in its entirely, the request by the person performing the examination for photographing or photocopying all or a portion of the materials if it deems that such request could infringe someone's intellectual property rights or could result in other difficult situations. If the organization approve the request as set forth in the preceding paragraph, it may assign personnel to accompany the applicant or agent to perform the photographing or photocopying, or elect to photograph or photocopy the requested materials itself and deliver the products thereof to the person performing the examination.
16. In principle, the same applicant may only apply for examination of materials for the same reason once. The same applicant may nevertheless apply for a further examination of materials if there exists a justifiable reason. The provision of this Directions shall be applicable to the application for a further examination of materials and the proceeding of the examination.
17. The organizations hereunder shall post or provide copies of this Direction at the examination site.
18. Each organization hereunder may produce its own forms needed under this Directions by reference to Schedule 1 annexed hereto.
19. The provisions of this Direction, except for Article 3 and Article 4, shall be applicable mutatis mutandis to the application of the general public for examination of the government information prescribed in Article 7 of the Freedom of Government Information Law.