DRIVING AN OX CART TO CATCH UP
WITH THE SPACE SHUTTLE:
THE NEED FOR AND PROSPECTS OF LEGAL
EDUCATION REFORM IN TAIWAN
CHANG-FA Lo*
I.
INTRODUCTIONPrior to the 1960s, the ox cart was a common means of
trans-porting crops and heavy objects in rural Taiwan. For the time, it
was a relatively effective and convenient mode of transportation.
Legal education in Taiwan was established during the age of the
ox cart, when society was simple and involved conflicts between
small shops and neighboring consumers.' The main purpose of
legal education was to train a limited number of legal experts to
resolve legal issues of minimal complexity.'
In the nearly eighty years since the establishment of the
modern legal education system in Taiwan, society has evolved
considerably. Economic and technological developments have
transformed the ways of living and doing business. Globalization
has exposed Taiwan to external influences and fierce
interna-tional competition. Taiwan's population faces not only internal
problems but also issues concerning people and matters outside
Taiwan's borders.
Globalization has also ushered in a host of legal issues,
en-couraging certain changes in the Taiwanese legal education
sys-tem. For example, law departments and law colleges in Taiwan
"Dean
and Professor of Law, College of Law, National Taiwan University. Heholds an S.J.D. from Harvard University.
'The current legal education system in Taiwan started when the predecessor of National Taiwan University, Taihoku (Taipei) Imperial University, established the Law Faculty under the College of Liberal Arts and Political Science in 1928.
See National Taiwan University, About NTU: Brief History, http://www.ntu.edu.
tw/english/about%20ntu/bistory.htm (last visited Mar. 18, 2006).
2 As shown in Table 1 infra, from the 1940s to the 1970s the total number of law departments only increased from two to six. Although there is no available data on the specific number of students admitted and graduated each year during this period, presumably the number is not large. The author of this article graduated from a law department in 1978; at that time, each law department admitted about 100 students each year. Thus, even in the late 1970s, the total number of law department graduates per year was approximately 600.
have increased in number,' and some institutes now admit
stu-dents with backgrounds in fields other than law, as they do in
U.S. law schools.
4Some institutes even emphasize
interdiscipli-nary legal education.' More students earn their degrees in
for-eign countries and return with new knowledge to teach at
Taiwanese universities.
6These universities, in turn, offer more
courses in new fields of law.'
SFor Universities with law departments or institutes, see National Taiwan Univer-sity, Index for 2005 School Year, Universities and Graduate Program Summary: Law Schools/Department, http://reg.aca.ntu.edu.twlcollegelsearch/typelist.asp? newtype=22 (last visited Mar. 18, 2006) [hereinafter NTU Index for 2005]. 4 For example, Soochow University School of Law established a graduate division
in 1990 admitting people who already had their college diplomas in fields other than law to give them basic legal training. See Soochow University School of Law, History, http://www.scu.edu.tw/law/lawl/lawl.htm#lawll (last visited Mar. 18, 2006).
5 For example, the College of Law of National Taiwan University has the Graduate
Institute of Interdisciplinary Legal Studies. See National Taiwan University, Graduate Institute of Interdisciplinary Legal Studies, http://www.law.ntu.edu,tw/ giilslaw/chinese/englishIindex.htm (last visited Mar. 18, 2006).
6 To take the College of Law of National Taiwan University as an example, there are currently thirty-eight full time faculty members: twenty-one full professors, eleven associate professors, and six assistant professors. See NTU Law, Faculty: Full Time Professors, http://www.law.ntu.edu.tw/english/faculty/yh_03full_time_ professors.htm (last visited Mar. 18, 2006); NTU Law, Faculty: Full Time Associ-ate Professors, http://www.law.ntu.edu.tw/english/faculty/yhO3full_time_associ-ate professors.htm (last visited Mar. 18, 2006); NTU Law, Faculty: Full Time Assistant Professors, http://www.law.ntu.edu.twlenglish/facultylyh_03full_time_ assistant-professors.htm (last visited Mar. 18, 2006). All of the assistant profes-sors received their degrees from abroad within the last five years, including one from Japan. two from Germany, and three from the U.S. See NTU Law, Faculty: Full Time Assistant Professors, supra. Most of the full time associate professors earned their degrees within the last ten years. See NTU Law, Faculty: Full Time Associate Professors, supra. One received his degree from a local university; others are from foreign universities, including one from Japan, two from the U.S., one from France, two from the U.K.. and four from Germany. Id. The current full professors include six with degrees from the U.S., five from Japan, and ten from Germany. See NTU Law, Faculty: Full Time Professors, supra. In the past, there were far more locally trained professors. For example, among the ten emeritus professors, five of them received only domestic degrees. See NTU Col-lege of Law, Faculty, http://www.law.ntu.edu.tw/03/3_I.htm (last visited Mar. 18, 2006). There were few, if any, law professors with foreign credentials in the early years of College of Law of National Taiwan University. Joseph L. Pratt, The Two Gates of National Taiwan University School of Law, 19 UCLA PAc. BASIN L.J. 131, 145 (2001).
To take the College of Law of National Taiwan University as an example, a good number of courses offered now were not available ten or fifteen years ago. These include, for example, Construction and Law, Legal Culture, WTO Law, Practical
Legal Education Reform in Taiwan
Nonetheless, the basic structure and the fundamental
problems of legal education in Taiwan have not changed. First,
law departments maintain questionable admission standards,
ac-cepting students from high schools based on an exam that tests
basic high school material. Like their educational qualifications,
high school students' life experiences are limited. Most of these
students are like flowers or plants raised and nurtured in the
greenhouse.
Another problem is that the legal education system has not
adapted to Taiwan's social and economic changes. There is a
general lack of response to the trend of globalization. Teaching
methods and learning still focus on memorizing information, and
the importance of both practical training and analytical and
rea-soning skills is generally overlooked.'
Furthermore, the system fails to encourage independent
thought and promote certain values.'" Professionals that have
graduated from this system tend to require more time to become
capable attorneys. Even after they acquire the requisite skills,
these lawyers often find complicated issues, or issues with
inter-national elements, problematic. This situation is illustrated by
the fact that international arbitrations or mediations established
Forensic Medical Science, American Legal Feminism, Globalization and Legal Order, Cyber Law, and some European Union Laws subjects. See NTU College of Law, 2005 Second Semester Course Schedule, http://www.law.ntu.edu.tw/05/ 5_11.htm (last visited Mar. 18, 2006).For general information about the College Entrance Exam, see College Entrance Examination Center, http://www.ceec.edu.tw (last visited Mar. 18, 2006). For example, according to the course schedule of the College of Law of National Taiwan University, there is only one legal practical training course offered, and it is not required. NTU College of Law, 2005 Second Semester Course Schedule,
supra note 7. In the course, students are divided into different groups and led by
more senior students to provide legal aid. They only orally answer questions with assistance from senior students and professors. This certainly helps the students to apply the law to daily life, but is not an equivalent to hands-on, clinical train-ing. Also, based on the experience of the author, not many professors like to push students to analyze issues through asking and answering questions; students are generally not used to in-class discussions.
10 Based on the author's discussions with a number of practicing lawyers in Taipei, their experiences have been that most of newly graduated law students coming to their law firms for apprenticeship were not well organized and incapable of han-dling matters independently; they need very specific instructions to handle cases. Most of them do not aspire to fight for fairness and justice or to help the
disad-vantaged minority.
43
Vol. 24, No. Iin Taiwan almost always use foreign counsel, even when both
parties are local.
I attribute these problems to Taiwan's antiquated legal
edu-cation system, founded during the age of the ox cart. In today's
world, it is not possible to rely on such a cart to carry legal
infor-mation if Taiwan desires to keep pace with a rapid developing
society and economy.
The main purpose of this Article is to lay out the history and
current status of legal education in Taiwan and the necessary
ele-ments to form a more effective legal education system. This
Ar-ticle will show the gap between the current and ideal legal
education systems, and it asserts that change is urgently needed
to pave the way for future development. Finally, the Article will
evaluate the potential of two approaches to orchestrate that
change: (1) an incremental approach and (2) a one-shot solution
to transform the ox cart into a space shuttle.
1I.
THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND AND DEVELOPMENT OF LEGAL EDUCATION IN TAmwANTaiwan legal education is marked by various foreign
influ-ences. Chinese tradition inspired its legal pedagogy, and the
Jap-anese system helped shape its institutional arrangement."
Further, course content drew heavily from German legal texts.
2In more recent years, U.S. law has shown a greater influence on
the curriculum and the development of J.D.-type legal
education.
13x' Traditionally, legal education in Japan is taught through the undergraduate law
department, a structure similar to legal education in Taiwan.
2Many papers and text books on civil and criminal law still frequently cite German books or views. See, e.g., ZHENHUA YU, XING FA WEI FA XING Ll LUN (2001). ' For example, the College of Law of National Taiwan University offers an
intro-ductory course on the Anglo-American legal system, torts, and contracts. See
NTU Law, Curriculum: Class Schedule - Monday,
http://www.law.ntu.edu.tw/en-glish/curriculum/yh_04class_calendar.monday.htm (last visited Mar. 18, 2006): NTU Law, Curriculum: Class Schedule - Thursday, http://www.law.ntu.edu.twl english/curriculum/yh_04class calendar_thursday.htm (last visited Mar. 18, 2006). The College of Law of National Taiwan University has the Graduate Institute of Interdisciplinary Legal Studies. See National Taiwan University, Graduate Insti-tute of Interdisciplinary Legal Studies, supra note 5. Soochow University School of Law established a graduate division in 1990 admitting people who already have their college diplomas in fields other than law to give them basic legal training. See Soochow University School of Law, History, supra note 4.
Legal Education Reform in Taiwan
In the Chinese tradition, emperors viewed law as a means of
securing their political power."
4Thus, it was never the policy in
traditional Chinese society to educate people to know the law,
much less practice it."s This is not to say that people were not
held responsible for knowing the law and its provisions. If a law
was violated, the wrongdoer would still be subject to punishment
as provided in the codes or instructed by the rulers, without
re-gard to the fact that he might not have been aware of the law.
6'4 As one commentator stated, in the earlier history of China, the law "became a
permanent and growing body of rules and penalties; an indispensable practical tool of the emperor's political sway." David F. Forte, Western Law and
Commu-nist Dictatorship, 32 EMORY U. 135, 151 (1983); see also Mark S. Painter, Sr., One Legal Culture to Another: A Pennsylvania Lawyer Goes to China, is Asked about O.J., Gets Clobbered at Ping-Pong and Tries to Convey in an Hour the Es-sence of American Justice, PA. LAW. Mar./Apr. 1997, at 32, 32 ("In traditional
Chinese society, the Emperor was supreme, and the law was the tool by which the Emperor enforced his will.").
IS In fact, in traditional Chinese society, a general concept of harmony of the society
was considered more desirable. Thus, knowing law was not so important and practicing law was considered to go against this concept of harmony. As one commentator noted:
It has been conventionally found that Chinese are litigation averse.... Accordingly it has long been Chinese rulers' goal to eliminate litigation. During the thousands of years of Chinese history, officials have made great efforts to educate people not to have disputes, and when disputes do occur, not to engage in litigation but to solve them in a harmonious way. The act of engaging in litigation alone demonstrates bad character on the part of the litigators. It also indirectly shows the bad character of the official who has failed to provide a good model for his people. 'Litigation masters,' the ancient counterparts of lawyers in China, were criticized, criminalized, or even killed.
Ni Zhu, A Case Study of Legal Transplant. The Possibility of Efficient Breach in
China, 36 GEo. J. INT'L L. 1145, 1151 (2005).
16 David C. Rodearmel, Military Law in Cothmunist China: Development, Structure
and Function, 119 MIL. L. REv. 1, 5 (1988).
Because the Chinese legal system was intended to protect societal harmony and punish those who violated the rules of good order and conduct, many of the protections that evolved in Western societies to guard the rights of individuals against the state failed to emerge in China. First, the concept that an accused is presumed innocent until proven guilty did not develop in China. Second, there was no principle of equality before the law; rather, differing treatment was accorded based on the relative class and social sta-tus of the offender and victim. Third, voluntary surrender and confession, in keeping with Confucian ethics, were strongly encouraged and could be a mitigating factor in criminal cases; on the other hand, failure to confess was
45
One exception to the public's limited legal knowledge was
the "shi-ye." Shi-ye were legal scholars that assisted county
gov-ernors to decide cases." However, they were a small class of
ex-perts and did not serve the general public as educators or
practitioners."
8While under the authority of China's Qing Dynasty, Taiwan
did not provide a system of legal education. Not until the
Japa-nese colonial period' was the opportunity to study law made
available.
20Modern legal education took root during the late period of
Japanese colonization in Taiwan with the founding of the Law
Faculty in 1928 at Taihoku (Taipei) Imperial University under the
College of Liberal Arts and Political Science.
2After World War
T1, the university's legal education underwent several
organiza-tional changes. The College of Liberal Arts and Political Science
split into the College of Liberal Arts and the College of Law,
under the renamed National Taiwan University,' and the Law
generally seen as obduracy and could constitute an aggravating factor. Tor-ture as a means of obtaining a confession during trials was specifically al-lowed under the penal code of the Ch'ing dynasty (1644-1912). Fourth, if the laws did not specifically address a given offense or penalty, a magistrate could apply another statute by analogy. Finally, there were no defense at-torneys to assist the accused.
Id. Knowing the contents of the law was never a precondition for punishment in traditional Chinese society.
17 See LN DuAN, preface to WEBER'S VIEW ON TRADITIONAL CHINESE LAW:
WEBER'S COMPARATIvE SOCIOLOGY CRrciCIsM (2003), available at http://ssrc.
sinica.edu.tw/ssrc-home/doc4-5/1l.pdf.
's There is no known precise number of "shi-ye" in ancient China, but since the
"shi-ye" worked at the magistrate, the number was presumably limited, and their jobs did not include helping people,
19 National Taiwan University's predecessor, Taihoku (Taipei) Imperial University, was established in 1928 and was Taiwan's first university. National Taiwan Uni-versity, About NTU: Brief History, supra note 1. Prior to 1928, there was no university education in Taiwan, and thus no formal legal education. See id; see also infra text accompanying notes 23-27.
2' It was only after the establishment of the first law department that people had the
opportunity to study law at school. See infra text accompanying notes 21-23.
21 See NTU Law, About NTU Law: History and Development, http://www.law.ntu. edu.tw/english/introduction/yh_Olhistory-development.htm, (last visited Mar. 18, 2006).
2
Legal Education Reform in Taiwan
Faculty became the Law Department.23 These changes started a
new page in the history of Taiwanese legal education.
During the colonial years, some Taiwanese people who were
able to complete their legal education in Japan eventually
be-came judges there,' where they were widely esteemed.' They
returned to Taiwan after the end of Taiwan's colonial period to
teach at different universities.
26Some of these judges also
be-came Grand Justices, positions similar to that of the
constitu-tional court judge in some other countries.' These judges and
professors introduced many Japanese legal theories and practices
into Taiwan, enriching its legal system and legal education
struc-ture.28 They also played an important role in raising the legal
education system to a standard almost comparable with the
Japa-nese legal education system.
29Since the establishment of modern education, Taiwan's legal
education has played an increasingly vital role. Some indicators
23 Id.
SFor
example, Professor Shun-Shin Hong was a judge in Japan before the end ofWorld War II and later returned to Taiwan to teach at National Taiwan Univer-sity Department of Law. He became a Grand Justice of Council of Grand Jus-tices (the Constitutional Court of Taiwan) in 1976. JusJus-tices of the Constitutional
Court, Judicial Yuan, http://www.judicial.gov.tw/constitutionalcourt/EN/p0Ol04.
asp (last visited Mar. 18, 2006). When the author was a student, Professor Hong
was a full time professor at National Taiwan University. Another example is
Pro-fessor Chang-lin Tsai, who received a law degree in Japan during the colonial
period and returned to Taiwan to become a Grand Justice from 1952-1958 and to
teach at National Taiwan University. Id.
' They were respected because of their teaching positions at the oldest university, National Taiwan 'University, and their position as grand justices, a position many people consider a high honor.
6 See supra note 24 and accompanying text.
"2'
See id.2 SHUN-SHIN HONG, JURISPRUDENCE (1982) is still an often-cited book. See, e.g., Ministry of Education, Research Handbook, Chapter 5: Legal Structure http:Hl
www.edu.tw/EDI_WEB/EDUVMGTIDISPLIEDU1853001/research/7hand book/05.htm (last visited Mar. 18, 2006).
2 There is no quantifying data to evaluate these contributions, but based on the fact that during the early period of Taiwan's modern legal education not many profes-sors had foreign degrees, these Japanese trained profesprofes-sors played important roles in Taiwan's legal education and legal system by teaching at universities and writing books, thus helping to incorporate the Japanese legal system into Taiwan's.
47
help to illustrate that importance: the number of law
depart-ments is rapidly increasing,
3and an unbelievably large number
of political leaders have their law degrees, mostly from the
Col-lege of Law of National Taiwan University." The President,
3 2the
Vice President,
33the current Premier,
34six (including the current
chairman) out of total nine chairmen of the ruling party,
35the
current chairman of the biggest opposition party (Koumintang or
KMT),
36a previous Kaohsiung Municipality (directly under the
jurisdiction of central government) mayor,
7and the current
Taipei Municipality (the capital city) mayor are all graduates of
the College of Law of National Taiwan University,
38not to
men-tion that many more legislators are graduates of the same or
other law colleges.
In the past, before Taiwan had become fully democratized,
older people would urge young people to avoid learning law and
getting involved in political affairs.
9They preferred that the
young talented people in their families and communities learn
"o
See sources cited infra note 49.31 See infra notes 32-38 and accompanying text.
32 Office of the President, Republic of China (Taiwan), President Chen: Biography, http://www.president.gov.tw/en (follow "President Chen" hyperlink, then follow "Biography" hyperlink) (last visited Mar. 19, 2006).
'• Office of the President, Republic of China (Taiwan), Vice President Lu: Biogra-phy, http://www.president.gov.tw/en (follow "Vice President Lu" hyperlink; then follow "Biography" hyperlink) (last visited Mar. 19, 2006).
3' Executive Yuan, Republic of China (Taiwan), Premier, http://www.ey.gov.tw/ mp?mp=ll (follow "Premier" hyperlink) (last visited Mar. 19, 2006).
3 Democratic Progressive Party, Past to Present Party Leaders, http:// www.dpp.org.tw (follow "Display of Party History" hyperlink; then follow "Past to Present Party Leaders" hyperlink) (last visited Mar. 19, 2006).
36 Kuomingtang Global Website, Party Leader: Ma Ying-jeou, http://www.kmt.org. tw/AboutUs/Aboutus-6.html (last visited Mar. 19, 2006).
3 Previous mayors of Kaohsiung can be found at Civil Affairs Bureau, Kaohsiung City Government, Important Civil and Administrative Events, http://cabu.kcg. gov.tw/CmsShow.aspx?ID=770&LinkType=3&C_ID=740 (last visited Mar. 23, 2006).
W3
Welcome to the Official English Website of the City of Taipei, Mayor's Office, http:l/english.taipei.gov.tw/TCG/index.jsp (follow "The Mayor" hyperlink- then follow "Biography" hyperlink) (last visited Mar. 19, 2006).
39 When the author was still young, his parents urged him not to study law or, in the alternative, study law, but not participate in political affairs. This was not uncom-mon advice at the time.
Legal Education Reform in Taiwan
more "neutral subjects," such as medicine and engineering,
be-cause they believed learning law would lead to politics, and
polit-ics were risky; before democratization, political involvement
could possibly jeopardize lives and freedom.
4 0However, since
democratization, law seems to have become one of the top
choices for high school students in Taiwan if they are considering
social, and humanitarian subjects.
In the early days of modern legal education in Taiwan, there
were debates about the nature of legal education. Some argued
that legal education should be general education to enhance the
overall educational and moral development of the students.
4"
These critics argued that this general education model would also
cultivate creativity and competence in law.
2In contrast, others
believed that legal education should be professional education,
through which students would be equipped with the ability to
en-gage in their profession.
3Today, such theoretical debates are
seen with less frequency, mainly because the legal education
sys-tem has had to face challenges arising from social and economic
development, issues beyond the philosophical debates." The
goal of legal education today has become the enhancement of
competence and competitiveness of Taiwanese law students in
domestic and international markets.
4SDuring
the martial law period between 1949 and 1987 in Taiwan, the so-called "White Terror" period, many feared accusations of rebellion for merely com-plaining about politics. Many complaints or political views were consideredunac-ceptable and could be subject to severe criminal procedures. See Lee Xiao-Feng,
Types of Political Cases During Taiwan's Martial Law Period, Nov. 23, 2000, http://www.jimlee.idv.tw/art-0113.htm.
,' For a discussion on legal education in Taiwan as more professional and practical
oriented versus general and theoretical oriented, see Chen Li-Tong, University
Legal Education and Nurturing Law Persons in Our Country, News Wave- Edu-cational Research & Development, Taiwan Education Center (Dec., 2000), http:/Y www.tw.org/newwaves/54/2-4.html. 42 Id. 4 Id. ` Id.
"45id.
49
Vol, 24, No. IUt.
TAiwAN's
CURRENT LEGAL EDUCATIONA. TBE
INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTThe current face of legal education has evolved since its
in-troduction nearly eighty years ago.6 The most salient marker ofthis development may be the expansion of the educational
sys-tem. As of 2004, there were a total of ninety-four law
depart-ments and institutions among the universities, colleges, and
vocational schools.
7Sixty-one of these departments and
institu-tions were founded between 1995 and 2004.4s Excluding
voca-tional schools, night schools, and extension schools, Table 1
shows the growth in law departments and graduate institutes.
TABLE 1: THE TOTAL NUMBERS OF LAW DEPARTMENTS
AND INSTITUTES"
Numbers of Numbers of Years Numbers of Law Financial and Graduate
Departments Economic Law Departments Before 1945 2 -1946 3 -1949 4 - -1955 4 - 1 1961 4 - 2 1963 5 - 2 1964 5 - 3
If we count the history of legal education from the taking-over of Taiwan by the Nationalist Government and the bringing-over of the legal system to Taiwan from the Mainland in 1945, it has been sixty years. However, if we include the estab-lishment of the Law Faculty at Taihoku (Taipei) Imperial University in 1928, it has been about eighty years.
7 See sources cited infra note 49.
4 See id. These include one department at a five-year vocational school: three de-partments in two-year vocational night schools, eighteen dede-partments in universi-ties; three departments in university night schools: three departments in university extension divisions; twenty graduate institutes; ten on-the-job master programs; and three doctorate programs. Id.
4 This information was compiled by the author's assistant, Mr. Yang Yue-ping, from National Taiwan University, 2005 Online University Exposition, http:H/ univ.edu.tw/indexl.htm (last visited Mar. 19, 2006), and NTU Index for 2005, supra note 3.
Numbers of Numbers of Numbers of Law Financial and Graduate Years Departments Economic Law Institutes Departments Institutes 1966 6 3 1968 6 4 1971 6 - 5 1977 6 - 6 1979 6 1 6 1980 7 1 7 1988 7 1 9 1991 7 2 9 1992 7 2 10 1993 9 2 10 1994 9 2 10 1995 9 2 11 1996 10 2 12 1997 11 2 14 1998 11 3 14. 1999 11 3 15 2000 12 4 17 2001 13 7 17 2002 13 8 19 2003 15 9 22 2004 15 9 22 2005 15 10 22
While students are responding to this growth in legal
educa-tion by applying in greater numbers, faculty size has lagged
be-hind.
5 0To take the largest and oldest law college as an example,
the College of Law at National Taiwan University has around
1,400 students including extension education students,
51 thirty-5 There is no exact figure to show the numbers of law professors and lawdepart-ment students in Taiwan.
51 As of February, 2006, there were 1,406 students enrolled at the College of Law of National Taiwan University. NTU Law, About NTU Law: Organization, http:// www.law.ntu.edu.tw/english/Index.html (follow "About NTU Law: Organiza-tion" hyperlink) (last visited Mar. 19, 2006).
Legal Education Reform in Taiwan
51
eight full-time professors, and nineteen part-time professors.
2These figures show a professor-to-student ratio of about 1:24.11
Thus, at Taiwan's most prestigious university, there are an
insuf-ficient number of professors to carry the teaching load.
541.
Undergraduate Legal Study
The main body of legal education lies in undergraduate
pro-grams rather than professional education. As such, the purpose
of legal education is not to produce practicing attorneys but to
provide a general education by introducing concepts, ideas, and
the philosophical aspects of law. Most law departments and law
colleges provide a four-year, full-time degree.
55For those
stu-dents who intend to work while pursuing their degree, there are a
number of universities that offer night schools or extension
schools.
56Most law departments use the college entrance exam held by
the College Entrance Examination Center as the basis of
admis-sions.
57In other words, admission to universities and colleges is
SSee
sources cited supra note 6.
SThis
ratio was calculated based on the total number of faculty members, with parttime professors teaching day classes counted as one half of a full time professor, and the total number of daytime students. Compare sources cited supra note 6,
with NTU Law, About NTU Law: Organization, supra note 51.
Comparing the course schedule to the number of full time faculty members, it is evident that the teaching load is not light. Compare NTU Law, Faculty: Full Time Professors, supra note 6, with NTU Law, Curriculum http://www.law.ntu.edu.tw/ english/curriculum/yh 04class_calendar_class_hours.htm (follow the hyperlink for the various days of the week) (last visited Mar. 19, 2006). Most full-time professors have more than eight hours of courses each week.
5 There is only one university in Taiwan requiring law department students to com-plete a five-year program. See Soochow University School of Law, Curriculum: Bachelor of Law, http://www.scu.edu.tw/ENGLISH/law/curr/llb/llb.htm (last vis-ited Mar. 20, 2006).
SFor
example, National Taiwan University has an extension program for law stud-ies. See Introduction to National Taiwan University College of Law Undergradu-ate Continuing Education Program, http://www.dpd.ntu.edu.tw/%E6%B3%95% E5%BE%8B%E7%B3%BB%E7 %BO%A1%E4%BB%8B.htm (last visited Mar. 20, 2006). Soochow University School of Law has LL.M. programs for part time students. See Soochow University School of Law, Evolution of School of Law: Graduate Program, http://www.scu.edu.tw/lex/ (follow "Introduction to School of Law" hyperlink, then follow "Evolution of School of Law") (last visited Mar. 20, 2006).5' See, e.g., NTU College of Law, Undergraduate Admissions, http://www.law.ntu. edu.tw/04/4_3 1.htm (last visited Mar. 20, 2006).
Legal Education Reform in Taiwan
decided primarily by the performance of the students in an exam
that tests their understanding of Chinese language, English,
mathematics, history, and geography,?' Some law departments
do admit a small portion of their students based on various
per-formance and talent shown in their high school years.
59Because law departments only require that students have
their high school diplomas,' they can be as young as eighteen
years old when they begin their legal studies. Their limited social
and work experiences have been a source of struggle for many.
students in understanding complicated legal issues, the abstract
concepts of justice and fairness, and the difficult terms and
sen-tence structures of law and legal materials.
61Students may choose to study law as part of a double major
or as a minor degree.
62When pursuing a double major, students
are required to meet the same requirements as single-degree law
students.
63For students studying law as a minor degree, they
must fulfill a smaller number of requirements.6
Many of the law departments are separated into divisions
that specialize in different areas of law. A common division
fo-cuses on "financial and economic law."' Some universities have
even created an independent department for financial and
eco-nomic law, reflecting the realization on the part of universities
5 For information about the College Entrance Examination, see The College En-trance Examination Center, http://www.ceec.edu.tw (last visited Mar. 20, 2006). 59 National Chengchi University Department of Law admits a limited numbers ofstudents without regard to the college entrance examination. See National
Chengchi Unviersity Department of Law, http://www.law.nccu.edu.tw (last
vis-ited Mar. 20, 2006).
6o In addition, they must have taken the College Entrance Examination.
6'1 The author has had many opportunities to chat with his students. One of the
mostly common concerns is the difficulty of understanding law provisions and law books during their first two years of study.
6 For the requirements for taking law as a second major at National Taiwan
Uni-versity, see NTU College of Law, Changing Major/Second Major/Double Major, http://www.law.ntu.edu.tw/04/4_.3_2.htm (last visited Mar. 20, 2006).
6' For the course requirements for double-major students at National Taiwan Uni-versity, see id.
64 For the minor in law twenty-credit requirements for National Taiwan University,
see National Taiwan University Office of Academic Affairs, Online Q&A, http:// www.aca.ntu.edu.tw/chinese/qass-10.htm (last visited Mar. 20, 2006).
6 For example, College of Law of National Taiwan University established such a
division in 1990. See NTU Law, About NTU Law: Organization, supra note 51.
53
that they needed to produce experts in this area of law to help
sustain and further promote the economic development that took
off in the 1980s.61
2. Graduate Legal Study
In addition to the undergraduate law department, there are
graduate institutes in many universities established in
conjunc-tion with the law department to admit students with bachelor's
degrees.
67As in the law departments, many graduate institutes
have separate divisions that reflect social and economic needs.
6The divisions commonly focus on legal history and philosophy,
criminal law, civil and commercial law, financial and economic
law, and international law.
69Most of the graduate institutes decide their admissions
based on entrance exams.
7" Admitted students must study full
time at their institute for at least two years.
71They are required
6' See, e.g., Fu-Jen University, Department of Financial and Economic Law, http:// www.financelaw.fju.edu.tw/ (last visited Mar. 20, 2006).
67 See, e.g., National Taiwan University College of Law, Master Program Admis-sions, http://www.law.ntu.edu.tw/04/4_2.htm (last visited Mar. 20, 2006); National Chengchi University, Department of Law, Master Program, http://www.law.nccu. edu.tw/html/modules/newbb/viewforum.php?forum=l1 (last visited Mar. 20, 2006); National Taipei University, Graduate Programs, http://www.ntpu.edu.tw/ law/enIeindex.htm (follow "Courses" hyperlink; then follow "Graduate Program" hyperlink) (last visited Mar. 20, 2006): School of Law Fu Jen Catholic University, Introduction: Present Situation, http://www.ls.fju.edu.tw/introduction.htm (follow "Present Situation" hyperlink); Soochow University School of Law, Curriculum: Master of Laws, http://www.scu.edu.tw/ENGLISHIlaw/curr/llmIllm.htm (last vis-ited Mar. 20, 2006): Department of Law National Ching Cheng University, Cur-riculum: Graduate Institute of Law, http://www.ccunix.ccu.edu.tw/%7Edeptlaw/ eng/curriculum/inf-grad.htm (last visited Mar. 20, 2006); National University of Kaohsiung, The College of Law, http:/Iwww2.nuk.edu.tw/lawyuan/index.htm (last visited Mar. 20, 2006).
6 See sources cited supra note 67. 6 See id.
70 For example, College of Law of National Taiwan University has seven divisions in its LL.M. program: legal history and legal philosophy, public law, civil and com-mercial law, criminal law, financial and tax law, economic law, and international law. See National Taiwan University College of Law, Master Program Admis-sions, supra note 67. Applicants are required to take different entrance exams
depending on the division to which they are applying.
71 The law provides that the study period for graduate students is from one to four years. See University Law, art. 26, available at http://law.moj.gov.tw/Scripts/
Legal Education Reform in Taiwan
to take a certain number of courses and complete an L.L.M.
the-sis in order to graduate.
72. Most students spend three or four
years pursuing their degrees; however, it is not unusual for them
to take longer due to the demands of writing the thesis and
pre-paring for the bar or judicial examinations during their LL.M.
years.
3Many students also practice law during their third and
fourth years at the graduate institutes.
4The LL.M. thesis is a
more formal and serious one, compared to the LL.M. paper
re-quired in most of the LL.M. programs in the United States.
5Within the graduate institutes, there are a number of
univer-sities that offer doctoral programs to allow those with master
de-grees to conduct additional academic research.
7Many doctoral
students intend to pursue academic careers, but a larger number
of them are practicing attorneys and judges who enter the
pro-gram to advance their careers.n
In recent years, an increasing number of special graduate or
undergraduate institutes cater to students with undergraduate
and graduate degrees in areas other than law.
7These students
Query4B.asp?FullDoc=%A9%D2%A6%B3%B1%F8%A4%E5&Lcode=HOO 30001.
n See, e.g., NTU Law, Admission: Requirements for Graduation, http://www.law. ntu.edu.tw/english/Index.html (follow "Admission: Requirements for Gradua-tion" hyperlink) (last visited Mar. 20,, 2006).
7
This is based, on the experiences of the author and his colleagues teaching and supervising LL.M. papers at National Taiwan University. See also Shu-chin Grace Kuo, Rethinking the Masculine 'Character of the Legal Profession: A Case Study of Female Legal Professionals and Their Gendered Life in Taiwan, 13 AM. U. J. GENDER SOC. POL'Y & L. 25, 39 (2005).
7 This is based on the experiences of the author and his colleagues teaching and supervising LL.M. papers at National Taiwan University.
"73
The length of many of the LL.M. theses written in Taiwan can exceed 200 pages.Id.
76 See, e.g., NTU Law, Ph.D Admissions, http:llwww.law.ntu.edu.tw/0414J_.htm (last
visited Mar. 20, 2006); College of Law of National Chenchi University, PH.D
program,
http:l/www.law.nccu.edu.twlhtml/modules/mydownloads/view-cat.php?cid=23 (last visited Mar. 20, 2006); National Taipei University, Graduate Programs, supra note 76; School of Law Fu Jen Catholic University, Introduction:
Present Situation, supra note 76; Soochow University School of Law, Curriculum:
Doctor of Philosophy in Law, http:llwww.scu.edu.tw/ENGLISHIlaw/currlphd/
dr.htm (last visited Mar. 20, 2006). I
This is based on the author's experience as the dean of the College of Law of National Taiwan University.
SSee,
e.g., National Taiwan University, Graduate Institute of Interdisciplinary Le-gal Studies, supra note 5.55
follow coursework similar to that of law departments and
gradu-ate after about three years.79 Universities have gotten a strong response to the program, receiving applications from medical doctors and those with doctoral and graduate degrees in other fields." While some of them returned to their original profes-sions, many graduates have become lawyers, judges, and law professors."' Their expertise in different fields has certainly con-tributed to legal studies and research as well as the legal profes-sion. This legal education system should become an important component of improving the quality of the legal profession in Taiwan.3. Structure of Law Colleges
In the past, most law departments shared the same college
with other social science departments, such as political science,
sociology, and economics. Colleges were organized in this
man-ner partly because of a regulation promulgated by the Ministry of
Education that required a college to have at least three
depart-ments.,
2Between the late 1980s and early 1990s, this
require-ment was lifted, and more law departrequire-ments began their own
colleges."
Despite the lifting of the regulation, the structures of law
colleges still vary. Some law colleges have only one law
depart-ment, while others have different law departments (such as the
"department of judicial studies" and the "department of financial
79 See, e.g., id.
• The author taught at the first such program in Taiwan at the School of Law of Soochow University for the first three years as a part time professor. There were practicing medical doctors, students with Ph.D.s or J.D.s, and certified public ac-countants. From the author's experience administering the College of Law of National Taiwan University, the Graduate Institute of Interdisciplinary Legal Studies also admits people with Ph.D. or masters degrees. Professors, medical doctors, engineers and certified public accounts have joined the institute. •' For analysis and comparison of professional school-like legal education in
Tai-wan, see Get Law Service Network, Analysis on Domestic LL.M. degrees for Professionals Without Undergraduate Law Degree, http://www.license.com.tw/ lawyer/exam/view/bmaster/trend.shtml (last visited Mar, 20, 2006).
` See Academia Seneca, Conference on Education Reform: Collection of Perspec-tives (I) (Feb. 7, 1996), http://www.sinica.edu.tw/info/edu-reform/farea8/j21/ 32.html.
Legal Education Reform in Taiwan
and economic law," in addition to the "department of law")
within a single law college.4 There are advantages and
draw-backs to forming a law college composed of many departments.
One benefit is that multi-department colleges receive more
fund-ing. Since university resources are normally allocated according
to the number of departments and institutes in a college, more
departments earn the college more resources.' Another benefit
is that more departments demand more department directors.
This can be of some significance, and may help attract faculty
members to the college. However, a potential disadvantage of a
multi-department law college is that conflicts may develop
be-tween different law departments. Fortunately, this issue does not
often arise because most law colleges only have one law
departmentY.
B. CURRICULUM
1.
General Features
As previously mentioned, because legal education occurs at
the undergraduate level, the emphasis is not on litigation skills
but on the understanding of basic legal principles.
The law department offers many traditional courses. These
courses include Constitutional Law, Administrative Law,
Gen-eral Principles of Criminal Code, Specific Offences in the
Crimi-nal Code, General Principles of the Civil Code, General
SFor
example, National Taipei University College of Law has three law depart-ments. See NTPU Department of Law; http://www.ntpu.edu.tw/law (last visited Mar, 20, 2006); NTPU Department of Judicial Studies, http://www.ntpu.edu.twl jslaw (last visited Mar. 20, 2006); NTPU, Financial and Economic Law, http:// www.ntpu.edu.tw/felaw (last visited Mar. 20, 2006).iBased on the author's experience administering his college, when the University allocates annual or special budgets, the number of units (departments or insti-tutes) within the colleges of the University is always one of the most important factors.
' University internal practices are not available to the public. However, the deans of various law colleges in Taiwan revealed to the author that the number of units within a college at their universities do play an important role in deciding the allocation of resources.
s' See, e.g., College of Law of National Taiwan University, Department and
Gradu-ate Institute of Law, http://www.law.ntu.edu.tw/english/Index.html (last visited Mar. 20, 2006); National Chengchi University, Introduction to the College of Law, http:llwww.nccu.edu.tw/server/publichtmutlhtmllw600/ew 6OO.html (last vis-ited Mar, 20, 2006).
57
Principles of Obligations, Specific Types of Obligations, Property
in the Civil Code, the Family Part of the Civil Code, Succession
in the Civil Code, Company Law, Commercial Instrument Law,
Insurance Law, Maritime Law, Code of Civil Procedure, and
Code of Criminal Procedure.
8"
Although some newly established law departments in
pri-vate universities are unable to offer a wide range of courses
cov-ering new topics, some older universities, especially the public
ones, are capable of recruiting professors with expertise in
tradi-tional and specialized legal fields and can offer courses covering
new, pressing legal issues.
89Examples of the special fields
in-clude financial laws, corporate governance, securities law,
gov-ernment procurement law, competition law, consumer protection
law, legal and economic relations between Taiwan and mainland
China, WTO legal issues, legal aspects of biotechnology, and
le-gal problems concerning electronic commerce and
telecommunications.
To take the College of Law of National Taiwan University as
an example, mandatory courses required by the university are
Chinese, foreign language, and history.' The mandatory courses
for first-year students include Constitutional Law, General
Prin-ciples of Civil Code, General PrinPrin-ciples of Criminal Code (I),
and General Principles of the Obligations Part in the Civil Code
(I)." For the second-year students, the mandatory courses are
General Principles of the Obligations Part in the Civil Code (II),
Specific Kinds of Contract, Property Part in the Civil Code,
Fam-ily and Inheritance Parts in the Civil Code, General Principles of
Criminal Code (II), Specific Types of Offenses in the Criminal
Code, Administrative Law, Advanced Administrative Law
Group (Case Studies on Administrative Law, Advanced
Admin-istrative Law, and Specific Topics of AdminAdmin-istrative Law).92 For
SSee,
e.g., NTU Law, Curriculum: Courses Introduction - Graduate, http://www.law.ntu.edu.tw/english/curriculumlyh_04course_introductiongraduate.htm (last visited Mar. 20, 2006).
9 For lists of faculty members and their areas of specialties, see sources cited supra
note 6. For a list of courses offered, see NTU Law, Curriculum: Courses Intro-duction - Graduate, supra note 88.
9'NTU Law, Admission: Requirements for Graduation, supra note 72.
91 Id. Id.
Vol. 24, No. 1
Legal Education Reform in Taiwan
59
the third-year students, the, mandatory courses, include Code of
Civil Procedure, Code of Criminal Procedure, General
Introduc-tion of Commercial Law and Company Law, Negotiable
Instru-ments Law, Insurance Law, and Maritime Law.13 For the
fourth-year students, the required courses are the Integrated Discussion
on the Substantive and Procedural Aspects of Civil and
Com-mercial Laws, the Integrated Discussion on the Substantive and
Procedural Aspects of the Criminal Laws, or the Integrated
Dis-cussion on the Substantive and Procedural Aspects of
Adminis-trative Law.' In addition to these, there are three divisions in
under the College of Law, namely, the Division of Legal Science,
Division of Judiciary, and Division .of Financial and Economic
Law.
95For the Division of Legal Science and the Division of
Ju-diciary, students must take two of three courses from Political
Science, Economics, and Sociology.
6They must also take Legal
History, Public International Law, Private International Law,
and Jurisprudence.91 For the Division of Legal Science, students
must further take Introduction to American Law,
Anglo-American Contract Law, and Anglo-Anglo-American Torts." For the
Division of Judiciary, they must further take Law Governing
Non-Litigation Matters, Practical Training for Civil Trial, and
Practical Training for Criminal Trial.9
9For the Division of
Finan-cial and Economic Law, students must take Economics and
Com-pulsory Enforcement Law or Bankruptcy.'® They must also take
five of the following courses: Trademark Law, Patent Law,
Inter-national Trade Law, InterInter-national Economic Law, General
Prin-ciples of Taxation, Specific Topics of Taxation, Securities
Exchange Law, Fair Trade Law; Environmental Law, Banking
Law, Financial Administrative Law, Labor Law, Introduction to
Intellectual Property Law, European Business Enterprises Law,
Trust and Pension Law, Land Law, Copyright Law, Consumer
SId.
NTU Law, About NTU Law: Organization, supra note 51.
SId.
9& Id.
9
9 Id.
Protection Law, Finance and Taxation Law, Corporate
Govern-ance, Mainland China Legal System, European Union Law,
Eco-nomic Analysis of Law, Agricultural Eco-technology Law,
Arbitrational Law, Financial Law, Competition Law and Its
In-ternational Perspective, and WTO Legal Issues."'' There is also a
wide range of elective courses available for students to take."°
Since a large proportion of law professors received their
higher degrees in foreign countries, they are able to teach
courses on foreign and comparative law."
3Common foreign law
courses include the study of European, Japanese, German,
French, or Anglo-American law.
1"4 Some universities also offer
Chinese law courses.
0Regarding comparative law courses, the
comparisons may focus on, for example, the similarities and
dif-ferences between Taiwanese and Anglo-American law or
be-tween Taiwanese law and the law in other continental European
systems.
In most law colleges and departments, the core couises are
taught in large classes."'° In some law departments, a class might
have more than three hundred students.10' However, for those
elective courses not tested by the bar and judicial Examinations,
there might be a very small number of students, especially if the
courses are reading or writing intensive."'
In Taiwan, some of the universities are considered
research-oriented.'
9In these universities, conducting research is as
impor-tant, or more imporimpor-tant, than teaching for the purpose of
evalu-ating the professor's performance. Although this places great
101 Id.
10 For a list of courses, see NTU Law, Curriculum: Courses Introduction - Gradu-ate, supra note 88.
... See id. 104 id.
105 See, e.g., id.
"•
Lai, Lai-kung, Future Trend of Domestic Law School Development, http:// www.lib.hcu.edu.tw/library-service/oration/file/02.doc (last visited Mar. 23, 2006).107 Id.
108 For example, the author teaches Competition Law, WTO Law and International
Trade Law in English, which a very limited number of students elect to take.
"...
For a discussion on research oriented universities, see Analyzing Researchpressure on professors,1'
0research helps professors enrich their
teaching materials and nurture more knowledgeable and
inde-pendent students.
2. Clinical Training
Despite the importance of practical legal training, there are
few clinical training programs or courses available at most
uni-versities."' The general lack of effective clinical education is a
real problem. Clinical legal education provides students with
practical training to assist in the development of their ability to
analyze and resolve real legal issues. While a growing number of
law departments offer courses on case studies which form a part
of practical training,1 some law departments do not make this
type of course mandatory."' Worse, there are few universities
that have their own legal-service clubs, which provide an
oppor-tunity for professors to train students in handling real cases."
4big5.xinhuanet.comlgatelbig5/news.xinhuanet.comlst/ 2 002-12/0 4/
content649306.htm.
110 For example, at the College of Law of National Taiwan University if a professor
cannot pass the evaluation process for the 'econd time, he may be subject to
dismissal. See NTU College of Law, National Taiwan University College of Law
Rules for Faculty Evaluation http://www.law.ntu.edu.tw/07/11lRi_7.htm (last
vis-ited Mar. 25, 2006).
' Even at the College of Law of National Taiwan University, there is no real
clinical training program. See supra note 9 and accompanying text.
1 See, e.g., NTU College of Law, 2005 Second Semester Course Schedule, supra
note 7; Law Department of Ming Chuan University, Law Department List of
Mandatory Courses (Applicable for 2005 enrolling students), available at http:// www.mcu.edu.tw/departmentllaw/indexc/college/94`%E8`% AA`%/B2`%/E7 %/Ag8/% 8B%E6%9E%B6%E6%A7%8B%E8%Al%A8.pdf; College of Law of Shih
Hsin University, Applicable for 2005 New Full-time Students Enrolling in De-partment of Law, http://cc.shu.edu.tw/-law/timetable/94college.doc (last visited
Mar. 21, 2006).
113 See, e.g., Department of Law of Chinese Culture University, Mandatory Courses
for Division of Legal Science in Department of Law, http://db.pccu.edu.tw/deptl crl.group/crrmlwlload/word/word-L/91-94L.doc (last visited Mar. 21, 2006).
14 See, e.g., Legal Service Club of College of Law of National Taiwan University,
http://www.law.ntu.edu.tw/legalservice (last visited Mar. 21, 2006).
C. TEACHING METHOD AND TEACHING PROFESSION
1.
Teaching Method
Most professors conduct their courses by giving lectures.
Many write the legal structures on the black board to help
stu-dents quickly understand the system of law. There is little
class-room interaction between professors and students-neither asks
questions-and students rarely challenge their professors in
class.
There is only a small number of professors who use the
So-cratic method to teach their subject."
5These professors believe
that conducting their courses in a question-answer process is
in-appropriate.'
16They like to deliver their knowledge in a systemic
and effective way."
7Others are unfamiliar with the Socratic
method."' Adherence to the traditional method of teaching may
reflect unwillingness by the professors to subject themselves to
student challenges or to change their teaching materials to adapt
to the new method.
The lack of interaction between instructors and students is
especially the case in larger classes. Here, professors tend to
sys-tematize the teaching materials and tell the students what the
proper understanding or interpretation of the laws is."
9Students
are not regularly pushed to develop different views. Instead oftraining their students to think harder and more independently
115 The author used the Socratic method in teaching Anglo-American Legal System,
Anglo-American Contracts and Private International Law. He also uses it in Government Procurement Law, Competition Law, and WTO Law, which he
cur-rently teaches.
"16
Some of the author's colleagues told him that a question-answer method woulddelay their delivery of knowledge.
17 Some of the author's colleagues told him they believe the lecture method allows them to teach their students much more information within a short time period. 118 Some of the author's colleagues told him the Socratic method would not allow students to receive knowledge systematically. Some others believe the method would confuse students.
Vol. 24, No. 1
Legal Education Reform in Taiwan
through a question and answer process,12° professors require
stu-dents to memorize large volumes of rules and provisions.
Unfor-tunately, students are also then evaluated based on their memory
performance in exams.
2. Teaching Profession
A noteworthy aspect of the legal education system in Taiwan
is that a great portion of law professors earned their doctorates
in Germany, the United States, Japan, France, and the U.K."
1They studied in different legal systems after finishing their
pri-mary legal education in Taiwan, and as a result, professors and
scholars tend to be more familiar with legal theories developed in
the foreign countries. Their basic legal education gives them a
critical perspective on the foreign legal systems where they
stud-ied. Their educational backgrounds have deeply enriched
Tai-wan's legal system and are a source of renewal to new system as a
whole."
In spite of the professors' backgrounds, the student body has
shown a limited capacity in foreign languages skills.,23 In an
un-fortunate circuitous pattern, this limitation has contributed to a
trend wherein students are less inclined to study abroad.'
24Stu-dents are also less inclined to go abroad for further legal
educa-tion because they have already focused too much on the local
120 From the author's experience, students are very responsive if the instructor asks the right questions and creates an interactive atmosphere.
121 For example, most of the faculty members of College of Law of National Taiwan
University received their Ph.D. or SJ.D. from these countries. See sources cited
supra note 6.
2 Pratt, supra note 6, at 146..
12 Even the Ministry of Education admits a general lack of proficiency in English among university students. National Penghu University, Improving Students'
En-glish Capability by using Multi-Media at N.P.I.T.,
http://ccl.npit.edu.tw/-~en-glish-program/explination.htm (last visited Mar. 21, 2006).
"4
Even the Research, Development and Evaluation Commission, an agency at the ministerial level in Taiwan, held a series of public seminars in 2005 to discuss reasons for fewer people going abroad to study and ways of responding to this trend. See Research, Dev. & Evaluation Comm'n, The Decrease of Students Studying Abroad and Measures to Improve the Situation: Beginning of Project, http://research.rdec.gov.tw/public1Data/622212325589.dot (last visited Mar. 27, 2006).legal service market."
2' The introduction of foreign theories
through foreign study is a very important way of engaging in the
legal system. The student's unwillingness to study abroad should
cause great concern.
D. BAR EXAMINATIONS AND PREPARATION SCHOOLS
There are three kinds of examinations relevant to legal
edu-cation. First, there are public service examinations, which aim to
recruit law personnel into the government.'
26Second, there is the
judicial examination that qualifies people as judges or
prosecu-tors.
127Finally, there is the bar examination, which licenses
indi-viduals as attorneys."
2 8The following section focuses on the last
two examinations.
The courses tested in the lawyer and judicial examinations
are essentially the same. They include Constitutional Law, Civil
Code, Criminal Code, Code of Civil Procedure, Code of Criminal
Procedure, Administrative Law and Compulsory Enforcement
Law, Commercial Law and Private International Law, and
Chi-nese Composition."
9Those who pass the bar exam usually intern
1 See Chang-fa Lo, Problems in Current Legal Education and Prospects of Legal
Education Reform in Taiwan, http://distance.shu.edu.tw/spirit/planupfile/%E6% BC%94%E8%AC%9B%E7%BO%A1%E5%AO%Bl-%E7%BE%85%E6%98
%8C%E7%99%BC.ppt#278,9,??? (last visited Mar. 26, 2006).
121 See Ministry of Examination, Civil Service Exams, http://english.moex.gov.twf
mp.asp?mp=4 (follow "Exams in Brief" hyperlink; then follow "Civil Service Ex-ams" hyperlink) (last visited Mar. 21, 2006).
127 See Ministry of Examination, 2005 Civil Service Special Examination for Judicial Personnel, http://wwwc.moex.gov.tw/ct.asp?xItem=8758&ctNode=2156 (last vis-ited Mar. 25, 2006).
128 See Ministry of Examination, Professional and Technical Exams: Qualifications Screening Exams, http://english.moex.gov.tw/mp.asp?mp=4 (follow Exams in Brief" hyperlink; then follow Professional and Technical Exams" hyperlink; then follow Qualifications Screening Exams" hyperlink) (last visited Mar. 21, 2006).
129 For regulations governing subjects covered on the lawyer examination, see Minis-try of Examination, Regulations for the Senior Examination for Professional and Technical Personnel: Lawyer, http://english.moex.gov.tw/mp.asp?mp=4 (follow "Regulations" hyperlink. then follow "Professional and Technical Exams" hyper-link; then follow "Regulations for the Senior Examination for Professional and Technical Personnel: Lawyer" hyperlink) (last visited Mar. 21, 2006). For sub-jects covered on the judicial examination, see Ministry of Examination, 2005 Spe-cial Civil Personnel Exam for JudiSpe-cial Personnel: Exam-related Matters, Subjects and Schedules for 2005 Special Third Level Civil Personnel Exam for Judicial Personnel, http://wwwc.moex.gov.tw/public/Attachment/572015582171.doc (last visited Mar. 27, 2006).
