Is There a Need for Independent Labour Courts?

設立獨立勞動訴訟制度之必要性探討

實體勞工法的核心是契約法，只是勞動事務具有特殊的性格。因此，立法者乃制定施行有關勞動事務的特殊法規，以補充普通民事法規的不足。同樣地，相對於普通的民事訴訟程序，勞工法中也有針對特殊問題的爭議解決程序。從比較法上來看，可以發現有一大串解決勞動問題的途徑。就像其他國家一般，臺灣在民事法院中也有設立解決勞工案件的特殊法庭。另一方面，德國則是少數國家中，選擇一個獨立的勞動法院處理勞動爭議者。惟臺灣即使要採取一些改革以處理勞動爭議案件，也不必要全盤引進德國模式以期改善裁判品質。相反地，德國由於勞動訴訟的結構複雜及勞動法院體系的所需費用高昂，也促使人們重新思考以普通法院審理勞動案件的可能性，蓋普通法院也可以類似的方法解決勞動爭議。

Much of labour law consists of contract law at its core, but there are characteristics of labour matters that demand particular attention. Therefore specific regulations on labour matters have been promulgated to complement the regular civil law. Furthermore, ordinary civil litigation is not an avenue for particular issues that arise in disputes under labour law. A wide range of approaches to handle these issues can be found in comparative law. Like in many other countries, special divisions governing labour matters have been established in Taiwan under the auspices of the ordinary courts. On the other hand, Germany is among the few nations worldwide with an independent labour court system. Even if further reform of the rules governing disputes under labour law is desirable, there is no need to mirror the German model in order to improve judicial quality in Taiwan. On the contrary, the complex structure and the costs of the labour court system in Germany should be reconsidered, as special divisions of the ordinary courts may govern labour matters in a similar way.