大法庭應如何運作

How Shall Grand Chambers Operate?

立法院甫通過法院組織法修正案，增訂最高法院大法庭，以減少各級法院裁判見解歧異之問題。新法規定最高法院設民事大法庭、刑事大法庭，各由11位法官組成。最高法院受理案件之各法庭若採為裁判基礎之法律見解與最高法院先前之裁判見解歧異，或具原則重要性，承審庭應提案予大法庭，由大法庭表示意見。新法亦賦予當事人向承審庭聲請提案至大法庭之權利。大法庭應對該爭議見解作出裁定，大法庭裁定為中間裁判性質，並非提交案件之終局判決，大法庭之裁定對提案庭提交之案件有拘束力。

The Legislative Yuan has passed amendments to the Court Organic Act, establishing grand chambers in the Supreme Court to alleviate the problem that courts at different levels hand down contradictory judgements. The amendments stipulate that the Supreme Court is to assemble a civil grand chamber and a criminal grand chamber of 11 judges each. Should the legal basis invoked by the presiding court contradicts that cited by a high court, or has not been, but so important that should be, settled by the Court, the presiding court should address the dispute by submitting a request for the corresponding grand chamber to state its opinions. The amendments also afford litigants the right to file a motion to request the presiding court submit the dispute to the corresponding grand chamber. That grand chamber must issue a ruling on the dispute. The grand chamber’s ruling is interlocutory, not the final judgment, and serves as the basis on which the presiding court must base its judgement.