Thedistrict courts (Chinese:地方法院;pinyin:Dìfāng Fǎyuàn;Pe̍h-ōe-jī:Tē-hng Hoat-īⁿ) are the ordinarytrial courts ofgeneral jurisdiction under thelaw of Taiwan. Currently there are 22 district courts under the jurisdiction ofthe Republic of China (Taiwan).

District courts (地方法院,chihō-hōin) were first established in Taiwan in 1896. The jurisdiction of the district courts changed several times in theJapanese era. There were five (5) district courts inTaiwan as of 1945, the end of the Japanese rule, when the courts were incorporated into theRepublic of China court system.

Note that theEmpire of Japan was grantedextraterritoriality inChina from late 19th century untilWorld War II. During this time, Taihoku District Court also handled the trial cases regardingJapanese citizens (including Taiwanese and Korean) in theChinese provinces ofFujian,Guangdong andYunnan.

AfterWorld War II, more district courts were established as the population growth. The newest district court, Ciaotou District Court, was established in September 2016 inKaohsiung.^[1] This makes the total count of district courts inTaiwan to 22.

There are currently 20 district courts under the jurisdiction of theTaiwan High Court and 2 district courts under the jurisdiction of theFuchien High Court.^[2] The Kinmen and Matsu district courts are under the jurisdiction of the Fuchien High Courts as those counties are part ofFujian Province and not part ofTaiwan Province. The jurisdictions of district courts do not always follow the boundary of theadministrative divisions.^[3]

Each District Court may establish summary division for different regions under it, for theadjudication of cases suitable forsummary judgment and small claims cases. Thecivil summary procedure is for cases involving anamount in controversy of not more than 500,000New Taiwan dollars^[4] and for simple legal disputes.^[2] The small claims cases are cases demanding payment for less than 100,000 NTD.^[5] Currently there are a total of 45 divisions in Taiwan.^[2] Additionally, there is a Taiwan Kaohsiung Juvenile Court, established in accordance with the Law Governing the Disposition of Juvenile Cases.^[2]

Each of the District Courts has civil, criminal and summary division and may establish specialized divisions to handle cases involvingjuveniles,family,traffic, andlabor matters as well as motions to set aside rulings on violations of the Statute for the Maintenance of Social Order.^[2] Each division has a DivisionChief Judge who supervises and assigns the business of the division. Each District Court has aPublic Defenders' Office and aProbation Officers' Office.^[2]

A single judge hears and decides cases in ordinary and summary proceedings as well as insmall claims cases.^[2] A panel of three judges decides cases of great importance in ordinary proceedings as well asappeals orinterlocutory appeals from the summary and small claims proceedings.^[2] Criminal cases are decided by a panel of three judges, with the exception of summary proceedings which may be held by a single judge.^[2] The Juvenile Court hears and decides only cases involving juveniles.^[2]

District Courts have jurisdiction over the following cases:^[2]

• Ordinary or summary civil and criminal cases as well as civil small claim cases as courts of the first instance;
• Civil and criminal appeals or interlocutory appeals from decisions rendered by the summary divisions;
• Juvenile matters;
• Family matters;
• Traffic cases;
• Civil compulsory execution cases;
• Non-contentious matters;
• Civil protection writs;
• Rehabilitation of delinquents;
• Labor-management disputes;
• Elections and recalls;
• Violations of the Statute for the Maintenance of Social Order;
• Other cases prescribed by law.

On 31 March 2017,Taipei District Court finished a judgment of first instance, this is the first time, the collegial court invoked the concept of "civil disobedience", and Identify the motive and purpose of the protest act, are related to public affair. They said the people ofSunflower Movement (AsHuang Kuo-chang,Lin Fei-Fan,Chen Wei-ting ^[zh], and related people) all are innocent.

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• 
  Taiwan Changhua District Court
• 
  Taiwan Chiayi District Court
• 
  Taiwan Hsinchu District Court
• 
  Taiwan Hualien District Court
• 
  Taiwan Kaohsiung District Court
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  Taiwan Pingtung District Court
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  Taiwan Shilin District Court
• 
  Taiwan Tainan District Court
• 
  Taiwan Taipei District Court
• 
  Taiwan Taoyuan District Court
• 
  Taiwan Yilan District Court

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