Compilation of Statistical Information on Reversal Rates for First and Second Instance Civil Cases (2011–2020)
Last edited: 2026-08-30
I. Reversal Rate of First Instance Civil Judgments upon Appeal
-
According to "09-03 Disposition of Civil Cases in District Courts - By Year" published by the Judicial Yuan, the "Affirmance Rate of Appealed Cases"[1] for civil cases in the High Courts (appeals from the first instance to the second instance) has historically remained above 85%.
(Unit: %)
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
Affirmance Rate of Appealed Cases
85.21
85.22
85.97
85.64
86.07
85.57
85.29
84.96
85
85.36
-
The "Reversal Rate" in the table below is calculated using raw data from "06-05 Disposition of Civil Appeal Cases Received by the High Court and Its Branches - By Year and Agency" published by the Judicial Yuan. The calculated results differ from the aforementioned data, as detailed below:
Disposition of Civil Appeal Cases Received by the High Court and Its Branches (Unit: Cases)
Year
Total
Adjudicated Cases
Appeal Dismissed
Original Judgment Reversed
Appeal Withdrawn
Settled
Mediation Successful
Other
Reversal Rate
Unlawful
Ungrounded
Entirely
Partially
2011
8305
6103
145
3830
777
1351
851
1030
220
101
23.80%
2012
8784
6660
125
4095
821
1619
867
938
191
128
24.48%
2013
8513
6249
108
3839
741
1561
893
1043
231
97
24.35%
2014
8781
6383
116
3958
764
1545
938
1034
340
86
24.07%
2015
9827
7208
132
4388
934
1754
986
1064
493
76
25.12%
2016
9858
7246
100
4337
953
1856
912
1035
578
87
25.96%
2017
9597
6840
125
3948
1017
1750
926
1125
631
75
27.66%
2018
9986
6799
129
4023
924
1723
1002
1193
920
72
26.26%
2019
9973
6759
175
4055
905
1624
942
1045
1140
87
25.40%
2020
10272
6941
149
4118
938
1736
982
917
1362
70
26.02%
Total
93896
67188
1304
40591
8774
16519
9299
10424
6106
879
25.31%
Adjudicated Cases = Total - Appeal Withdrawn - Settled - Mediation Successful - Other
Reversal Rate = (Original Judgment Reversed (Entirely) + Original Judgment Reversed (Partially) × 0.5) / Adjudicated Cases
-
The above calculation results differ from the appeal affirmance rate data published by the Judicial Yuan, likely because when calculating affirmance rates, the Judicial Yuan excludes cases reversed due to reasons not attributable to the trial court.
II. Reversal Rate of Second Instance Civil Judgments upon Appeal
-
According to "06-03 Disposition of Civil Cases in the High Court and Its Branches - By Year and Agency" published by the Judicial Yuan, the "Affirmance Rate of Appealed Cases" for civil cases in the High Courts (appeals from the second instance to the third instance) has historically remained above 85%, except in 2020 when it was 82%.
Unit: %
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
Affirmance Rate of Appealed Cases
88.05
89.89
87.46
85.92
87.4
89.78
88.35
88.19
85.19
81.99
-
The "Reversal Rate" in the table below is calculated using raw data from "03-03-04 Disposition of Civil Appeal Cases in the Supreme Court - By Year" published by the Judicial Yuan. The calculated results differ from the aforementioned data, as detailed below:
Disposition of Civil Appeal Cases in the Supreme Court Unit: Cases
Year
Total
Adjudicated Cases
Appeal Dismissed
Remanded for Retrial
Rendered Own Judgment
Settled
Withdrawn
Other
Reversal Rate
Entirely
Partially
Entirely
Partially
Entirely
Partially
2011
2479
2332
1774
36.5
482
34.5
2
3
0
30
117
21.56%
2012
2289
2177
1719
42
372
39
1
4
0
31
81
18.12%
2013
2650
2547
1876
60
541
55
9
6
0
30
73
22.79%
2014
2877
2762
1958
85.5
629
80
1
8.5
0
30
85
24.41%
2015
2676
2554
1835
93
529
85.5
3
8.5
0
48
74
24.06%
2016
2526
2425
1840
66.5
446
61.5
5
6
1
58
42
22.67%
2017
2631
2500
1883
65
485
59
2
6
0
76
55
19.99%
2018
2504
2420
1773
64.5
519
60.5
0
3
0
64
20
20.78%
2019
2673
2552
1767
89
605
80
4
7
1
85
35
22.76%
2020
3505
3363
2229
120.5
892
110
2
9.5
1
65
76
25.57%
Total
26810
26084
18654
722.5
5500
665
29
61.5
3
517
658
22.07%
Adjudicated Cases = Total - Withdrawal of Appeal - Settled - Mediation Successful - Other
Reversal Rate = [Original Judgment Reversed (Entirely) + Original Judgment Reversed (Partially) × 0.5 + Rendered Own Judgment (Entirely) + Rendered Own Judgment (Partially) × 0.5] / Adjudicated Cases
"Withdrawn" under disposition types in this table includes both the withdrawal of appeal and the withdrawal of the first instance lawsuit.
- The above calculation results differ from the appeal affirmance rate data published by the Judicial Yuan, likely because when calculating affirmance rates, the Judicial Yuan excludes cases reversed due to reasons not attributable to the trial court.
Notes
[1] Divided into appeal affirmance rate and interlocutory appeal affirmance rate. For lower courts, it refers to the percentage of cases dismissed (i.e., original judgment affirmed) by the higher court out of the total cases dismissed and reversed (annulled) over a given period. Partial reversals (annulments) are counted as 0.5 of a dismissal and 0.5 of a reversal (annulment).
This article is an AI-generated translation of the original Chinese text. In the event of any discrepancy, the Chinese version shall prevail.