眾律國際法律事務所

What are they and how do they work?

When a relationship breaks down in Queensland (whether it be matrimonial or de facto), it is often the case that a caveat needs to be registered against a property which forms part of the net asset pool available for division. A spouse or de facto who feels uncertain about the security of his/her share in the relationship’s properties sometimes resorts to lodging a caveat on the certificate of title.[1]

In a nutshell, a caveat is a formal document known as Form 11, to be lodged at the Titles Office with the Department of Natural Resources and Mines against real estate in Queensland. [2] The purpose of this is to stop the legal owner (and any other person) from selling the property or further registering other instruments against it, such as a loan/mortgage. It also stops the legal owner from being able to transfer the property to another person.[3]

Why Lodge a Caveat?

It is common for a property to be registered in one party’s name alone (the “registered owner”). That property may have been brought into the relationship by one of the parties or for tax/commercial purposes. Whatever the reason, lodging a caveat is to protect the interests of the party who is not on the title (the “other party”).

Person who may lodge a caveat[4]

Pursuant to s 122(1) of the Land Title Act 1994 a caveat may be lodged by:

• a person claiming an interest in a lot;

• the Registrar;

• a registered owner of the lot;

專利要件 (Patentability) 意思是指一創作或發明授予專利之法定要件。其專利要件包含: (1) 產業利用性、(2) 新穎性、(3) 進步性等實體要件。除此之外，其專利說明書也要充分接露以達可據以實施程度，並且與未來專利權的範圍有直接關聯，其說明書應明確且充分接露，使該發明所屬技術領域中具有通常知識者，能了解其內容[1]，因此其專利說明書也是專利其中一個要件。

(1) 產業利用性:

其產業利用性，或稱實用性（utility or industrial applicability） 是指能提供產業之利用價值，並且能在產業上得以實施及利用者）[2]。故產業上利用性必須是能提供產業之利用價值，並且能在產業上能夠實施及利用者。

以下敘述幾種狀況不具備產業性用性：

(a) 非可提供營業上利用之發明：

例如技術上無法在產業上加以實施利用。

(b) 未完成之發明：

其中卻乏達成目的之全部或部分技術手段的構想，或有技術手段但顯然不能達成目的之構想。

(c) 顯然無法實施之發明：

在理論上是可以實施的點子、但實際上卻無法實施。

Evidence that your relationship is genuine:

When you apply for a Partner visa, you must provide evidence that supports your claim of a genuine and continuing relationship with your partner. This include history of your relationship, evidence of your relationship, social and financial aspect of the relationship, the nature of the household and the nature of your commitment to each other.

The history of your relationship will include providing a statement between you and your partner regarding the history of your relationship. This include how, when and where you first met; how your relationship developed; when you decided to marry or commence a de facto partner relationship; your domestic arrangements (how you support each other financially, physically and emotionally and when this level of commitment began); any periods of separation (when and why the separation occurred, for how long and how you maintained your relationship during the period of separation); and your future plans. Please note that the statements written by you and your partner can be an ordinary writing paper or a statutory declaration form may be used. Each statement or statutory declaration must be signed and dated by the author.

There are four (4) broad categories of evidence that you need to provide including:

  (1) Financial aspects;

  (2) The nature of the household;

  (3) Social context of the relationship and;  

  (4) The nature of your commitment to each other.

Please note that all relationships are different, so you should provide as much evidence as you can that you believe will support your claims.

From the financial perspectives, evidence will be required that you and your partner share financial commitments and responsibilities including evidence of any joint ownership of real estate or other major assets (for example, cars, appliances) and any joint liabilities (for example, loans, insurance); sharing of finances; legal commitments that you and your partner have undertaken as a couple; evidence that you and your partner have operated joint bank accounts for a reasonable period of time; or sharing of household bills and expenses.

1.0 What is a Partner Visa?

Partner visa is a type of visa that allows the spouse or de facto partner of an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen to live in Australia. This category of migration permits married partners (example opposite-sex spouses) and de facto partners (including those in a same-sex relationship) of Australian citizens, Australian permanent residents and eligible New Zealand citizens to enter and remain permanently in Australia.  Partners who meet the legal criteria will be granted a subclass 820 temporary visa followed by a Subclass 801 (partner) residence visa provided that you are still in the relationship with your Australian partner two (2) years after first applying for the subclass 820 visa.

2.0 How can I apply for a Partner Visa through a ‘de-facto relationship’?

To satisfy that there is a ‘de-facto relationship’,[1] a person must be the de facto partner of another person (whether of the same sex or a different sex) if they are not in a married relationship[2] and they have a mutual commitment to a shared life to the exclusion of all others; and the relationship between them is genuine and continuing that they live together or do not live separately and apart on a permanent basis, they are not related by family. 

3.0 Application

The following is the application steps for applying a Partner visa inside or outside Australia. The temporary Partner visa (subclass 820) is the first stage towards a permanent Partner visa (subclass 801). You must be in Australia when you apply and also when this visa is decided.

Applying from outside Australia

Step 1: Subclass 300-Prosepctive Marriage (temporary) – you plan to marry your Australian fiancé(e).

Step 2: Subclass 820-Partner (temporary) – travel to Australia; then marry your Australian partner while the subclass 300 visa is valid; and then make an application (in Australia) to stay in Australia.

Step 3: Subclass 801 – Partner (residence) – you are still in the relationship with your Australian partner 2 years after first applying for the subclass 820 visa.

If you have been injured and can show your injury was caused by someone else’s actions, you may be able to make a personal injury claim against them.

In Queensland the Personal Injuries Proceedings Act 2002 (PIPA) was introduced to provide a speedy resolution of claims for damages for personal injury. This Act requires a person intending to commence a claim for damages to first provide written notice of the claim to the person against whom the claim is to be made (s9 PIPA). For a claim involving medical negligence, s9A of PIPA requires additional information regarding inter alia, the medical procedure.

General Law personal injury claims are set out under the Personal Injuries Proceedings Act 2002 (Qld) (PIPA) and the Civil Liability Act 2003 (Qld) (CLA).

It does not consider claims for personal injuries which:

• resulted at work and are covered by the Workers' Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003;
• occurred as a result of a car accident and are covered by the Motor Accident Insurance Act 1994;
• occurred as a result of a crime and are covered by the Criminal Offence Victims Act 1995 or the Victims of Crime Assistance Act 2009;
• are dust-related conditions; or
• resulted from use or exposure to tobacco products or tobacco smoke.

Time limits

Claims for damages for personal injuries must be commenced within three years[1] of the cause of action arising.  In most personal injury cases, this means three years from the date the injuries were sustained.   The three year limitation period may be extended in certain specified circumstances.

Section 11 of the Limitation of Actions Act applies to common law actions by injured workers or their dependents against their employers. The Act provides that an action for damages or breach of duty, in which the damages claimed by the plaintiff consist of or include damages in respect of personal injury to any person, shall not be brought after the expiration of three years from the date on which the cause of action arose.

Court proceedings

Court proceedings are to be commenced within 60 days of a compulsory conference.[2]  Once court proceedings have been commenced, a different set of deadlines apply, as governed by the Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 1999 (Qld). 

Establishing liability

Please be aware that a foreign company must either set up a subsidiary company in Taiwan, or to establish a branch in Taiwan. Such company must be recognized by the competent authority before engaging business activities such as selling goods or providing services in Taiwan.

The procedure of setting up a subsidiary company includes:

1. Application for registration of the company name.

2. Scope of business.

3. Investment permission application.

4. Capital remittance.

5. Capital verification application.

6. Company registration.

Please note that this is only for the case of a company limited by shares.

The purpose of this article is designed for foreigners wishing to start a business in Taiwan.

Taiwan can be a great place to live and run a business. However owning or investing in Taiwan with a registered business does not automatically give you the right to stay with work permits.

Nevertheless, Taiwan now has very generous rules for foreigners to get landing visas and visa-exempt entry. There are two job categories for the application of the work permit. Below is our summary for Type A and Type B permits, which are for managerial employees, specialized or technical workers.[1]

近期關於急診暴力新聞頻傳，原為處理急診病患的醫療場所卻變成影響醫護人員甚至病患之人身安全的不安之地，讓我們不得不開始反思並尋求對策改善；本所於多年前即關注急診暴力相關法律議題，並於去年針對此議題提出幾點迷思，希祈政府機關或大眾共同參與反思，討論並尋求以法律面向解決此重大議題，而今感謝關鍵評論網將本所文章轉貼，期讓此議題能獲更大迴響。

本所文章從現行法規面，包含刑法、醫療法甚至延伸至醫院場所安全維護措施方面討論，依醫療法第24條第2項、第4項及第106條第1項，從規範內容來看，此等「訓示規定」似乎僅具「安慰劑」效果；並對比既存法律規範，只有對於「訪害醫療業務者」處以刑事責任，並未對於「人身安全危害」有特別加重。簡而言之，該條文修正的直接目的是為了「維護醫療業務執行」，而非「保障人身安全」。另從依「警察人員人事條例」第40條訂定的「各機關學校團體駐衛警察設置管理辦法」第2條可知，各類機關，包括公私立醫療機構可依法申請具「公權力」的駐衛警察來討論，以警察駐點改善醫療場所安全之實際建議。

近期衛福部長林奏延特針對沙鹿光田醫院急診暴力案表示，支持修正醫療法第106條，將醫院納入公共危險罪，此點亦與本所文章不謀而合，而後續政府機關如何修訂改善醫療場所安全，值得我們共同持續關注，而現若有相關法律疑問亦可直接洽詢本所諮詢，共同為醫療安全盡一份心力。

全文可參本所痞克邦文章：http://zoomlaw.pixnet.net/blog/post/60158983

或至關鍵評論網一同討論：http://www.thenewslens.com/article/44284

E-Resources of Taiwan Law in English

Public databases

It is part of the Taiwanese government’s efforts to promote transparency and openness of the government information and operation. In this context, there are mainly two public online databases where we can find the English versions of of many Taiwanese legal sources, translated and published by the legislative authorities.

These are:

• Ministry of Justice Law database
• Judicial Yuan Law database

Both of them are the official government pages which include an English version of them. The databases include laws, regulations, directives, conventions, judicial interpretations and decisions in full text both in Chinese and English.  

Commercial databases: