The project focuses on the burden of proof in the public nuisance disputes. First of all, by examining the cases of public nuisance disputes decisions and civil litigation judgments, the project analyzes the causes of disputes, the types of damages and the scope of compensation for the public nuisance disputes in practical situations. Also, the project analyzes the practical application regarding the burden of proof and the important procedures provided in the Civil Code and the Public Nuisance Dispute Mediation Act over the years to investigate the difficulties of proving the infringement faced by the general public and reasons for such difficulties in the tort cases in relation to the public nuisance disputes in Taiwan.
Secondly, the project learns from experience on the legislation and implementation of public nuisance dispute resolution mechanisms in foreign legal systems by analyzing the regulation and operation of systems related to “burden of proof,” “request for information,” “joint liability,” “extension of the prescription period” and “legal aids” regarding the civil liabilities of public nuisance torts in Germany, the United States and Japan.
Furthermore, the project specifically points out the interpretation and application of the related burden of proof in public nuisance disputes, based on the provisions of burden of proof under the Environmental Liability Act (Umwelthaftungsgesetz) in Germany. The project proposes to add Article 191-4 to the Civil Code, where the negligence and the causation are presumed, as the provision for environmental hazard liabilities during the transition period before enacting a separate law for such liabilities. Moreover, it is suggested that, before adding Article 191-4 to the Civil Code or enacting an Environmental Liability Act, the provisions for the allocation of burden of proof regarding public nuisance torts may be added to the Public Nuisance Dispute Mediation Act by adding an independent chapter “ Presumption of Causation and Request for Information” which could be applied to protect the victims’ rights and interests in the public nuisance dispute resolution process and the subsequent litigation process.
In addition, after reviewing the mechanism and procedures under the Public Nuisance Dispute Mediation Act, the project indicates that disputes can be substantially resolved through the “management” mechanism in the current public nuisance dispute mediation procedure. The application of mediation procedure is more limited in practice as the mediation committee is organized more cautiously and the related processes are more complicated. As such, the project suggests establishment of the management mechanism to effectively sort out the public nuisance disputes in the first place, to reduce the disputes, and to effectively solve the public nuisance disputes cases.
Accordingly, the project analyzes the main disputes in the current public nuisance tort cases and drafts the amendments, the procedures and the implementation rules regarding (1) the allocation of burden of proof in the public nuisances cases; (2) the right to request for information; and (3) the modifications and amendments of public nuisance dispute resolution mechanism, respectively, in the hope of perfecting the public nuisance dispute resolution mechanism and providing fair protection to the parties involved so as to achieve the purposes of the Public Nuisance Dispute Mediation Act.
