Swiss Court Rules Taiwan Is Eligible to Sue ISO over Incorrect Reference.

Swiss Court Rules Taiwan Is Eligible to Sue ISO over Incorrect Reference.

Taiwan has filed a lawsuit against the International Organization for Standardization, widely known as ISO, over its infringement upon Taiwan’s name rights by mistakenly referring to the country as “Taiwan Province, China” instead of “Republic of China (Taiwan)”.  The Geneva First Instance Court ruled in September 2008 that Taiwan is an eligible plaintiff on the ground that it possesses all the elements of statehood, and thus this case should proceed to trial.

Head of Taiwan’s representative office in Geneva, Lyushun Shen said that this ruling reiterated and supported the Swiss Federal Tribunal’s holding in the long-lived La Fayette scandal, taking the same stance for Taiwan.  This ruling carries not only legal but also diplomatic significance, said Shen. 

The Geneva-based non-governmental ISO is an international standard-setting body and the ISO 3166 country codes list it formulated has been widely and globally used in the international community.  However, it has mistakenly designated Taiwan as a part of China, “Taiwan Province, China”, and the derogatory designation has undermined Taiwan’s national status.  Therefore, Taiwan filed a lawsuit in Geneva in last July to rectify Taiwan’s designation as “Republic of China (Taiwan)”. 

In an attempt to block Taiwan’s legal action, the ISO challenged Taiwan’s legal eligibility as a plaintiff during court hearings held in November 2007 and February 2008. 

Justice prevailed when the Swiss court ruled that Taiwan possesses all elements of statehood and its government holds and effectively exercises sovereignty over its territory, and also that whether Taiwan is a UN member or a diplomatic ally of
Switzerland is irrelevant to the case.  Therefore, Taiwan’s legal standing as a plaintiff to the action is confirmed.  (2008.9)
/CCS