What can a complainant do when a prosecutor in Taiwan neither indicts nor drops the case, but defers it? That is a deferred prosecution (緩起訴). The prosecutor sets a deferral period of one to three years, counted from the day the decision becomes final, and the limitation period for prosecution stops running meanwhile. Offenses punishable by death, life imprisonment or a minimum of three years' imprisonment or more are excluded (Code of Criminal Procedure Art. 253-1, as it stood in October 2026).
When deferring, the prosecutor may order the defendant to do any of eight things within a set time: apologize to the victim; write a letter of repentance; pay the victim compensation for property or non-property harm; pay a sum to the public treasury; perform 40 to 240 hours of community service for an agency, community or public-interest body that the prosecutors' office designates; complete addiction treatment, psychiatric or psychological treatment, counseling or another suitable program; obey orders needed to protect the victim's safety; and obey orders needed to prevent a repeat offense.
Compensation, the treasury payment, community service and treatment need the defendant's consent. The first two may also serve as a civil enforcement title (民事強制執行名義). Every condition must be recorded in the written decision, and the time allowed cannot run past the deferral period (Art. 253-2).
The decision is served on the complainant and the defendant, among others, and also on the victims, agencies, groups or communities connected with the conditions (Art. 255). A victim who never filed a complaint may therefore receive it, yet reconsideration belongs to the complainant. Check which of the two you are before counting any days.
Two doors for the complainant: reconsideration within ten days, and a revocation request
One is reconsideration (再議). Within ten days of receiving the decision, the complainant files a written statement of reasons through the original prosecutor, addressed to the chief prosecutor of the immediately superior prosecutors' office or to the Prosecutor General. The copy served on the complainant must state that period and that addressee. A complainant who consented to the deferral beforehand cannot apply (Art. 256).
The ten days leave out the day of receipt, so the count starts the next day. A last day that falls on a Sunday, a memorial day or another rest day moves to the following day (Art. 65; Civil Code Art. 120 and Art. 122). Where nobody is entitled to seek reconsideration, the original prosecutor must send the case up for reconsideration on his or her own motion (Art. 256, para. 3).
Revocation is the other door. Art. 253-3 lists three grounds. During the deferral period, the defendant intentionally commits a further offense punishable by imprisonment or more, and a prosecutor files an indictment. Or the defendant is sentenced during the period to imprisonment or more for another intentional offense, one committed before the deferral. Or the defendant breaches a condition. On any of them the prosecutor may revoke the deferral, on his or her own motion or on the complainant's application, and then continue the investigation or indict. The defendant cannot claim back, or seek compensation for, what was already performed. The article states no deadline for the application.
Defendants have a remedy too. Within ten days of receiving a decision that revokes the deferral, the defendant may seek reconsideration by the same route (Art. 256-1).
What about a private prosecution (自訴), which a victim files directly with the court (Art. 319)? Once a prosecutor has started investigating a case, a private prosecution of the same case is barred. The exceptions, including the one for the direct victim of an offense prosecutable only on complaint, do not apply during the deferral period (Art. 253-1, para. 4; Art. 323, para. 1).
Once the period ends unrevoked, only two grounds allow a new indictment
Art. 260 names them. One is the discovery of new facts or new evidence, which covers both material that existed during the investigation but went unexamined and material that came into being later. The other is any of the retrial grounds in Art. 420, para. 1, items 1, 2, 4 and 5.
None of the articles cited here requires anyone to tell the complainant whether the defendant is meeting the conditions. Write down the conditions and the time allowed, as stated in the decision, along with the date you received it. Those three items, with a non-confidential outline of the case, are enough for a first email to Hovering International Law Firm at wei@hoveringlaw.com.tw.
Official sources
- Code of Criminal Procedure (刑事訴訟法), Laws and Regulations Database of the Ministry of Justice: Articles 65, 253-1, 253-2, 253-3, 255, 256, 256-1, 260, 319, 323, 420
- Civil Code (民法): Articles 120 and 122
- Code of Criminal Procedure, amendment history: the most recent amendment, promulgated May 13, 2026, concerns Article 101-1 only and none of the articles cited here
Checked: October 12, 2026
This article is general information based on Taiwan statutes checked on October 12, 2026. It is not legal advice on any individual case.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What happens if a Taiwan deferred prosecution requires the defendant to pay the victim?
- The prosecutor may order compensation to the victim as a condition. It needs the defendant's consent and must be recorded in the written decision. The compensation condition and the public-treasury payment condition may each serve as a civil enforcement title (Code of Criminal Procedure Art. 253-2). Based on the statute as it stood in October 2026.
This article provides general information and is not legal advice on any individual matter.
