A Taiwan Summons Arrives: What Ignoring It Means for a Defendant and for a Witness

A summons (傳票) from a district prosecutors office reaches a foreign manager in Taipei (an invented scene). The warning it must carry is either compulsory production alone, or a fine plus compulsory production. Which one depends on whether the manager is summoned as a defendant or as a witness.

For a defendant, a category that includes a suspect still under investigation, the Code of Criminal Procedure requires the summons to state the case and to warn that compulsory production (拘提), meaning being brought in by force, may be ordered after an unjustified absence (Art. 71). For a witness, it has to state what the testimony is meant to prove and warn of a fine as well as compulsory production (Art. 175).

Witnesses owe their attendance. Under Art. 176-1, everyone has a duty to testify in another person's case unless a law provides otherwise. A witness who is lawfully summoned and stays away without a justified reason may be fined up to NT$30,000 (as of October 2026) and may also be brought in by compulsory production; a second summons ignored brings the same. Article 178 leaves the fine to a court ruling, and when a prosecutor issued the summons, the prosecutor must apply to the court for it. That ruling can be appealed (抗告). Bringing in a witness takes a warrant (拘票) too, because the same article borrows the warrant rules written for defendants (Art. 77).

A witness summons must be served at least 24 hours before the appearance date, urgent cases aside. It also has to state that the witness may claim a daily allowance and travel expenses (Art. 175). When a witness may refuse to answer is covered in the column on being called as a witness.

No fine appears in Articles 71 and 75, the defendant's side. A defendant who is lawfully summoned and fails to appear without a justified reason may be taken in by compulsory production (Art. 75). That takes a warrant, executed by judicial police officers or judicial police (Art. 77, Art. 78).

Two things count the same as serving a new summons. One is telling a defendant who is present, in person, the next date, time and place, and that absence may mean compulsory production, with the record noting it. The other is the defendant's own written statement that he or she will appear on the date (Art. 72).

Police may call a suspect in with a different paper, a notice to attend (通知書). If a suspect who was lawfully notified does not appear without a justified reason, the police may ask a prosecutor to issue a warrant (Art. 71-1).

Sometimes there is no summons at all. Article 76 allows a defendant under serious suspicion to be taken in directly, when necessary, in any one of four situations: the defendant has no fixed residence; the defendant has fled, or facts give reason to fear flight; facts give reason to fear that evidence will be destroyed, forged or altered, or that the defendant will collude with accomplices or witnesses; or the offense is one punishable by death, life imprisonment, or imprisonment with a statutory minimum of five years or more.

Under Art. 84, a defendant who flees or hides may be put on a wanted notice (通緝). The notice must be in writing, signed by the Prosecutor General or a chief prosecutor during an investigation and by the court president at trial (Art. 85). Once it has been circulated or publicly announced, prosecutors and judicial police officers may take the defendant in by compulsory production or arrest the defendant directly. An interested party may also make the arrest and hand the defendant over to them, or ask them to make it. The notice must be withdrawn immediately when its reason ends or it has clearly become unnecessary (Art. 87).

Two questions stay open here: how far a summons received outside Taiwan can be enforced, and whether leaving Taiwan counts as fleeing. Neither was confirmed. What follows an arrest, including the 24-hour rule and exit bans, is in the article on the first 24 hours.

Anyone who wants to share the facts can send a non-confidential outline, with the kind of paper received and its date, 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 71, 71-1, 72, 75, 76, 77, 78, 84, 85, 87, 175, 176-1, 178
• 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.