A court in Geneva has confirmed Taiwan’s eligibility to sue the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) for referring to Taiwan as part of China, a Taiwanese official posted in Switzerland said on Wednesday.
In a verdict delivered on Tuesday to the Geneva bureau of Taiwan’s representative office in Switzerland, the Geneva First Instance Court ruled that the Republic of China (Taiwan) is an eligible plaintiff in the case on the grounds that it possesses all the elements of statehood and that its government holds and effectively exercises sovereignty over its territory, bureau chief Shen Lyu-shun (沈呂巡) said.
The verdict also stated that whether the country is a member of the UN and whether it has diplomatic relations with Switzerland are of no relevance to the case, Shen said.
“The ruling carries not only legal significance but also diplomatic significance,” Shen said.
In July last year, Taiwan filed a lawsuit with the court against the ISO, demanding that the organization correct Taiwan’s designation from “Taiwan Province, China” to “Republic of China (Taiwan)” in the ISO 3166 country codes list.
Taiwan filed the lawsuit after the ISO failed to respond positively to Taiwan’s repeated requests over the name issue.
The ISO has argued that the 3166 list was created in 1974 in accordance with the UN’s practice of referring to Taiwan as “Taiwan Province, China” and that the term was not coined by the ISO.
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 last year and February this year.
Henri-Philippe Sambuc, the lawyer representing Taiwan, expressed confidence on Wednesday that Taiwan stands an 80 percent chance of winning the case now that the court has confirmed the Republic of China’s statehood and legal personality.
Sambuc said as a country, the Republic of China has the right to decide its own name and that he does not see how the court can allow the ISO to refuse to comply with the name chosen by the country.
The ISO spokesman was not immediately available for comment.
The Geneva-based ISO is an international standard-setting body comprised of representatives from various national standards organizations.
Founded on Feb. 23, 1947, the organization promulgates world-wide industrial and commercial standards.
The navy’s new 10,600-tonne warship is on Tuesday to be christened the ROCN Yushan (玉山), as the nation’s indigenous shipbuilding program reaches a milestone, sources said yesterday. The vessel, previously referred to as the “new landing platform dock,” was at a shipyard with its name freshly painted on the hull with the number 1401, the Liberty Times (the sister paper of the Taipei Times) reported yesterday, citing an unnamed observer. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇), a member of the legislature’s National Defense and Foreign Affairs Committee, confirmed the report in a Facebook post. The NT$4.635 billion (US$163 million) ship is designed
DIALOGUE SOUGHT: Washington said it was concerned about the pattern of ongoing attempts to intimidate Taiwan after the 10th day of PLA activity in the region The US on Monday urged Beijing to stop its multifaceted pressure campaign against Taiwan after China sent 25 military jets into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone. “The United States notes with concern the pattern of ongoing PRC [People’s Republic of China] attempts to intimidate the region, including Taiwan,” a US Department of State spokesperson said in an e-mail response to questions. “We urge Beijing to cease its military, diplomatic and economic pressure against Taiwan, and instead engage in meaningful dialogue with Taiwan.” The Ministry of National Defense said that 25 Chinese military aircraft entered the zone on Monday. It was the 10th straight
INTERNATIONAL WEED DAY: Advocates are to hold a demonstration to push for the decriminalization of marijuana and allowing its use for treatment of certain conditions It is time for Taiwanese society to examine the medical benefits of cannabis, in line with the international trend to lift restrictions on and decriminalize the use of marijuana, two legislators said yesterday, ahead of tomorrow’s “Rally for Equal Rights for Cannabis” in Taipei. Taiwan is one of a few countries holding a “420 International Weed Day” event — which usually takes place around the April 20 weekend — as most nations have canceled it this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, said organizer Green Sensation, which is composed of doctors, lawyers and entertainers, among others. The group released a
‘NOT ENTHUSIASTIC’: People who have been approved by the CECC as special cases who need to travel, such as foreign diplomats, would be able to receive a vaccine The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday expanded the eligibility for COVID-19 vaccination to the fourth priority group — people who need to travel abroad for special reasons — adding that out-of-pocket vaccines would be available from Wednesday next week. Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, said although Taiwan’s COVID-19 vaccination program was on Monday expanded to include the top three groups in the priority list, people are still “not enthusiastic” about getting vaccinated. “Only 1,220 people received a vaccine shot on Tuesday, and a total of 27,113 people have received COVID-19 vaccination” so far, he
RSS