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.
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 2:23pm today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was 5.4 kilometers northeast of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 34.9 km, according to the CWA. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was the highest in Hualien County, where it measured 2 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 1 in Yilan county, Taichung, Nantou County, Changhua County and Yunlin County, the CWA said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
RSS