Taiwanese Law – Flexible Continuing Education Programme (in preparation)
Photo: Leonard Kosub
Due to its location and political situation, Taiwan is of growing importance in terms of geostrategy and security policy. Moreover, as the world’s leading producer of semiconductors, Taiwan plays a crucial role regarding existential technology policy. Interest in Taiwan has also increased among students, and many are choosing Taiwan instead of the People’s Republic of China when looking for study abroad programmes. Nonetheless, there are only a few degree programmes on Taiwan in Germany, and none of them in the field of law. Therefore, the only option for lawyers who want to specialise in Taiwan is to pursue a double or second degree in sinology with a focus on Taiwan.
Initiated by Prof Weitzdörfer’s predecessor, Prof Hans-Peter Marutschke, more than ten years ago, there have been continuous efforts and preparations to expand the range of programmes offered by FernUniversität Hagen from the established programme on Japanese law to include the legal systems of other East Asian countries. Since Prof Weitzdörfer took over the Junior Professorship of East Asian Law, this long-standing objective has moved to the forefront of the department’s agenda.
Foto: Leonard KosubFollowing the relaunch of the fully updated continuing education programme on Japanese law in January 2024 and the debut of the new continuing education programme on Korean law in autumn 2025 – the Department’s first offering to include an East Asian legal system other than Japanese law – the portfolio will soon expand to include a third programme: “Foundations of Taiwanese law”. This curriculum represents the first university-level certificate in Taiwanese law outside of East Asia.
The programme’s eleven new course books are being developed by seasoned experts from prestigious universities in Taiwan, commissioned by Prof Weitzdörfer and his team member Leonard Kosub during their trip to Taiwan in May 2024. In line with the continuing education programme on Korean law, the Taiwanese law curriculum has been structured analogously to the established Japanese law programme. We anticipate offering graduates of all three continuing education programmes full credit recognition towards a planned LLM in East Asian Law.
Further information will be available on this website shortly. The basic requirements for participation in the continuing education programme and the examination regulations coincide with those of the Japanese law course, which can be found here.
If you have any questions concerning the new programme or would like to register as a prospective student, please contact us at eastasianlaw.
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Module 0: Methodological Approach (10 ECTS)
Course unit RV – Introduction to Comparative Law
Module 1: Public Law (10 ECTS)
Course unit T1 – Taiwan: Society, Politics and Economy – Prof Yu-Fang Hsu (Soochow University)
Course unit T2 – Historical Background of the Private Law System – Prof Jia-He Lin (National Chengchi University)
Course unit T3 – Judicial System in the Past and Present – Prof Ling-Ching Fu (National Chengchi University)
Course unit T4 – Constitutional Law I: State Organisation Law – Prof Po-Yen Hu (Soochow University)
Course unit T5 – Constitutional Law II: Fundamental Rights – Prof Chien-Liang Lee (Academia Sinica)
Course unit T6 – Criminal Law – Prof Huang-Yu Wang (National Taiwan University) / Prof Heng-Da Hsu (National Taiwan University)
Module 2: Private Law (10 ECTS)
Course unit T7 – Private Law I: Overview – Prof Cheng-Hsien Hsu (National Chengchi University) / Prof Ming-En Hsiang (National Chengchi University)
Course unit T8 – Private Law II: General Part of the Taiwanese Civil Code – Prof Sung-Mao Huang (Academia Sinica)
Course unit T9 – Private Law III: General Part of Contract Law – Prof Ming-En Hsiang (National Chengchi University)
Course unit T10 – Private Law IV: Special Part of Contract Law – TBC
Course unit T11 – Private Law V: Property Law – TBC
Seminar (10 ECTS)
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In addition, the following elective modules are being developed and will be offered as optional units in the future:
Elective module 3: Specialisation in Private Law (10 ECTS)
Course unit T12 – Family Law – TBC
Course unit T13 – Management without Mandate and Unjust Enrichment – TBC
Course unit T14 – Tort Law – TBC
Elective module 4: Specialisation in Taiwanese Labour Law (10 ECTS)
Developed in cooperation with the Faculty of Law at National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University
Elective module 5: Specialisation in Taiwanese Intellectual Property Law and Technology Law (10 ECTS)
Developed in cooperation with the Faculty of Law at National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University
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The modules mentioned above are thematically and chronologically self-contained. This organisational principle allows you to structure your studies in a clear and flexible manner and thus adapt the duration of your studies, your study times, and, above all, the distribution of your workload to suit your individual needs. All modules of this continuing education programme are offered continuously and are tailored to ensure that they can be successfully completed within one semester. However, you are not restricted to semester times and can start and complete a module at any time.
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This programme is aimed at anyone who has a particular interest in Taiwanese law, either professionally or personally. Prior knowledge of law or knowledge of the Chinese language is not required.
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The standard fee for this programme is EUR 2,000 (payment in instalments possible). This includes access to the three core modules, including taking the final module examinations as well as support and participation in the concluding seminar, for up to five semesters. If you need more time for your studies after the end of five semesters, an additional fee of EUR 150 will be charged for each additional semester.
As soon as the optional elective modules are available, a fee of EUR 500.00 will be charged for each module selected. You can re-register for an additional semester free of charge for each elective module you have taken. If you have already taken this continuing education programme in the past, you can resume your studies by taking one or more elective modules at this price, at no additional cost, and receive a new certificate.
According to the new examination regulations, as of 2025 the fee for the continuing education programmes on Korean and Japanese law can be reduced by a 25% per module upon recognition (EUR 500). It is generally always possible to transfer Module 0 credits from other continuing education programmes to this one, but concluding seminars from other programmes cannot be credited.
Photo: Sebastian Weidenbacher
I completed the continuing education programme on Japanese law while preparing for the First Judicial Examination and enrolled in the programme on Korean law right after. The programme’s focus on comparative law helped me to better understand the connections within German law and thus achieve a double-digit score in my oral examination.
Sebastian Weidenbacher, translator and law student
Photo: Dirk Schüßler-Langeheine
My area of expertise is patent law, and I work extensively for Japanese clients. My studies at the FernUniversität in Hagen have helped me develop this specialisation in Japanese law at an early stage and to engage intensively with the differences, but also the similarities, between German and Japanese law.
Dr Dirk Schüßler-Langeheine, attorney-at-law
