It has been nearly 50 years since the promulgation of the Administrative Execution Law, during which only minor modifications were made in 1943 and 1947, with the spirit of the Law and major contents remaining unchanged. Recently, the country's political and economic conditions have flourished, leading to major changes in economic conditions and social structure. Strengthening administrative execution efficacy while carrying out legal administration, maintaining social order and enhancing public safety to enhance national competitiveness, while taking into account the people's rights and interests, are the directions towards a nation of democracy and law. The current Law is incomplete, with various deficiencies in execution procedures. The administrative agency lacks the power to execute, which severely influence administrative efficacy, not to mention the lack of concrete and effective protection of people's rights and interests. As such, the Ministry of Justice has followed Administrative Yuan instructions and formed a group of scholars and specialists that comprised a "Research and Correction Committee of Administrative Execution Law" on May 1, 1983 conducting overall reviews of the deficiencies in existing rules and carefully creating amendments. In October 1990, draft amendments of the Law were submitted to the Administrative Yuan for review; the amendments were promulgated by the President on November 11, 1998. The foci of the amendments include stipulations for each administrative procedure and approach, such as the compulsory enforcement of payment obligations according to Public Law being handled by dedicated staff of a dedicated institution set up under the Ministry of Justice. Other foci include strengthening the direct compulsory approach of action or non-action; loosening the change of indirect compulsory enforcement to direct compulsory enforcement; raising maximum penalties to enhance execution efficacy; revising principles of scale, lodging objections and special compensatory systems while protecting and maintaining people's rights and interests, and so on.

    According to Sections 1 and 2 of Article IV and Article XII of this Law, promulgated on November11, 1998, parties that fail to fulfill payment obligations under Public Law shall now be sent to dedicated local Administrative Enforcement Agency institutions, under the Ministry of Justice, instead of the current procedure of sending them to court for compulsory enforcement. The administrative execution officer and other staff are authorized to execute in uniformity, according to compulsory enforcement law provisions. This amendment is a major transformation in the justice and administrative systems; therefore, the establishment of local branches and the Administrative Enforcement Agency shall be expedited. The Ministry of Justice, to coordinate with these amendments, has been driving the "Organization Rules for the Administrative Enforcement Agency of the Ministry of Justice" and "General Organization Rules for the Administrative Enforcement Branches" legislation, which was promulgated by the President on February 3, 1999.

    Current regulations for payment obligations to the courts, according to Public Law, have been increasing with the rising number of cases; these are primarily financial cases and administrative penalties. As court human resources are limited, court execution efficacy is decreasing.. Cases allowed for court submission for compulsory enforcement, prior to these amendments, were limited to those provided in special regulations. Cases can now be submitted to the Administrative Enforcement Branch if there is a failure to make respective payments upon notice by administrative authorities, regardless of the amount involved; they are no longer limited to those provided in special regulations. As a result, with the expansion of execution scope, there will doubtless be an increase in administrative case number. Administrative Enforcement Agency establishment, with local branches and ample human resources and budget, will enhance gov't execution capabilities and tax revenue.

    The primary tasks of the Administrative Enforcement Agency include deciding on and monitoring, reviewing and negotiating compulsory enforcement of payment obligations and their lodged objections, according to Public Law. According to the Ministry of Justice plan, in addition to,there are twelve branches located in Taipei, Panchiao, Taoyuan, Hsinchu, Taichung, Changhua, Chiayi, Tainan, Kaohsiung, Pingtung, Yilan and Hualian, set up according to district, jurisdiction, geography and business complexity. For public convenience, there is one administrative execution officer's office in each county or city without a branch. All branches commenced operation on January 1, 2001, in coordination with the enforcement of Administrative Execution Law.

    In light of the increased caseload in the Taipei district, the Administrative Enforcement Agency of the Ministry of Justice has requested the set up of a Shilin Administrative Enforcement Branch. The establishment of a Shilin Branch could produce a maximum economic benefit of four billion dollars, which not only increases national treasury revenue but also helps settle the pending cases in Taipei and Panchiao, furthering promotion and implementation of state power.