Anyone may arrest a person caught committing an offense or discovered immediately afterward under Code of Criminal Procedure Article 88. An urgent compelled appearance without a prior warrant is permitted only in Article 88-1's listed urgent circumstances. If a prosecutor, after questioning, considers pretrial detention necessary during an investigation, an application to the court must generally be made within 24 hours from arrest or compelled appearance (Article 93). Statutory obstacles, such as transport and limited waits for counsel or an interpreter, are excluded (Article 93-1). Before questioning, the person must be informed of the allegation, right to silence, right to counsel and right to request favorable evidence (Article 95). A suspect under police investigation may choose counsel at any time (Article 27).
Who can arrest a person caught in the act?
Anyone may arrest a person caught in the act. Article 88(1)–(2) defines this as an offense being committed or discovered immediately after commission. A person pursued as the offender, or clearly suspected because of a weapon, stolen goods or traces of crime on the person or clothing, is treated similarly under paragraph 3.
現行犯，不問何人得逕行逮捕之。犯罪在實施中或實施後即時發覺者，為現行犯。（刑事訴訟法第88條第1項、第2項）
Unofficial English summary (not an official translation): Article 88 allows any person to arrest an offender caught during commission or immediately afterward.
When may police or prosecutors compel appearance urgently without a warrant?
Article 88-1(1) requires urgency plus one of four situations: an accomplice is strongly suspected based on a person caught in the act and supporting facts; a person escaped from custody or execution; a strongly suspected person fled during a police check, except for an apparently minor offense with a maximum of one year, short-term detention or a fine only; or a serious offense punishable by death, life imprisonment or a minimum of five years, with substantial suspicion and facts showing flight risk.
A prosecutor carrying out the measure personally may dispense with the warrant. Judicial police may act without reporting first only when urgency prevents it; they must immediately request a warrant afterward, and release the person if it is not issued. The person and family must promptly be told they may choose counsel to attend (Article 88-1(2)–(3)).
What must I be told, and where must I be taken?
On arrest or compelled appearance, officers must state the reason and the Article 95(1) matters at the scene and attend to the person's body and reputation. They must give written notice of the reason to the person and designated family or friends (Article 89). A defendant brought in under a warrant or arrested while wanted must promptly be taken to the designated place; if arrival within 24 hours is impossible, the person must first be taken to a nearer court or prosecutors' office to check identity (Article 91).
How is the 24-hour period calculated?
A defendant or suspect brought in through arrest or compelled appearance must be questioned promptly. During an investigation, if a prosecutor then considers pretrial detention necessary, the prosecutor must apply to the competent court within 24 hours from the arrest or compelled appearance, stating the facts, law, evidence and reasons and submitting the case materials (Article 93(1)–(2)).
If no pretrial detention application is made, the prosecutor must release the defendant. Article 93(3) also permits bail, entrusting the person to a custodian or residence restrictions where statutory pretrial detention grounds exist but an application is unnecessary; if those measures cannot be used and pretrial detention is necessary, the prosecutor may still seek court pretrial detention. The statutory excluded periods below affect the 24-hour calculation.
Which periods are excluded from the 24 hours?
Article 93-1(1) excludes only listed obstacles from the periods in Articles 91 and 93(2), without allowing unnecessary delay:
- Unavoidable delay from transport disruption or other force majeure.
- Time spent transporting the person.
- Hours when questioning is barred under Article 100-3(1).
- A sudden health condition that in fact prevents questioning.
- Waiting for chosen counsel to arrive, up to four hours; the statute also covers specified appointed-counsel or support-person waits.
- Waiting for a needed interpreter, up to six hours.
- Waiting for bail or a custodian after the prosecutor's order, up to four hours.
- Time spent in court habeas-corpus proceedings.
Questioning is barred during these excluded periods. If an obstacle prevents transfer to court within 24 hours, the prosecutor must explain it in the pretrial detention application (Article 93-1(2)–(3)).
What rights must be explained before questioning?
Article 95(1) requires notice of all suspected offenses (and any later change), the right to remain silent without making a statement against one's will, the right to choose counsel and request legal aid if eligible (including low- or lower-middle-income households and Indigenous people), and the right to request investigation of favorable evidence. If an unrepresented defendant says counsel has been chosen, questioning must stop immediately unless the defendant agrees to continue (Article 95(2)).
When can counsel be chosen and meet the person?
A defendant may choose defense counsel at any time, as may a suspect questioned by judicial police (Article 27(1)). A legal representative, spouse, lineal blood relative, collateral blood relative within the third degree, household head or family member may independently choose counsel for the person (Article 27(2)).
Counsel may meet and correspond with a detained defendant, subject to the evidence-based restrictions specified in Article 34(1). For an arrested defendant or suspect during an investigation, meetings and correspondence generally may not be restricted, but the meeting is limited to one hour and one occasion; its duration is excluded from the Article 93-1 clock. A prosecutor may temporarily delay a meeting for a justified urgent reason while specifying a prompt time and place (Article 34(2)–(3)).
被告得隨時選任辯護人。犯罪嫌疑人受司法警察官或司法警察調查者，亦同。（刑事訴訟法第27條第1項）
Unofficial English summary (not an official translation): Article 27(1) permits a defendant, and a suspect under judicial-police investigation, to choose counsel at any time.
Must questioning be recorded, and may police question at night?
Questioning must be continuously audio-recorded and, when necessary, continuously video-recorded, except for an urgent situation recorded in the written minutes. A discrepancy between the minutes and a recording is generally inadmissible to that extent (Articles 100-1 and 100-2).
Police questioning is generally barred at night. Exceptions include express consent, a nighttime identity check after arrest, permission from a judge or prosecutor, and urgency. A person who requests immediate questioning must be questioned promptly. “Night” means after sunset and before sunrise (Article 100-3).
When might legal advice help?
Arrest and first questioning move quickly. Prompt advice can help check the legal reason, the 24-hour calculation, and how to exercise silence and counsel rights. This is general information, not advice for an individual case.