The work is a case study focusing on the Ancestor Worship Guilds, a collective ritual property, whose office is passed down through generations. The work specifically looks into the act of the passing down, because the successorship is specific for its passing down through the male line – hence, it excludes the female successors to office. This creates tension in between the guilds place in law – and what laws apply for its internal governance, and in between the gender equality, which is also part of the Taiwanese law.
The work first introduces the special legal character of the guilds in the Taiwanese law and also, how did this character historically evolve since the establishment of the Republic of China. It then takes this knowledge and puts it into the societal tension regarding the gender inequality. After the theoretical introduction, the work shifts its focus to how is this tension reflected in law. For that purpose, it first looks into the Interpretation No. 728 that was created by the judges of the Constitutional Court, and whom also present their views towards the guilds successorship situation. This interpretation is the centre of the work, as it constitutionally reassures the guilds legal position and the matter of their internal governance. The work also works with the laws that are undeniably connected to the guilds specific legal character – the Act for Ancestor Worship Guild, which includes the laws specifically enacted for this type of collective property, and the CEDAW Enforcement Act, which is the contrast for the specific legal position of the guilds in the Taiwanese law, as its focus is on the gender equality. The work then introduces some of the court rulings that reflect the mentioned existence of the tension, and hence share what kind of real impact does the guilds legal position have towards the people involved.
The main research question: How is the specific legal status of guilds manifested in the selected court rulings on succession? 
Secondary research questions:
How has the legal status of guilds evolved historically and how that shaped their current autonomy regarding the internal governance?
What position does the Interpretation No. 728 take on the status of CEDAW within the Taiwanese law?
To what extent do selected court rulings reflect the tension between the guilds special legal status and demands for gender equality in the matters of succession?