In order to exercise the powers of control,the Control Yuan, according to Article 95 of the Constitution of the Republic of China, shall review the orders and all related documents issued by the Executive Yuan, Ministries, Councils and Commissions. To carry out the power of control, Article 26 of the Control Act stipulates that a Control Yuan member with a control license, or personnel assigned by the Control Yuan and holding an investigation license, may go to the offices of public or private organizations to inspect files and relevant documents. The heads of these organizations, troops or groups and other related personnel shall not have the right to refuse such inspections. The Control Yuan exercises the powers of impeachment, censure, and proposing corrective measures under the condition that there has been unlawful action or misconduct by public servants or administrative organizations. Specific evidence is needed to prove unlawful conduct on the part of public servants or in administrative measures. Thus the discovery of the truth is actually the basis for the powers of censure, impeachment, and proposing corrective measures when conducting investigations.
The Control Yuan’s investigations can be divided into three categories: commissioned investigations, assigned investigations, and self-initiated investigations. Commissioned investigations are those which entrust related organizations to investigate people's complaints. Assigned investigations are those in which members, in rotation, are assigned by either the Control Yuan or by committee resolution to carry out an investigation. Self-initiated investigations are those in which members, acting on the basis of people's complaints or other information, register with the appropriate organization and initiate investigations of their own accord. The Control Yuan will assign investigation officers to help with the investigations for either Assigned Investigations or Self-initiated Investigations.