Value judicial experience
KMT Legislator Chen Chien-min (陳健民) recently said he plans to propose an amendment to the Organic Law of the Judicial Yuan (司法院組織法) to set an age ceiling of 65 on the position of grand justice ("Proposed limits for judiciary chiefs misguided," Feb. 27, Page 8). I don't think this proposal is reasonable.
Does age really matter? Let's take the US, which has a longer judicial history than the ROC, as an example.
There is no restriction on the age of US Supreme Court justices, nor on their tenure. A Supreme Court justice can serve until he or she dies or voluntarily resigns.
Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, now aged 79, has served on the bench of the US Supreme Court for more than 31 years.
Another famous justice, Oliver W. Holmes, retired from the Supreme Court at the age of 91 and died at 93. Despite his age, he wrote many remarkable works on key judicial cases which are still appreciated by jurists and practitioners.
In the highest court of the land, the work of a judge requires knowledge as well as experience. Older justices' invariably have more experience. Besides, as long as his or her intellectual abilities remain honed, age has no impact.
When the workload get too much, the Judicial Yuan could hire assistants to help the grand justices handle research and the drafting of legal documents.
I believe it is important to ensure political independence in the work of grand justices and it's no secret that younger people tend to be more wrap-ped up in the politics of the day.
Especially when it comes to interpretating the Constitution, an elder person's relatively detached, unbiased discernment is vital to the development of human rights in this country.
True, the government should promote young jurists as grand justices.
But at the same time, they should value the seasoned wisdom of old jurists.
Martin Chen
Taipei
More to the point
You cited Minister of Foreign Affairs Eugene Chien (簡又新) as saying that "Taiwan and Iraq have had only rare official contacts since they severed diplomatic ties in 1981" ("Eugene Chien fears for reporters' safety in Iraq," Feb. 20, page 3).
Iraq recognized the PRC in 1958 and has been known for being extremely unfriendly toward Taiwan. Therefore, Tai-pei's ability to offer even limited help seems quite optimistic.
Markus Matthes
Taipei
Could Asia be on the verge of a new wave of nuclear proliferation? A look back at the early history of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which recently celebrated its 75th anniversary, illuminates some reasons for concern in the Indo-Pacific today. US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin recently described NATO as “the most powerful and successful alliance in history,” but the organization’s early years were not without challenges. At its inception, the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty marked a sea change in American strategic thinking. The United States had been intent on withdrawing from Europe in the years following
My wife and I spent the week in the interior of Taiwan where Shuyuan spent her childhood. In that town there is a street that functions as an open farmer’s market. Walk along that street, as Shuyuan did yesterday, and it is next to impossible to come home empty-handed. Some mangoes that looked vaguely like others we had seen around here ended up on our table. Shuyuan told how she had bought them from a little old farmer woman from the countryside who said the mangoes were from a very old tree she had on her property. The big surprise
The issue of China’s overcapacity has drawn greater global attention recently, with US Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen urging Beijing to address its excess production in key industries during her visit to China last week. Meanwhile in Brussels, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen last week said that Europe must have a tough talk with China on its perceived overcapacity and unfair trade practices. The remarks by Yellen and Von der Leyen come as China’s economy is undergoing a painful transition. Beijing is trying to steer the world’s second-largest economy out of a COVID-19 slump, the property crisis and
As former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) wrapped up his visit to the People’s Republic of China, he received his share of attention. Certainly, the trip must be seen within the full context of Ma’s life, that is, his eight-year presidency, the Sunflower movement and his failed Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement, as well as his eight years as Taipei mayor with its posturing, accusations of money laundering, and ups and downs. Through all that, basic questions stand out: “What drives Ma? What is his end game?” Having observed and commented on Ma for decades, it is all ironically reminiscent of former US president Harry