Judges are human and therefore make mistakes. Despite this, given the level of trust and responsibility that their profession entails and enjoys, they must be held to a higher standard of accountability.
Taiwan’s judges have been in the headlines all too often this year for alleged actions both on and off the bench — and frequently behind closed doors — headlines that have brought the judiciary into disrepute. Prosecutors are probing several cases that raised questions about the judges and prosecutors involved because guilty verdicts were abruptly reversed on appeal. It looks like some “tough love” is needed if the reputation of the judiciary and the judicial system is to be restored.
On Wednesday, the Control Yuan impeached Supreme Court Judge Hsiao Yang-kuei (蕭仰歸) and Taiwan High Court Presiding Judge Kao Ming-che (高明哲) in connection with the overturning of a guilty verdict handed down to Hsiao’s son, Hsiao Hsien-luen (蕭賢綸), in a 2008 hit-and-run case.
The Keelung District Court found the younger Hsiao guilty and sentenced him to six months in prison and two years on probation, which some might have thought was a relatively light sentence to begin with, even before the prison term was converted into a fine. Nevertheless, he appealed the verdict to the High Court, which in January declared him not guilty. The Control Yuan determined that the elder Hsiao had lobbied the judges in his son’s case in Keelung and at the High Court, while his old friend Kao — who was presiding over the son’s appeal — had lobbied fellow High Court judges to overturn the initial verdict.
Both the Control Yuan and the Taipei Prosecutors’ Office launched investigations in August into alleged improprieties in the younger Hsiao’s trials. However, questions should have been raised much earlier about why Kao, as a friend of the family, did not recuse himself — or be forced to recuse himself — from hearing the appeal. This is a prime example of why the Code of Practices governing judges’ conduct needs to be overhauled or a new, stronger, “judges’ law” enacted.
Control Yuan member Lee Ful-dien (李復甸) said Hsiao extending help to his son was simply human nature, but “not something a father should do when he is a judge.” Helping a child in trouble is one thing; trying to shield them from the law and the consequences of their own actions is another. More so for judges (and elected officials), but equally true for parents no matter what their jobs.
Hsiao Yang-kuei and Kao are only the latest in a growing list of judges facing disciplinary action: High Court Judge Yang Ping-chen (楊炳禎), under investigation for bribery, was suspended in mid-August over allegations he visited prostitutes during office hours. In July, his fellow High Court judges Tsai Kuang-chih (蔡光治) and Chen Jung-ho (陳榮和) were detained on suspicion of taking bribes.
This list makes it abundantly clear that the Judicial Reform Foundation’s call for a mechanism to weed out unqualified judges is long overdue. When the legislature was reviewing his nomination, new Judicial Yuan President Rai Hau-min (賴浩敏) promised to protect the independence of the judiciary, remove incompetent judges and safeguard people’s rights during trials. If he was serious, drafting a judges’ law should be the first thing on his to-do list.
Now that the Control Yuan has issued its report on Hsiao Yang-kuei and Kao, they will face the Public Functionary Disciplinary Sanction Commission. However, civil service sanctions and demerits are not enough if the government is to be taken seriously when it talks about stamping out corruption and reforming the judiciary. Both men have proclaimed their innocence, so it is only right for them and the country that they have their day in court — on the other side of the bench.
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