Judges say their workloads are lethal burdens

The death of a district court judge almost two weeks ago has called attention to the excessive workloads foisted upon Taiwan's judges.

When Lin Hsiao-cheng (林孝城) died on Jan. 14, the official cause of death was liver cancer. But some of his colleagues who were aware of his work habits believe his job may have contributed to his death.

"When he first came to after days in a coma, he remembered nothing but his work," Huang Wen-luan, head of the Taipei District Court, said.

"Unable to speak, he wrote down his last words, which his wife had thought were meant for her and the family," Huang said. "But he wasn't writing to his family, he was writing notes on his uncompleted work."

Huang said Lin's death was a great loss to his colleagues. It also caused concern among judges that their health could also be at stake as long as their working conditions remain unchanged, Huang said.

"Increasing the number of judges can never keep up with the number of court cases. So many of us work through day and night," Huang said.

The head of the nation's judiciary, Judicial Yuan President Weng Yueh-sheng (翁岳生), heard about judges' worries over their workloads yesterday during a regular meeting at the Judicial Yuan.

Citing Lin's death, Taipei District Court judge Chen Chih-hsiang (陳志祥) asked how Weng has felt about the judges' excessive work burdens.

Weng said the Judicial Yuan has been considering the problem. He added, however, that the matter is so complicated that it cannot be resolved in the short term.

Heavy caseloads are common among judges at all levels of the judicial system.

In response to the problem, the Judicial Yuan has been promoting a number of changes, ranging from changing the appeals process to increasing the number of judges.

Chen pointed to paperwork as a major source of judges' excessive burdens.

"The judge's job is not to write, but to render correct decisions. The very reason why so many judges have been worn out is that they have been required to do things that shouldn't have been part of their job," he said.

Chen said the judges are currently required to write formal reports on their decisions. The reports must include the reasons for prosecution, the procedures and substance of the trial, as well as the judge's reasons for reaching his or her decision.

Chen said it is wrong for judges to have to spend so much time producing reports, which he claimed eat into the time that is devoted to deliberating over the merits of cases.

"It might take less than an hour for a judge to sit on a simple case. But he or she might have to spend another three hours writing up the report on the decision. As far as I'm concerned, the confusing role of judges -- whether they're supposed to be writers or judges -- is central to everything concerning the existing problems of the judiciary," Chen said.