A group of legal experts criticized Chief Prosecutor Eric Chen's (
They said that the Taipei District Court should refuse to accept the case based on Item 1 of Article 303 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (
Other experts, however, said that Eric Chen had not violated the Constitution in questioning the president in connection with first lady Wu Shu-jen's (吳淑珍) indictment on charges of corruption and forgery.
Regarding the president's willingness to relinquish his presidential immunity, Winston Dang (陳重信), director of the Democratic Progressive Party's Department of International Affairs, said in a recent interview with the New York Times that since presidential immunity belongs to the office of president, relinquishing the immunity to criminal prosecution must follow legal procedure and could not be unilaterally decided on by the president himself.
The president is not allowed to serve as a witness in a trial involving the first lady, Dang added.
Some legal experts said that Article 52 of the Constitution is meant to ensure the functioning of the presidency, political stability and foreign affairs, rather than to protect the president as an individual.
One legal expert said that the president made a grave mistake when he decided to give up his presidential immunity to accept the prosecutor's questions without his lawyer's presence, while Eric Chen ignored the intent of Article 52, which could lead to the politicization of the judiciary's role in the case, constitutional controversy and political conflict.
Many experts also say that the intent of Article 52 to guarantee the independence of the judiciary is often ignored. They say that any investigation or indictment of an incumbent president is bound to put the judiciary at the center of a political storm which would threaten and even destroy the judiciary's independence and credibility.
However, legal experts in favor of Eric Chen's decision to interrogate the president believe that he did not violate the Constitution.
They say that Article 52 of the Constitution only stipulates that the president shall not be liable to criminal prosecution, but does not say that the prosecutor is not allowed to list allegations against the president in the indictments of other suspects.
Huang Jui-hua (黃瑞華), president of the Ilan District Court, wrote a letter to the editor of the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times' sister newspaper) on Wednesday accusing Eric Chen and his colleagues of having acted unconstitutionally by investigating the president while still in office.
Article 52 gives the president immunity from criminal investigation unless he is suspected of rebellion or treason, she said.
Huang yesterday said that she neither intended to influence the upcoming court case nor believed judges in the case would be influenced in any way, but was just discussing a constitutional issue, a topic that anyone may raise, and that she had not intended to discuss any "individual case."
"A court president, at any level of the court system, is unlikely to influence a presiding judge today. If he or she still thinks of such a possibility, then he or she is underestimating today's judges," she said.
She made the remarks after being advised in person by Judicial Yuan President Weng Yue-sheng (
Fan Kuang-chun (范光群), secretary-general of the Judicial Yuan, said that the judicial branch had sent memos to all courts reminding them to remain neutral in all cases and to carry out fair and independent trials.
Judges enjoy freedom of expression, but at the same time they should strictly follow guidelines and rules governing their professional behavior, Fan added.
On whether Huang would be disciplined for commenting on the "state affairs fund" case, Fan said only that Weng had spoken to her.
CHAOS: Iranians took to the streets playing celebratory music after reports of Khamenei’s death on Saturday, while mourners also gathered in Tehran yesterday Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in a major attack on Iran launched by Israel and the US, throwing the future of the Islamic republic into doubt and raising the risk of regional instability. Iranian state television and the state-run IRNA news agency announced the 86-year-old’s death early yesterday. US President Donald Trump said it gave Iranians their “greatest chance” to “take back” their country. The announcements came after a joint US and Israeli aerial bombardment that targeted Iranian military and governmental sites. Trump said the “heavy and pinpoint bombing” would continue through the week or as long
TRUST: The KMT said it respected the US’ timing and considerations, and hoped it would continue to honor its commitments to helping Taiwan bolster its defenses and deterrence US President Donald Trump is delaying a multibillion-dollar arms sale to Taiwan to ensure his visit to Beijing is successful, a New York Times report said. The weapons sales package has stalled in the US Department of State, the report said, citing US officials it did not identify. The White House has told agencies not to push forward ahead of Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), it said. The two last month held a phone call to discuss trade and geopolitical flashpoints ahead of the summit. Xi raised the Taiwan issue and urged the US to handle arms sales to
State-run CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) yesterday said that it had confirmed on Saturday night with its liquefied natural gas (LNG) and crude oil suppliers that shipments are proceeding as scheduled and that domestic supplies remain unaffected. The CPC yesterday announced the gasoline and diesel prices will rise by NT$0.2 and NT$0.4 per liter, respectively, starting Monday, citing Middle East tensions and blizzards in the eastern United States. CPC also iterated it has been reducing the proportion of crude oil imports from the Middle East and diversifying its supply sources in the past few years in response to geopolitical risks, expanding
Pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai’s (黎智英) fraud conviction and prison sentence were yesterday overturned by a Hong Kong court, in a surprise legal decision that comes soon after Lai was jailed for 20 years on a separate national security charge. Judges Jeremy Poon (潘兆初), Anthea Pang (彭寶琴) and Derek Pang (彭偉昌) said in the judgement that they allowed the appeal from Lai, and another defendant in the case, to proceed, as a lower court judge had “erred.” “The Court of Appeal gave them leave to appeal against their conviction, allowed their appeals, quashed the convictions and set aside the sentences,” the judges
RSS