Weng wants swift justice

Judicial Yuan President Weng Yueh-sheng (翁岳生) urged court disciplinary commissions Monday not to hesitate to punish inefficient judges in order to establish a fair and efficient judicial system.

Addressing a meeting of officials from disciplinary commissions of courts at various levels, Weng said judges must exercise self-discipline before they can win social respect. Otherwise, he said, the public will snub all judicial personnel.

In recent years, Weng said, major financial and economic criminal cases, as well as vote-buying offenses, have increased substantially. As those cases can affect the domestic financial market order and even social stability, he said, they often draw close scrutiny from the media and the public.

"Against this backdrop," he went on, "the speed of judges' handling of those criminal cases has become a critical yardstick for people to gauge the performance of judicial personnel."

Noting that the establishment of a just, impartial and efficient judicial system is an urgent expectation of the public, a major goal of judicial reform, an indicator of Taiwan's judicial rights and a pivotal factor in stabilizing the domestic capital market order and investment climate, Weng said judicial personnel should not evade their responsibilities in this regard.

In addition to pushing for an overhaul of the existing criminal procedures to streamline trials and judgments, Weng said that court disciplinary commissions should strengthen their evaluation and supervision of judges to upgrade their efficiency and thus enhance the public's confidence and trust in the judicial system.

Weng said the recent vote-buying scandal surrounding the Kaohsiung city council speaker sparked a public uproar over the snails-pace at which courts have handled similar cash-for-votes charges in the past. In addition, the public indignation over long delays in closing many other major criminal cases has also prompted many pundits to question the effects of the much-touted judicial reforms.

"I feel unease and regret over these developments. We must make an exhaustive self-review to determine whether some inefficient, indecisive and irresponsible judges have made local people blind to the glory of justice," Weng said.