The Supreme Court will assign five judges to hear an unprecedented debate on a libel suit brought by Vice President Annette Lu (
Lu had sued The Journalist for publishing a story saying that she had called the magazine's editor-in-chief to spread a rumor that President Chen Shui-bian (
Usually only one judge hears arguments from lawyers in appeals to the Supreme Court, but today, for the first time, five judges will listen to lawyers for both sides debate with each other.
"It will only be a plain debate between lawyers and no new court decision will be handed down at the end of the hearing," said Lee Jin-feng (
"The five assigned judges will evaluate the result of the debate before they come up with a new decision as to whether the high court's verdict should be upheld or the high court should rehear the case," Lee said.
Lee said that the Supreme Court did not summon the plaintiff, Lu, or the seven journalists who are the defendants.
Constitutional Interpretation Article 509 will be the issue the lawyers debate.
The article states that "the press is allowed to raise appropriate questions about any suspicious fact or person," but this applies only to criminal cases.
The defendants believe that their reporting should be protected by the article and that Lu's civil claim should be dropped. Lu had also filed a criminal libel charge against the defendants.
The dispute between The Journalist and Lu flared in November 2000, when the magazine published a story accusing Lu of spreading a rumor that Chen was having an affair with one of his female aides, Democratic Progressive Party Lawmaker Hsiao Bi-khim (
The magazine said Lu spread the rumor in order to unseat Chen.
Lu filed a libel suit on Dec. 21, 2000, demanding a formal apology from the magazine, saying the story had damaged her reputation.
The defendants in the case are editor-in-chief Yang Chao (
On April 10, 2002, Taipei District Court, basing its decision on Article 509, found the defendants not guilty of criminal libel.
However, Judge Lai Yung-hua (賴泱樺) ruled that the story had damaged Lu's reputation, and he therefore ordered the seven defendants to "clarify and admit" their mistake and publish a statement to that effect on the front pages of the nation's 32 newspapers as well as broadcasting it on radio and TV for three days.
On Dec. 13, 2002, the High Court upheld the verdict on appeal but reduced the punishment.
Judge Chang Tsung-chuan (
He declined Lu's request that the defendants should broadcast a clarification on radio and TV for three days, citing their inability to pay.
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