Amendments to the Regulations of Audio Recording in Court and Their Use and Preservation (法庭錄音及其利用保存辦法) are aimed at protecting the rights of defendants, Judicial Yuan senior officials said.
The amendments ensure that video footage, audio recordings and written court transcripts of cases where prosecutors are seeking the death penalty or life imprisonment are stored permanently and that such material is made available to defendants on request, officials said.
Under the amendments such material is to come under the purview of the Archives Act (檔案法), Article 11 of which states: “Permanent records shall be transferred to the central archives authority-in-charge. The regulation governing such transfers shall be drafted by the central archives authority-in-charge and to be approved by the Executive Yuan.”
The amendments would enhance transparency of the judiciary system, improve the quality and efficacy of court proceedings, increase public trust in legal institutions, and also protect the rights of defendants and lawyers, officials said.
A senior judge, speaking on request of anonymity, said the new measures would allow more access to court audio and video recordings, because presiding judges in the past have mostly denied the requests of defendants’ legal teams to inspect this kind of material.
He said this led many people to believe that judges were trying to evade public scrutiny of court proceedings.
The judges’ refusal to allow access to recordings was due to a genuine concern that opening up court documents would lead to the leaking of personal information, he said.
The judge said he believed the potential for such event to occur would reduced following the amendments, as anyone who distributes audio or video recordings taken in court, or uses them in illicit ways, can be punished with a maximum of three months in jail, or a fine of NT$30,000.
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the
A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or
RSS