Liberty Times (LT): There are those who suggest that the prosecutor-general is “defanged” without the now-defunct Special Investigation Division. What are your thoughts on this issue?
Chiang Hui-ming (江惠民): I am not prone to such broad extrapolations, and would rather focus on the overall system.
The public should focus on whether the prosecutorial system functions as intended and enjoys the trust of the public, instead of lining up behind the former Special Investigation Division.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
The now-defunct division was incorporated into the prosecutorial system on April 2, 2007, after Article 63-1 of the Organic Act for Courts (法院組織法) was amended. How it functioned was up to the individual — its existence was even problematic.
Basically, if parties wished to contest a ruling, they would have to appeal to the appellate court one tier up. However, the division was at the level of a third appellate court, with no court ranking above it. Hence, any appeals case that the division decided not to prosecute would be sent to the prosecutor-general, which led to the division being accused of conflicts of interest.
The elimination of the division on Nov. 18, 2016, returned the prosecutorial branch to its normal functions. The system is still capable of handling major cases, despite the division being abolished.
In my opinion, the district prosecutors are quite effective at handling cases. Based on several cases handled by them, I still have great confidence in the prosecutorial system.
Regardless of which level — first, second or third — appellate courts have the power that belonged to the division. That power remains in the prosecutorial system.
At the Supreme Court level, that power is bestowed on me, but I do not see it as a form of authority, but as an obligation. I personally believe that the nation must return to a normal prosecutorial and judicial system.
The division was given great power because it required sufficient personnel and judicial resources to handle cases. That brings up the question of whether local district prosecutors’ offices have sufficient resources to prosecute cases.
If local prosecutors’ offices have sufficient personnel and judicial resources at their disposal, I believe that we do not have to worry about whether the prosecutors’ offices are capable of handling cases without an organization such as the Special Investigation Division.
LT: How would you uphold the integrity of the prosecutorial chain of command without infringing on prosecutorial discretion, which could be interpreted as exercising undue political interference?
Chiang: Judicial officials must have the courage to resist interference and be capable of practicing the law with neutrality. They must prosecute their cases without bias.
The legal mechanism guarding against abuses of authority is found in the Judges Act (法官法), which stipulates that the ratio decidendi [grounds for deciding] must be made in writing when considering the exercise of a compulsory measure, a finding of criminal facts or the application of a law.
When the prosecutor-general disagrees with a prosecutor’s conduct, the former can invoke the power of the office to reassign the case to another prosecutor, which requires the filing of a written justification.
Was the prosecutor-general subjected to interference? Could the decision stand up to scrutiny? The legal documents would answer these questions. The legal mechanism uses transparency to curb abuses.
If a prosecutor disagrees [with being reassigned], I would call in a team of prosecutors to review the situation. Multiple chief prosecutors could weigh in. Should they find the dissenting view reasonable, we would accept that view. Should they reject the dissenting view’s reasoning, then the case is reassigned.
The decision would be documented and anyone who doubts the decision’s integrity can call up the record and see for themselves whether the prosecutor-general or the prosecutor was right.
LT: Former prosecutor-general Huang Shih-ming (黃世銘) has been convicted of leaking secrets to former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) [when both of them were in office]. How would you handle your future communications with the president?
Chiang: I plan on having only interactions that are necessary for discharging my duties with the president and to have no private contact with her. In interactions held during the course of my official duties, I will strictly abide by the rules barring the disclosure of information pertinent to specific investigations and make no mention of their details. I will not report on specific cases or offer any explanations in my interactions with the president.
This is the same position that I publicly affirmed at the Legislative Yuan when answering lawmakers’ questions.
LT: What is your primary goal for the job of prosecutor-general?
Chiang: The establishment of a grand chamber by the Supreme Court or the normalization of oral arguments would definitely have an effect on tasks performed by the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office.
Court proceedings might be live-streamed, so prosecutors should endeavor to be more professional when presenting oral arguments before the court. We plan to invite law professors and experts in various fields to form a think tank so that we can refine prosecutors’ oral arguments and assist the Supreme Court in making the most correct decisions.
As the Nov. 24 mayoral and county commissioner elections approach, the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office plans to investigate election bribery and prevent violence from interfering with the elections.
LT: The Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty hopes that the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office would guarantee the right to remedy settled cases. How will you assist with redressing wrongful convictions?
Chiang: There have been movements in the international community — such as in the UK and the US — to remedy wrongful convictions. The judicial system has had some cases of wrongful convictions. We hope that if prosecutors discover that a case might have been wrongfully convicted, they would assess if there is a way to remedy the case and have the courage to assist with redressing the case so that innocent defendants do not serve a jail sentence that they do not deserve.
We could have a committee serve as a review mechanism, with a few directors or senior-level prosecutors researching the case and providing the chief prosecutor with a “third-party opinion.”
Some nations use a “red teaming” method. Our concept is similar: When nine people agree, one person must perform the role of scrutinizing the case that is under investigation and look for mistakes.
This is the mode adopted by the group investigations that I often cite: Everyone discusses the case, and to provide a different perspective, someone plays the role of the opponent. By clarifying the gaps in cases, the number of wrongful convictions should be greatly reduced.
Translated by staff writers Jake Chung, Jonathan Chin and Sherry Hsiao
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