Following a 36-hour review, the National Judge Act (國民法官法) yesterday cleared the legislative floor, providing the legal basis for a lay judge system for criminal offenses, which is expected to go into effect in January 2023.
The act mandates that lay judges, termed “national judges” in the act, take part in the review of cases of crimes warranting a prison term of at least 10 years or premeditated crimes that resulted in death.
Three career judges and six national judges would form the collegiate bench for the reviews, the act states.
Photo: CNA
A guilty verdict would require the consent of career and national judges, and at least two-thirds of all of the members of the bench — otherwise, the bench should acquit or rule in favor of the defendant, it states.
A deliberation of the death penalty would also require the consent of career and national judges, and at least two-thirds of all members on the bench, it adds.
When a prosecutor indicts a suspect in a case filed under the lay judge system, the case files and evidence would not be forwarded to the presiding court, and the indictment would not contain any language that might influence the court’s ruling, it states.
As soon as an indictment is made, the prosecutor should provide the defendant with any evidence against them, except in cases where doing so would negatively affect the review of another case, infringe on the privacy or commercial secrets of a third party, or threaten other people’s safety, it states.
National judges must be allowed to exercise their authority independently and in good faith, and be free from any influences, it states.
National judges who leak secrets shared with them in the discharging of their duties would face a prison term of up to a year or a fine of up to NT$100,000 (US$3,387), it adds.
National judges would be randomly selected by local governments from among Republic of China citizens who are at least 23 years old and have lived within a court’s jurisdiction for at least four months.
Employees selected to serve as national judges are to be awarded leave for the time spent in court.
National judges would be reimbursed about NT$3,000 per day, a Judicial Yuan estimate showed.
The president, the vice president, legislators, city or county councilors, central and local government agency heads and employees, people who have been stripped of their civil rights, those who have not finished compulsory education, former or active judges, and lawyers are not allowed to serve as national judges, it states.
Also, people who are detained, imprisoned, have been convicted or are in rehabilitation cannot be selected, it adds.
National judges who take bribes, engage in quid pro quo arrangements or seek other undue benefits would face a prison term of up to 10 years and a possible fine of NT$2 million, while those seeking to bribe a national judge would face a prison term of up to seven years and a possible fine of up to NT$1 million, it states.
The lay judge system would undergo a trial period of six years starting on Jan. 1, 2023, with the Judicial Yuan having the authority to extend or reduce the trial, it states.
The Judicial Yuan is to evaluate the system’s efficacy after the trial period and make suggestions to the Legislative Yuan on amending the system, it adds.
MISINFORMATION: The generated content tends to adopt China’s official stance, such as ‘Taiwan is currently governed by the Chinese central government,’ the NSB said Five China-developed artificial intelligence (AI) language models exhibit cybersecurity risks and content biases, an inspection conducted by the National Security Bureau (NSB) showed. The five AI tools are: DeepSeek, Doubao (豆包), Yiyan (文心一言), Tongyi (通義千問) and Yuanbao (騰訊元寶), the bureau said, advising people to remain vigilant to protect personal data privacy and corporate business secrets. The NSB said it, in accordance with the National Intelligence Services Act (國家情報工作法), has reviewed international cybersecurity reports and intelligence, and coordinated with the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau and the National Police Agency’s Criminal Investigation Bureau to conduct an inspection of China-made AI language
LIMITS: While China increases military pressure on Taiwan and expands its use of cognitive warfare, it is unwilling to target tech supply chains, the report said US and Taiwan military officials have warned that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) could implement a blockade within “a matter of hours” and need only “minimal conversion time” prior to an attack on Taiwan, a report released on Tuesday by the US Senate’s China Economic and Security Review Commission said. “While there is no indication that China is planning an imminent attack, the United States and its allies and partners can no longer assume that a Taiwan contingency is a distant possibility for which they would have ample time to prepare,” it said. The commission made the comments in its annual
DETERMINATION: Beijing’s actions toward Tokyo have drawn international attention, but would likely bolster regional coordination and defense networks, the report said Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s administration is likely to prioritize security reforms and deterrence in the face of recent “hybrid” threats from China, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said. The bureau made the assessment in a written report to the Legislative Yuan ahead of an oral report and questions-and-answers session at the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee tomorrow. The key points of Japan’s security reforms would be to reinforce security cooperation with the US, including enhancing defense deployment in the first island chain, pushing forward the integrated command and operations of the Japan Self-Defense Forces and US Forces Japan, as
‘TROUBLEMAKER’: Most countries believe that it is China — rather than Taiwan — that is undermining regional peace and stability with its coercive tactics, the president said China should restrain itself and refrain from being a troublemaker that sabotages peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday. Lai made the remarks after China Coast Guard vessels sailed into disputed waters off the Senkaku Islands — known as the Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台) in Taiwan — following a remark Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi made regarding Taiwan. Takaichi during a parliamentary session on Nov. 7 said that a “Taiwan contingency” involving a Chinese naval blockade could qualify as a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan, and trigger Tokyo’s deployment of its military for defense. Asked about the escalating tensions
RSS