Lawmakers yesterday approved the budget for the state-sponsored Legal Aid Foundation, along with a resolution that asked the foundation to find out why almost 90 percent of Aboriginal litigants have decided to appear in court without the foundation’s attorneys.
The foundation’s mission is to assist people who are in need of professional legal help, but cannot afford legal fees, so they can exercise their constitutional rights to litigation and equality.
It has 22 branches and legal service centers nationwide dedicated to helping Aborigines.
According to the budget proposal, the foundation’s projected expenditure and revenue for the next fiscal year are each total NT$1.52 billion (US$50.05 million).
Since the launch of a special project that assigns lawyers to accompany Aboriginal litigants to court, 8,076 litigants have obtained help from the foundation, a motion sponsored by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chou Chun-mi (周春米) said.
However, the percentage of Aborigines who have declined the foundation’s help, 87 percent — or 83,057 people — far exceeds the percentage who accepted it, the motion states.
The foundation should investigate the discrepancy to find out if the reason that so many Aborigines have not sought the foundation’s help is because they do not know about its services, the large number of Aboriginal litigants charged with endangering public safety or other reasons, and then report to the legislature’s Judiciary and Organic Laws Committee within two months, it says.
The motion was cosponsored by DPP legislators Tuan Yi-kang (段宜康), Chung Kung-chao (鍾孔紹) and Yu Mei-nu (尤美女).
In other developments at the Legislative Yuan, during cross-party negotiations lawmakers reached an agreement to have Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) report on the special budget for the procurement of 66 F-16Vs to the legislature on Tuesday next week and take questions.
The budget for the fighters totals NT$247.2 billion.
The lawmakers also requested that Minister of National Defense Yen De-fa (嚴德發), Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics Minister Chu Tzer-ming (朱澤民) and Minister of Finance Su Jain-rong (蘇建榮) attend the Tuesday meeting.
During later negotiations, DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) proposed allowing the Legislative Yuan to recess on Dec. 17 so that lawmakers seeking re-election can focus on their campaigns.
The proposal was backed by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and People First Party caucuses.
Legislative Speaker Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全) asked the New Power Party, which has not given its consent, to consider Ker’s proposal.
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