Civil groups yesterday joined the Taiwan Jury Association and the New Power Party (NPP) in opposing the Judicial Yuan’s proposed “lay judge system” bill, instead calling for a jury system, which they said would curtail corruption, so-called “dinosaur judges” and political interference.
Attorney Jerry Cheng (鄭文龍), former association director, criticized the Judicial Yuan and the ruling Democratic Progressive Party for promoting a bill for the lay judge system, which the Executive Yuan approved last month, and could become law after a third reading and legislative vote later this year.
If passed, it would be scheduled for implementation by 2023.
Photo: Peter Lo, Taipei Times
Cheng called the bill “fake judicial reform,” saying that it made a false promise to allow citizen participation in the judicial system.
“The jury system allows true citizen participation in the courts. It is the primary system for justice worldwide, and is used in 52 nations, including the US and the UK. Hong Kong has used it for more than 160 years, and South Korea adopted it in 2008,” Cheng said.
The Judicial Yuan’s version of the bill allows citizens to serve as lay judges and work alongside professional judges in criminal trials, but Cheng said that this kind of modified framework has only been adopted for use in Japan.
The new system is akin to “assembling wolves and rabbits together, and what will happen is that the wolves will eat the rabbits... Therefore the opinions and viewpoints of ordinary citizens would disappear in such a setting,” Cheng said.
“The lay judge system is full of deficiencies, and if the bill is passed, it would harm Taiwan’s justice system,” he said, adding that the jury system “has proven its worth, has supporting mechanisms, and jury trials have been shown to be more effective and fair.”
NPP caucus whip Chiu Hsien-chi (邱顯智), Taiwan Society chairman Chang Yeh-sen (張葉森), Northern Taiwan Society chairman Li Chuan-hsin (李川信) and association deputy chairman Chang Ching (張靜) also spoke at the event.
In a statement, the association said that the justice system is afflicted with “major diseases,” including corruption and “dinosaur judges,” referring to judges that are out of touch with society.
“That is why the public hopes to see real judicial reform, but the lay judge system would permit the judges to hold on to their power,” it said.
“If the Judicial Yuan forces through the bill, then the judiciary and criminal prosecution system would face a severe crisis in the future,” it added.
ANOTHER EMERGES: The CWA yesterday said this year’s fourth storm of the typhoon season had formed in the South China Sea, but was not expected to affect Taiwan Tropical Storm Gaemi has intensified slightly as it heads toward Taiwan, where it is expected to affect the country in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 8am yesterday, the 120km-radius storm was 800km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving at 9kph northwest, the agency said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued tonight at the earliest, it said, adding that the storm is projected to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday. Gaemi’s potential effect on Taiwan remains unclear, as that would depend on its direction, radius and intensity, forecasters said. Former Weather Forecast
As COVID-19 cases in Japan have been increasing for 10 consecutive weeks, people should get vaccinated before visiting the nation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said. The centers reported 773 hospitalizations and 124 deaths related to COVID-19 in Taiwan last week. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) on Tuesday said the number of weekly COVID-19 cases reported in Japan has been increasing since mid-May and surpassed 55,000 cases from July 8 to July 14. The average number of COVID-19 patients at Japan’s healthcare facilities that week was also 1.39 times that of the week before and KP.3 is the dominant
The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) working group for Taiwan-related policies is likely to be upgraded to a committee-level body, a report commissioned by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said. As Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is increasingly likely to upgrade the CCP’s Central Leading Group for Taiwan Affairs, Taiwanese authorities should prepare by researching Xi and the CCP, the report said. At the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the CCP, which ended on Thursday last week, the party set a target of 2029 for the completion of some tasks, meaning that Xi is likely preparing to
US-CHINA TRADE DISPUTE: Despite Beijing’s offer of preferential treatment, the lure of China has dimmed as Taiwanese and international investors move out Japan and the US have become the favored destinations for Taiwanese graduates as China’s attraction has waned over the years, the Ministry of Labor said. According to the ministry’s latest income and employment advisory published this month, 3,215 Taiwanese university graduates from the class of 2020 went to Japan, surpassing for the first time the 2,881 graduates who went to China. A total of 2,300 graduates from the class of 2021 went to the US, compared with the 2,262 who went to China, the document showed. The trend continued for the class of 2023, of whom 1,460 went to Japan, 1,334 went to