The Judicial Reform Foundation and other civil groups today called on lawmakers to postpone deliberation of an amendment that would allow live broadcasts of courtroom proceedings, as the variety in types of litigation risks infringing on the rights of involved parties.
Opposition lawmakers last month submitted the draft amendment of the Court Organization Act (法院組織法) directly to a second reading.
The foundation held a news conference at the Legislative Yuan today, issuing a joint statement together with 17 other civil society groups including Covenants Watch and the Awakening Foundation.
Photo courtesy of the Judicial Reform Foundation
Although broadcasting court proceedings could increase the transparency and openness of the judicial system, they said they are concerned about the amendment being rushed through legislative procedures.
In terms of protecting the people’s right to litigation and the defendant’s right to a fair trial, there are some serious flaws in the draft submitted by the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), the Judicial Reform Foundation said.
It called on the Legislative Yuan to consider the amendment seriously and refrain from forcefully passing a bill without thorough deliberation.
Broadcasting court proceedings could bridge the gap between the judiciary and the public, and enhance public understanding and trust in the legal system, it said.
However, it is important to promote this policy prudently to ensure it does not infringe upon the rights of the parties involved, it added.
The foundation said that legislation of open court proceedings needs to ensure that all parties involved receive a fair trial.
Related practices vary across foreign legal systems and need to be evaluated, the foundation said.
Taiwan needs to be cautious about broadcasting court proceedings, as there are many kinds of litigation and this would have far-reaching impacts if implemented across the board, it added.
The TPP has hastily handled the legislative process for this amendment, which needs to be thoroughly discussed, the foundation said, urging the review be postponed.
Taiwan has received more than US$70 million in royalties as of the end of last year from developing the F-16V jet as countries worldwide purchase or upgrade to this popular model, government and military officials said on Saturday. Taiwan funded the development of the F-16V jet and ended up the sole investor as other countries withdrew from the program. Now the F-16V is increasingly popular and countries must pay Taiwan a percentage in royalties when they purchase new F-16V aircraft or upgrade older F-16 models. The next five years are expected to be the peak for these royalties, with Taiwan potentially earning
STAY IN YOUR LANE: As the US and Israel attack Iran, the ministry has warned China not to overstep by including Taiwanese citizens in its evacuation orders The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday rebuked a statement by China’s embassy in Israel that it would evacuate Taiwanese holders of Chinese travel documents from Israel amid the latter’s escalating conflict with Iran. Tensions have risen across the Middle East in the wake of US and Israeli airstrikes on Iran beginning Saturday. China subsequently issued an evacuation notice for its citizens. In a news release, the Chinese embassy in Israel said holders of “Taiwan compatriot permits (台胞證)” issued to Taiwanese nationals by Chinese authorities for travel to China — could register for evacuation to Egypt. In Taipei, the ministry yesterday said Taiwan
Taiwan is awaiting official notification from the US regarding the status of the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART) after the US Supreme Court ruled US President Donald Trump's global tariffs unconstitutional. Speaking to reporters before a legislative hearing today, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said that Taiwan's negotiation team remains focused on ensuring that the bilateral trade deal remains intact despite the legal challenge to Trump's tariff policy. "The US has pledged to notify its trade partners once the subsequent administrative and legal processes are finalized, and that certainly includes Taiwan," Cho said when asked about opposition parties’ doubts that the ART was
If China chose to invade Taiwan tomorrow, it would only have to sever three undersea fiber-optic cable clusters to cause a data blackout, Jason Hsu (許毓仁), a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator, told a US security panel yesterday. In a Taiwan contingency, cable disruption would be one of the earliest preinvasion actions and the signal that escalation had begun, he said, adding that Taiwan’s current cable repair capabilities are insufficient. The US-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC) yesterday held a hearing on US-China Competition Under the Sea, with Hsu speaking on
RSS