The Judicial Yuan today urged lawmakers to halt discussions on a bill that would require all legal proceedings to be broadcast, expressing concern that the legislation was being rushed through without due consideration.
The Legislative Yuan’s Judiciary and Organic Laws and Statutes Committee held a public hearing today to discuss the amendment to the Court Organizations Act (法院組織法) proposed by the Taiwan People’s Party.
The bill was sent directly to a second reading.
Photo: Wu Cheng-feng, Taipei Times
The Judicial Reform Foundation and 16 civic groups on Monday also expressed alarm over the proposed amendment.
Although in principle it would strengthen judicial transparency, the draft was rushed through hastily and lacked thorough consideration, they said, calling for a halt on deliberations.
The Judicial Yuan in a written report to the committee today said it does not support the bill at this stage, as it risks jeopardizing fair trials and the rights of litigants.
Current laws already provide sufficient mechanisms to oversee trials, which meet the standards for transparency required in a nation with the rule of law, it said.
Broadcasting trials is not the only method of achieving judicial transparency, as Japan, Germany and France do not publicly broadcast proceedings, and the US prohibits broadcasting in federal criminal trials, it said, adding that none of those countries have been accused of lacking judicial transparency.
Broadcasting would also impact fact-finding trials or lead to populist opinion that would undermine the judiciary and advance personal agendas, it said.
It may also lead to procedural disputes and delays in litigation, the report added.
The issue of broadcasting courtroom proceedings has long been under discussion.
In 2017, the National Conference on Judicial Reform concluded that the Judicial Yuan should review the scope and conditions of broadcasting fact-finding hearings.
From 2017 to 2018, the Judicial Yuan appointed experts to conduct research and convened a consultation committee with representatives from the judiciary, prosecutors, defense attorneys and academic experts.
The Judicial Yuan said it decided not to proceed at that time due to the high degree of controversy, concerns it would impact impartiality and a lack of consensus that the benefits would outweigh the drawbacks.
STAY AWAY: An official said people should avoid disturbing snakes, as most do not actively attack humans, but would react defensively if threatened Taitung County authorities yesterday urged the public to stay vigilant and avoid disturbing snakes in the wild, following five reported snakebite cases in the county so far this year. Taitung County Fire Department secretary Lin Chien-cheng (林建誠) said two of the cases were in Donghe Township (東河) and involved the Taiwan habus, one person was bit by a Chinese pit viper near the South Link Railway and the remaining two were caused by unidentified snakes. He advised residents near fields to be cautious of snakes hiding in shady indoor areas, especially when entering or leaving their homes at night. In case of a
ENERGY RESILIENCE: Although Alaska is open for investments, Taiwan is sourcing its gas from the Middle East, and the sea routes carry risks, Ho Cheng-hui said US government officials’ high-profile reception of a Taiwanese representative at the Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference indicated the emergence of an Indo-Pacific energy resilience alliance, an academic said. Presidential Office Secretary-General Pan Men-an (潘孟安) attended the conference in Alaska on Thursday last week at the invitation of the US government. Pan visited oil and gas facilities with senior US officials, including US Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy and US Senator Daniel Sullivan. Pan attending the conference on behalf of President William Lai (賴清德) shows a significant elevation in diplomatic representation,
Credit departments of farmers’ and fishers’ associations blocked a total of more than NT$180 million (US$6.01 million) from being lost to scams last year, National Police Agency (NPA) data showed. The Agricultural Finance Agency (AFA) said last week that staff of farmers’ and fishers’ associations’ credit departments are required to implement fraud prevention measures when they serve clients at the counter. They would ask clients about personal financial management activities whenever they suspect there might be a fraud situation, and would immediately report the incident to local authorities, which would send police officers to the site to help, it said. NPA data showed
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck off the coast of Hualien County in eastern Taiwan at 7pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter of the temblor was at sea, about 69.9km south of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 30.9km, it said. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake’s intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County’s Changbin Township (長濱), where it measured 5 on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 4 in Hualien, Nantou, Chiayi, Yunlin, Changhua and Miaoli counties, as well as
RSS