Lay judges in Taiwan explained

Lay judges in Taiwan are regulated by the Citizen Judges Act (國民法官法)[1] passed by the Legislative Yuan in July 2020 and were introduced in January 2023.

Background

In her second inaugural address, President Tsai Ing-wen discussed implementing a lay judge system.[2] Subsequently, the preparatory committee for the second National Conference on Judicial Reform was convened in November 2016,[3] following the first conference in July 1999,[4] [5] which led to amendments of the in February 2003.[6] [7]

The 2016–2017 conference considered a number of proposals, including decriminalizing defamation to protect freedom of speech,[8] extending protections offered to judicial victims,[9] independent evaluation of judicial performance,[10] and more amendments to the Code of Criminal Procedure and Implementation Rules of the Code of Criminal Procedure, drafts of which were approved in July 2019.[11]

Throughout the tenure of the second National Conference on Judicial Reform, judicial reform advocacy organizations continued backing a transition to the jury system.[12] [13] Specific concerns with the lay judge system included potential political and monetary influence via the career judges sharing the bench,[14] [15] or that the opinions of the professional judges would influence decisions of their lay counterparts.[16]

Citizen Judges Act

Bills regarding a lay judge system proposed by the Judicial Yuan were not voted upon in the previous legislative session, leading the Executive Yuan to propose a similar bill for discussion in March 2020.[17] [18] The Judicial Yuan also suggested another draft act for citizen participation in criminal trial procedures,[19] stating that the lay judge system allowed citizens to be active in deciding verdicts and sentences, while eliminating hung juries.[20] Cross-caucus negotiations took place throughout July,[21] necessitating an extraordinary session of the Legislative Yuan to be convened.[22] [23] The 113 articles of the Citizen Judges Act passed a third legislative reading on 22 July 2020.[24] Upon its passage, the Citizen Judges Act was described as "a major landmark" for judicial reform by Judicial Yuan president Hsu Tzong-li, and by Tsai Ing-wen as "a new era of people's participation in the...judiciary."[25] The Citizen Judges Act took effect on 1 January 2023. In the act, lay judges are described as national judges.[26] At the district court level, six lay judges would review premeditated crimes leading to death, or crimes requiring imprisonment of ten years or more, alongside three career judges.[26] [27] Six of the nine judges, including one career judge, must concur for a guilty verdict.[27] The same majority must concur for a death penalty to be decided.[27] Lay judges are barred from hearing court cases involving minors or drug charges.[27] To serve as a lay judge, one must be a citizen of the Republic of China, be at least 23 years old, have completed a high school education or equivalent, and have lived within the jurisdiction of the district court for four months.[27] Those with a criminal record cannot serve as a lay judge.[27] Under the Citizen Judges Act, exemptions from service may be granted to educators, students, those above 70 years of age, people with health conditions that could be exacerbated by participation in legal proceedings, or those with difficulty setting aside home and work duties.[27]

Implementation of the act

After a series of trial simulations were held, an initiative to recruit eligible and randomly selected citizens to serve as lay judges was announced in April 2022 by the head judge of the Judicial Yuan's Disciplinary Court, Peng Hsing-ming.[28] In July 2023, the New Taipei District Court became the first court in Taiwan to issue a ruling made by lay and professional judges, per the Citizen Judges Act.[29] [30]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Citizen Judges Act (Act on Criminal Trials with the participation of Citizen Judge (Guomin Faguan)) - Article Content - Laws & Regulations Database of The Republic of China (Taiwan) . law.moj.gov.tw . 27 December 2022.
  2. News: Full text of Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen's second-term inaugural address . 24 July 2020 . Central News Agency . 20 May 2020.
  3. News: Chung . Li-hua . Chung . Jake . Tsai says second judicial reform to be all-inclusive . 24 July 2020 . Taipei Times . 26 November 2016.
  4. News: EDITORIAL : Foiling graft takes more than words . 24 July 2020 . Taipei Times . 22 July 2010.
  5. News: EDITORIAL: Keeping justice reforms on track . 24 July 2020 . Taipei Times . 22 July 2017.
  6. News: Lin . Feng-cheng . Reforms should prioritize people . 24 July 2020 . Taipei Times . 10 October 2007.
  7. News: Code of Criminal Procedure . 24 July 2020 . Laws and Regulations Database of the Republic of China.
  8. News: Pan . Jason . Judicial subcommittee suggests scrapping defamation . 24 July 2020 . Taipei Times . 2 April 2017.
  9. News: Hsiao . I-min . Victim relief falls short of UN level . 24 July 2020 . Taipei Times . 2 September 2018.
  10. News: Pan . Jason . Subcommittee calls for independent evaluation and removal of judges . 24 July 2020 . Taipei Times . 14 April 2017.
  11. News: Lee . Hsin-fang . Hsiao . Sherry . Executive Yuan approves draft amendments to codes . 24 July 2020 . Taipei Times . 5 July 2019.
  12. News: Pan . Jason . Jury advocate gives roses to judicial reform panel . 24 July 2020 . Taipei Times . 26 March 2017.
  13. News: Lee . I-chia . Jury association urges support for jury system . 24 July 2020 . Taipei Times . 27 March 2018.
  14. News: Pan . Jason . Groups stage sit-in for judicial reform . 24 July 2020 . Taipei Times . 5 July 2020.
  15. News: Pan . Jason . Judicial Yuan head promoting fake reform, group says . 24 July 2020 . Taipei Times . 19 March 2020.
  16. News: Pan . Jason . Lay judge act allows career judges to dominate: group . 24 July 2020 . Taipei Times . 24 July 2020.
  17. News: Lee . Hsin-fang . DPP ‘insistent about lay judge system’ . 24 July 2020 . Taipei Times . 20 July 2020.
  18. News: Yang . Chun-hui . Chiu . Yan-ling . Hetherington . William . Majority supports lay judge system, DPP poll shows . 24 July 2020 . Taipei Times . 7 July 2020.
  19. News: Shan . Shelley . Reformists criticize Judicial Yuan’s draft . 24 July 2020 . Taipei Times . 28 April 2020.
  20. News: Judicial Yuan lists anti-jury points . 24 July 2020 . Taipei Times . 27 April 2020.
  21. News: Huang . Hsin-po . Chung . Jake . Legislative caucuses debate lay judges system bill . 24 July 2020 . Taipei Times . 5 July 2020.
  22. News: Pan . Jason . Lay judge system review begins . 24 July 2020 . Taipei Times . 21 July 2020.
  23. News: Chung . Jake . Lawmakers slog through lay judge system review . 24 July 2020 . Taipei Times . 22 July 2020.
  24. News: Wang . Yang-yu . Huang . Frances . Legislature passes citizen judge bill . 24 July 2020 . Central News Agency . 22 July 2020.
  25. News: Wen . Kui-hsiang . Liu . Kuan-ting . Lin . Chang-chun . Wang . Yang-yu . Hsu . Elizabeth . Citizen judge legislation launches 'new era': President Tsai . 24 July 2020 . Central News Agency . 22 July 2020.
  26. News: Lin . Sean . National Judge Act clears legislature . 24 July 2020 . Taipei Times . 23 July 2020.
  27. News: Wang . Yang-yu . Huang . Frances . Hsu . Elizabeth . Legislature passes citizen judge bill (update) . 24 July 2020 . Central News Agency . 22 July 2020.
  28. News: Wu . Cheng-feng . Chung . Jake . Courts to recruit 'lay judges' for next year . 20 April 2022 . Taipei Times . 20 April 2022.
  29. News: Wang . Ting-chuan . Chin . Jonathan . Citizen judges issue their first ruling in murder case . 22 July 2023 . Taipei Times . 22 July 2023.
  30. News: Kao . Hua-chien . Yang . Evelyn . Woman who killed abusive husband not given maximum leniency . 29 July 2023 . Central News Agency . 21 July 2023.

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