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Goals of the Judicial Reform I

▍Goals of the Judicial Reform I


(Press Release)

I am deeply honored to have the privilege of being nominated by the President and confirmed by the Legislative Yuan to become the President of the Judicial Yuan. During this period of time, I am thankful to people in all walks of life that gave me invaluable comments and critical feedbacks while also making suggestions related to the possible reform of the current judiciary system. Their remarks have not only enlightened me, but also made me recognize the profound expectations and responsibilities that the society has placed on the judicial reform, thereby enforcing my own determination and dedication of pushing forward with the judicial reform.

Taiwan has many outstanding and diligent judges, and we have established a legal framework that belongs to that of a developed rule of law country. However, the decisions made by our judges have not been as well respected as those in other developed countries, and with each passing day, our society has become more critical of the judiciary, significantly decreasing the trust bestowed on the judges. Without any doubt, this is a dangerous crisis to our judiciary, and it is also a warning sign of the irreversible damage being done to our country’s legal system. I am convinced that we do not have much time to nitpick, criticize and argue with each other, nor do we have any excess energy to discuss issues purely through theoretical academic debates. What we must do is use our ideologies as guiding light, view the current challenges as material, collect from different perspectives, and through objective and logical discussions, make suggestions as to what would be good plans for the judicial reform. We must strengthen our resolve and maintain a spirit of vigor to advance a practical, reflective, effective, and relatable judicial reform.

I also know that everyone has varying ideas of how the judiciary should be reformed, and the future National Conference on Judicial Reform would most likely host a wide array of opinions. For the issues that falls under the jurisdiction of Judicial Yuan, I will use all my power to implement them. I believe that the following items are issues in the judicial reform that we should immediately seek to advance. First, maintain core judicial values such as judicial independence, protection of human rights, and the due process of law. Second, move towards a more professional decision-making process. Third, enhance the oral argument process. Fourth, decrease the differences and conflicts between the judgments. Fifth, within reasonable means, decrease the workload of the judges. Sixth, establish the appeal process for Constitutional decisions. The advancement and implementation of these aforementioned issues need to be adjusted throughout the system by requiring a change in ideology and an accumulation of experiences from each case to gradually develop the adjudication culture. We will not overlook any pieces and are determined that all reform efforts would be connected together through a unified push.

Besides the previously mentioned issues, the following are also important Judicial Yuan policy items that we will pursue in the future: creating a process by which the citizens can participate in the trial process, increase the diversity of methods for joining the judiciary, publish judges’ information in moderation, review regulations regarding case management, allow criminal victims to participate in litigation, establish mechanisms that would prevent criminal defendants subject to investigation from escaping, strictly evaluate the final court decisions on death penalty cases, and enhance the communication between each courts systems with external entities.

In conclusion, the basic attitude of the Judicial Yuan moving forward will be to actively promote opportunities that will give the people to an opportunity to speak, and I will humbly listen to everyone’s opinion in order to formulate a best resolution that will fit with our nation’s current circumstances. The expectation is that our judiciary will turn a brand-new page so all people will benefit from the judicial reform, and all of our social activities will run with stability and be developed under the rule of law so that all of the judges and judicial staff will get the honor that they deserve.

Tzong-Li Hsu

Oct. 25, 2016

  • Release Date : 2016-10-25
  • Update : 2019-11-01
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