President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday accepted the resignation of Judicial Yuan President Lai In-jaw (賴英照) over a corruption scandal involving judges, but Ma asked Lai to stay on as a grand justice.
Presidential Office Spokesman Lo Chih-chiang (羅智強) said Lai tendered his resignation on Friday in the midst of a corruption scandal in which three Taiwan High Court judges and one prosecutor are suspected of taking bribes from a former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmaker.
The three judges — Chen Jung-ho (陳榮和), Lee Chun-ti (李春地) and Tsai Kuang-chih (蔡光治) — and Banciao prosecutor Chiu Mao-jung (邱茂榮) were detained on Wednesday on suspicion of corruption when handling four charges against former KMT legislator Ho Chih-hui (何智輝), who also once served as Miaoli County commissioner.
Judicial reform groups have called for senior judicial officials to take responsibility and resign in the wake of the scandal. Taiwan High Court Chief Justice Huang Shui-tong (黃水通) has already tendered his resignation to the Judicial Yuan.
In a statement on Saturday, the Judicial Yuan said Lai believed there was no reason for Huang to take sole responsibility and that if Lai’s resignation were approved by the president, Lai would also approve Huang’s resignation.
Lai did just that yesterday.
Lo said Ma met Lai at the Presidential Office yesterday morning after receiving Lai’s resignation on Saturday. During the one-hour meeting, Lo said Ma asked Lai to reconsider, praising him as someone who “had ideals, was hard-working and deserved respect.”
However, Lai was determined to resign because he believed the corruption scandal had seriously undermined the reputation of the judiciary, Lo said, adding that Ma respected Lai’s decision.
It was not the first time Lai had offered to resign, Lo said.
Lai tendered his resignation in August last year and last month, citing health reasons, Lo said, but Ma turned down those requests.
Lo said Judicial Yuan Vice President Hsieh Tsai-chuan (謝在全) would become acting Judicial Yuan president as Ma needed time to consult individuals from various circles before making a decision on Lai’s successor.
One thing that was certain was that the president would follow constitutional procedure, he said.
The Constitution states that the president and vice president of the Judicial Yuan must be nominated by the president and confirmed by the legislature.
Despite approving Lai’s resignation as Judicial Yuan president, Lo said Ma asked Lai to stay on as a member of the Council of Grand Justices.
The council has 15 grand justices, including Lai and Hsieh.
Lai told a press conference yesterday: “I am willing to take political responsibility, as the nation’s judges are implicated [in the scandal]. The scandal undermined judges’ morale and they are distressed.”
“Our judges should not be depressed and should work harder to win back public trust,” he said.
The nation’s more than 1,700 judges and 15 grand justices all work very hard, Lai said.
“In my more than two years in office, my coworkers worked hard. The Judicial Yuan did not lag behind other advanced countries in human rights protection and enactment of law,” Lai said.
In a statement, the Judicial Reform Foundation yesterday said it welcomed Lai’s courage in taking responsibility for the scandal.
The foundation said that as Ma weighs who should be Lai’s successor, he should consider whether the candidate will be able to promote judicial reform that meets the public’s expectations.
It said enacting a judges’ act, which could help weed out unqualified judges, is a priority for the Judicial Yuan as well as the legislature and Ma should request the two branches to enact such an act soon.
The bill, approved by the Cabinet on May 13, requires that the Judicial Yuan set up a commission to review performance, appointments, transfers, suspensions and the dismissal of judges, as well as merits and punishments, to make the system more transparent.
Meanwhile, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said it was disappointed by Lai’s decision to resign, adding that he was the best candidate to carry out judicial reform.
“Although there was room for improvement in Lai’s performance, he remains the best-suited candidate to lead judicial reform,” DPP spokesperson Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) said.
Tsai said he was concerned Ma would now appoint a more politically-oriented successor who could further politicize the judiciary.
KMT caucus whip Lin Yi-shih (林益世) commended Lai for his resignation, saying it was a positive development in judicial reform. Lin said he would actively promote a draft act on establishing an exit mechanism for incompetent judges.
On the possibility of establishing an independent commission against corruption, Lo said Ma was expected to make a decision tomorrow. Creating such a body was one of Ma’s campaign promises. Premier Wu Dun-yih (吳敦義) said on Saturday that such a commission would be established soon.
KMT lawmakers are divided on the proposal to create a new agency dedicated to cracking down on political graft. Opponents argue the proposed agency would be redundant because the Ministry of Justice’s Investigation Bureau (MJIB) is already tasked with such a mission.
Supporters say setting up a new agency would enhance operational efficiency and signal the government’s determination to clean up politics.
Commenting on concerns the agency would overlap with the MJIB, Wu said the two units could cooperate to fight corruption.
Critics, meanwhile, say if the government does decide to set up a new anti-corruption agency, it should first explain why the KMT legislative caucus repeatedly boycotted a draft bill on creating such an agency when the party was in opposition between 2000 and 2008.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY RICH CHANG, FLORA WANG AND CNA
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