Campaigners yesterday protested outside the Presidential Office Building, calling for the implementation of a jury system for criminal trials as a judicial reform subcommittee gathered to discuss possible reform measures.
Headed by former grand justice Hsu Yu-hsiu (許玉秀), the subcommittee focused on a proposal to allow public participation in the judiciary and to have “lay assessors” take part in the criminal justice system, measures which have been long sought after by many members of the public and legal reform advocates.
The subcommittee discussed two proposals: one involving a jury system with 12 jurors, in line with the British and US legal systems; and a participatory jury system, which has more limited public participation of six jurors, in which the jury’s decision can be disregarded on stated opinions given by the judges.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
Previous Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) governments and most judiciary officials favor the participatory system, with the Judicial Yuan and the Executive Yuan introducing legislation in 2012 for its implementation.
However, the proposal has been met with criticism and opposition from most judicial reform advocates, who have called for a jury trial system that gives the jury the power to reach a decision in criminal prosecution cases.
The protest was organized by Taiwan Jury Association, and was attended by members of Citizen Congress Watch, the Northern Taiwan Society, the Taiwan Citizen Participation Association, Taiwan Forever and other civic organizations.
“We are opposed to the position taken by the Judicial Yuan and by many of the members of the judicial reform subcommittee. They advocate the participatory jury system, which is judicial reform by fake means,” said Taiwan Jury Association chairman Chang Ching (張靜), who is a member of the subcommittee that convened yesterday.
“Civic organizations and legal experts have assessed the two systems, and have concluded that only by implementing the jury trial system can true public participation and transparency be realized to reflect the wishes and aspirations of society,” Chang said.
Northern Taiwan Society chairman Chang Yeh-shen (張葉森) said the jury trial system is the only way to end the shady operations of the justice system, which is fraught with personal bias, corruption, influence-peddling and political interference.
Other protesters questioned how representatives of judicial reform subcommittees were chosen, decrying it as a “secretive” operation that caused controversy with the selection of unsuitable members.
They said more than 90 percent of legal reform advocates nominated by civic groups did not make the list, while members from other groups with perceived political leanings and close relationships with the judiciary were selected.
“We represent the true aspirations of the public. Eighty percent of the public supports the jury trial system, according to surveys, but in this subcommittee I am in the minority,” Chang Ching said.
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