Despite six failed negotiations with civic groups, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) administration is adamant about pushing through its proposals for introducing a lay judge system, rather than a jury system, sources with knowledge of the matter said yesterday.
Lawmakers have failed to reach a consensus on at least 100 draft articles on the lay judge system, which are expected to be voted on during an extraordinary session this week.
During the previous legislative session, the Judicial Yuan and the Executive Yuan pushed the legislation, which languished.
Photo: Lin Liang-sheng, Taipei Times
With the new session having begun in February, the Executive Yuan in March reintroduced the lay judge bill and titled it the “citizen participation in criminal trial procedures act.”
The DPP caucus has proposed that it be renamed the “national judge act.”
The DPP commissioned its caucus whip, Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘), to lead negotiations with civic groups, but after six meetings, no agreement was reached, sources said.
The DPP reportedly considered it “too risky” and “too much of a break from the current system” to implement a jury system, sources said, adding that it later rejected a compromise proposed by civic groups to combine the jury and lay judge systems.
The DPP caucus insisted on a six-year trial of the proposed lay judge system, because of concerns about the higher costs of a jury system, they added.
Separately, Northern Taiwan Society chairman Li Chuan-hsin (李川信) on Saturday called on the DPP to clarify its shift in support from a jury system to a lay judge system.
He said he was concerned that a lay judge system would allow career judges to sway lay judges’ verdicts, adding that the DPP should wait and not allow itself to be hijacked by people working in the judiciary.
Taiwan Nation Alliance deputy convener Wei Jui-ming (魏瑞明) said that attempting to ram through the bill in the extraordinary session would be reckless, and asked why the DPP administration needs to rush the effort.
A judicial reform bill of such importance should be given time and be discussed during the regular session, he said.
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the
A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or
RSS