Lawmakers yesterday continued to slog through a review of a draft “national judge act” that began on Monday afternoon, covering only one-third of the act, or 37 articles, by noon.
However, lawmakers vowed to complete the review of the draft and the third reading by midnight yesterday.
A total of 113 articles have been proposed for the draft, and after three rounds of deliberation, 100 articles still needed to be discussed.
Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei Times
The draft articles that passed a second reading yesterday include that the lay judge system would comprise three career judges and six lay judges, with the lay judges being chosen from citizens aged 23 and over who have resided within the jurisdiction of the court for at least four months.
As of press time last night, lawmakers were expected to review draft articles on lay judges obtaining days off from work, and on whether lay judges would have access to the dossier and evidence.
While the review was continuing in the main chamber, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus held a news conference outside the legislative complex.
KMT caucus whip Lin Wei-chou (林為洲) told reporters that the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) past guidelines and 17 DPP legislators favored a jury system instead.
The DPP was selling out, choosing to give the public a lay judge system — a decision that was “made behind closed doors with the Judicial Yuan” — which would allow professional judges to continue to be the main decisionmakers in the judicial processes, Lin said.
The KMT’s version of the act is that of a moderated lay judge system, which was formulated after much discussion with experts and civic groups, Lin said.
The KMT’s version, which would utilize a lay judge system and jury system simultaneously, shows the true spirit of reform, he said.
DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) said that the DPP’s view has changed over time.
The party’s guidelines were formulated under an autocratic government and called for a transparent judicial process with a jury formed by party representatives, National Assembly representatives and other morally upstanding people, Ker said.
This differs from the standard definition of a jury system, he said.
The US’ legal system cannot be transplanted directly to Taiwan; doing so would require sweeping changes to laws such as the Code of Criminal Procedure (刑事訴訟法) and re-educating law students and lawyers, Ker said.
The DPP is doing what a responsible political party would do, Ker said, adding that the KMT’s proposal for two legal systems working side-by-side would not work.
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 2:23pm today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was 5.4 kilometers northeast of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 34.9 km, according to the CWA. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was the highest in Hualien County, where it measured 2 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 1 in Yilan county, Taichung, Nantou County, Changhua County and Yunlin County, the CWA said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by