The Supreme Court yesterday dismissed a petition signed by 38 death-row inmates asking it to review a policy which they said allows judges not to recuse themselves in the event of a conflict of interest.
The policy allows judges who have handed down the death penalty or life sentences, as well as those overseeing cases that have been remanded twice, to continue to preside over the cases if they are remanded for retrial until they have been moved to another division or retire.
The request was reviewed in light of whether abolishing the clauses would aid in the conclusion of court cases that have dragged on and whether it would uphold the rights of all those involved.
The majority of attending judges said the panel should not vote on the issue and should maintain the policy.
Under the Guidelines on Assigning Supreme Court Criminal Cases (最高法院刑事分案實施要點), court cases resulting in the death penalty or life sentences that have been remanded by a higher appellate court go to the same judge who presided over the case.
Similarly, rulings that have been appealed after the case has been remanded to a lower court for a third time go to the same judge who presided over the trial during the third appeal.
In 1987, the Judicial Yuan, hoping to increase trial efficacy, asked that the Supreme Court consider the viability of having civil and criminal case appeals remanded at least twice to be handled by the same presiding judge, the Supreme Court said.
The Judicial Yuan and Executive Yuan’s discussion stated that such action was, in principle, viable and would not harm the interests of those involved, it said.
Similarly, the remanding of death or life sentences being handled by the same judges has been implemented per the Judicial Yuan’s request in 1989, the Supreme Court said, adding that this decision has been documented to prevent further debate.
Death row inmate Huang Lin-kai (黃麟凱), who was convicted for the double murder of his former girlfriend and her mother, is to be executed at the Taipei Detention Center tonight, the Ministry of Justice announced. Huang, who was a military conscript at the time, was convicted for the rape and murder of his ex-girlfriend, surnamed Wang (王), and the murder of her mother, after breaking into their home on Oct. 1, 2013. Prosecutors cited anger over the breakup and a dispute about money as the motives behind the double homicide. This is the first time that Minister of Justice Cheng Ming-chien (鄭銘謙) has
BITTERLY COLD: The inauguration ceremony for US president-elect Donald Trump has been moved indoors due to cold weather, with the new venue lacking capacity A delegation of cross-party lawmakers from Taiwan, led by Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), for the inauguration of US president-elect Donald Trump, would not be able to attend the ceremony, as it is being moved indoors due to forecasts of intense cold weather in Washington tomorrow. The inauguration ceremony for Trump and US vice president-elect JD Vance is to be held inside the Capitol Rotunda, which has a capacity of about 2,000 people. A person familiar with the issue yesterday said although the outdoor inauguration ceremony has been relocated, Taiwan’s legislative delegation has decided to head off to Washington as scheduled. The delegation
TRANSPORT CONVENIENCE: The new ticket gates would accept a variety of mobile payment methods, and buses would be installed with QR code readers for ease of use New ticketing gates for the Taipei metro system are expected to begin service in October, allowing users to swipe with cellphones and select credit cards partnered with Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC), the company said on Tuesday. TRTC said its gates in use are experiencing difficulty due to their age, as they were first installed in 2007. Maintenance is increasingly expensive and challenging as the manufacturing of components is halted or becoming harder to find, the company said. Currently, the gates only accept EasyCard, iPass and electronic icash tickets, or one-time-use tickets purchased at kiosks, the company said. Since 2023, the company said it
Another wave of cold air would affect Taiwan starting from Friday and could evolve into a continental cold mass, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Temperatures could drop below 10°C across Taiwan on Monday and Tuesday next week, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said. Seasonal northeasterly winds could bring rain, he said. Meanwhile, due to the continental cold mass and radiative cooling, it would be cold in northern and northeastern Taiwan today and tomorrow, according to the CWA. From last night to this morning, temperatures could drop below 10°C in northern Taiwan, it said. A thin coat of snow
RSS