Local courts have been asked to recruit about 120,000 eligible “lay judges” for the first roster of 300 homicide cases, as the judicial system prepares to implement the National Judge Act (國民法官法) on Jan. 1 next year.
Under the new lay judge system, three professional judges and six private citizens, or lay judges, are to form a collegiate bench to preside over trials.
During the first phase of implementation, collegiate benches are to preside over cases in which intentional criminal acts have resulted in death, while the second phase is to involve cases in which a defendant is facing at least 10 years in prison.
The nation sees about 300 homicide cases every year.
Local district courts are to ask local governments for a list of eligible citizens chosen at random to serve as lay judges, Judicial Yuan Disciplinary Court Head Judge Peng Hsing-ming (彭幸鳴) said.
Republic of China citizens aged 23 or older would be eligible to serve, Peng said, adding that local district courts would start issuing notices by the end of the year.
The estimated 120,000 eligible candidates “should be mentally prepared that they will have to serve in the coming year,” Peng said.
Judicial Yuan spokesman Chang Yung-hung (張永宏) said that the agency has held more than 55 trial sessions for the lay judge system to prepare for its implementation.
Specific groups and professionals were invited to attend five of the sessions, while for the remaining 50 sessions, local governments were asked to randomly select residents for a preliminary list, which was then trimmed by the district court, Chang said.
Based on the past year, about 102,343 individuals from 363 townships and districts have been deemed eligible, or about 98.64 percent of the eligible population.
A total of 12,114 people were selected from the initial list, Peng said, adding that they were roughly evenly split along gender lines with 6,073 men and 6,041 women, of which 471 were ultimately chosen.
They came from all walks of life, while people aged 40 to 49 were best represented, followed by 30-to-39-year-olds and 50-to-59-year-olds, Peng said.
This demonstrates that participants all have a modicum of social experience, Peng added.
Peng said that there were 167 judges, 144 prosecutors and 144 advocates, of which 128 were dispatched from bar associations, six from legal aid foundations and 10 from assigned counsel, adding that this shows that more practicing lawyers are endeavoring to become better at their profession.
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) today condemned the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) after the Czech officials confirmed that Chinese agents had surveilled Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) during her visit to Prague in March last year. Czech Military Intelligence director Petr Bartovsky yesterday said that Chinese operatives had attempted to create the conditions to carry out a demonstrative incident involving Hsiao, going as far as to plan a collision with her car. Hsiao was vice president-elect at the time. The MAC said that it has requested an explanation and demanded a public apology from Beijing. The CCP has repeatedly ignored the desires
Many Chinese spouses required to submit proof of having renounced their Chinese household registration have either completed the process or provided affidavits ahead of the June 30 deadline, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said on Thursday. Of the 12,146 people required to submit the proof, 5,534 had done so as of Wednesday, MAC deputy head and spokesperson Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said. Another 2,572 people who met conditions for exemption or deferral from submitting proof of deregistration — such as those with serious illnesses or injuries — have submitted affidavits instead, he said. “As long as individuals are willing to cooperate with the legal
The Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant’s license has expired and it cannot simply be restarted, the Executive Yuan said today, ahead of national debates on the nuclear power referendum. The No. 2 reactor at the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant in Pingtung County was disconnected from the nation’s power grid and completely shut down on May 17, the day its license expired. The government would prioritize people’s safety and conduct necessary evaluations and checks if there is a need to extend the service life of the reactor, Executive Yuan spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) told a news conference. Lee said that the referendum would read: “Do
The Ministry of Environment yesterday held a seminar in Taipei for experts from Taiwan and Japan to exchange their experiences on the designs and development of public toilets. Japan Toilet Association chairman Kohei Yamamoto said that he was impressed with the eco-toilet set up at Daan Forest Park, adding that Japan still faces issues regarding public restrooms despite the progress it made over the past decades. For example, an all-gender toilet was set up in Kabukicho in Tokyo’s Shinjuku District several years ago, but it caused a public backlash and was rebuilt into traditional men’s and women’s toilets, he said. Japan Toilet Association
RSS