Tue, Feb 06, 2024 page2

• Report recommends expediting military trials

  PROBLEM-SOLVING: An expected influx of soldiers for one-year compulsory service is expected to lead to more insubordination, requiring more legal tools, a report said

  • By Wu Su-wei and Jason Pan / Staff reporters
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  A Legislative Research Bureau report recommends that under special circumstances major misconduct or offenses by soldiers could be addressed by a provisional military court to expedite trials.

  Military officials and experts have said that the restoration this year of one-year compulsory military service would likely lead to more incidents of fighting and insubordination, and without military tribunals, which were abolished in 2013, they would be unable to quickly address certain offenses.

  The current civilian court system could take too long to address matters, which would negatively affect troop morale, therefore the government must finds ways to expedite the trial process for soldiers, the bureau’s report said.

  

  A court room is pictured in an undated photograph.

  Photo: Taipei Times

  The report gave two recommendations to hasten trials of soldiers.

  The first recommendation calls for addressing contraventions of the Criminal Code of the Armed Forces (陸海空軍刑法) in a provisional setup under the Military Trial Act (軍事審判法).

  The second recommendation is for legislators to propose amendments to the Criminal Speedy Trial Act (刑事妥速審判法) to add provisions that allow the civilian court system under special circumstances to hear major incidents of military insubordination or breaches of military disciplinary regulations.

  On Jan. 25, the first group of soldiers under the new one-year conscription program started their service, and they have already received a lecture from a military legal office about law and discipline, the report said.

  The bureau conducted a study on major military misconduct cases, with the need for speedy trial and legal procedures, which included an assessment by the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office that more incidents of violence and insubordination would be expected under the extended compulsory service, which could seriously affect war preparation efforts, it said.

  It concluded that for public prosecutors to investigate major contraventions of the Criminal Code of the Armed Forces, a system to ensure speedy trials is needed, and courts need to impose severe penalties in such cases to maintain discipline and morale.

  In 2013, the legislature amended the Military Trial Act, making public prosecutors and the civilian court responsible for military misconduct and contraventions, in accordance with the Code of Criminal Procedure (刑事訴訟法).

  However, military legal officers have the expertise to efficiently handle such cases, while the prosecution of a case in a civilian court could complicate matters and not act as a sufficient deterrent for insubordination, the report said.

  Nevertheless, military officials and the public still have differing views on the applications of a military tribunal, and therefore have different ideas about how to expedite legal procedures in the armed forces, it said.

  One way is to set up a military court for special cases involving active soldiers who have contravened specific regulations, such as those involved in leaking military secrets, major insubordination or assault of a superior officer. The court could then recommend a supervising body to handle such cases under the act, which could require an amendment, it said.
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