Taiwan’s Legislature passes Citizen Judges Act
2020/07/24
The Citizen Judges Act passed its final reading at the Legislature July 22 in Taipei City, marking a milestone in the government’s ongoing efforts to reform Taiwan’s judicial system and promote sentencing transparency, according to the Ministry of Justice.
During her inauguration speech in May, second-term President Tsai Ing-wen pledged to implement a lay judge system where citizens serve alongside professional judges. This will help bring the country’s judicial system more closely in line with public opinion, strengthening confidence in the rule of law, she added.
Under the legislation set to take effect Jan. 1, 2023, citizens aged 23 and above who have received at least a high school education and resided within a court’s jurisdiction for at least four months can be randomly selected as a citizen or standby judge. The only exceptions are for certain professions like those working in law, the military or police; criminals; and the country’s president, vice president and other heads of government agencies.
School teachers, students, people aged 70 and above and those who have legitimate reasons such as family matters, health concerns or work obligations can request to be exempted from duty.
Citizen judges will receive compensation and paid work leave for taking part in criminal trials, but failure to appear in court without a proper cause will be subject to a maximum fine of NT$60,000 (US$2,000). The law also stipulates jail terms and fines for those who reveal details of cases or accept bribes.
The new system, which requires a panel of six citizen judges and three professional judges, will apply to criminal cases carrying a prison term of at least 10 years or involving intentional acts leading to homicide. A guilty verdict can only be reached with the consent of at least two thirds of the panel including one professional judge, while sentences must be agreed by a majority of the panel.
Source: Taiwan Today (https://taiwantoday.tw/index.php)
