The Judges’ Act passed Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan June 14, creating a review mechanism that allows for the removal of incompetent judges, who enjoy lifelong tenure under the current system.
“The legislation, 23 years in the making, provides for the evaluation of judges to safeguard the independence of the judiciary and protect the public right to fair decisions,” Judicial Yuan President Lai Hau-min said in a news conference June 14.
Passage of the act came amid a recent series of rulings by judges that prompted hot debate and even mass protests.
According to the new law, judges will be assessed at least once every three years by a Judges Evaluation Committee, to be set up under the Judicial Yuan. Victims of crime or people involved in legal cases can also apply to have an individual judge evaluated.
If the committee decides that a judge should be disciplined, it refers the judge to the Control Yuan, which then sends the case to an internal tribunal within the Judicial Yuan. This tribunal will be made up of five senior judges and have the final say on any disciplinary action.
The 11-seat Judges Evaluation Committee will include two academics and two impartial community members, to be selected by the president of the Judicial Yuan from a list of people recommended by the Ministry of Justice and Taiwan Bar Association. Other members are three judges, one prosecutor and three attorneys chosen by popular vote in their respective groups.
The act also establishes a Judicial Personnel Review Committee to screen the appointment, transfer, rewarding, suspension and dismissal of judges. Its 27 members will comprise the president of the Judicial Yuan, 11 designated members of the Judicial Yuan, 12 judges chosen by vote and three academics, to be selected in the same manner as the outside members of the Judges Evaluation Committee.
The scholars on the committee will only be entitled to vote on the appointment and dismissal of judges.
According to the nongovernmental Judicial Reform Foundation, the long-overdue legislation will help the public measure the extent and pace of judicial reform.
“The act still leaves a lot to be desired,” said Lin Feng-jeng, executive director of the JRF. “It is still judges who will evaluate their peers, and have the final say on disciplinary matters.”
“The selection of nonjudiciary committee members is still subject to the decision of the president of the Judicial Yuan, so it may be difficult to prevent judges from protecting their own and helping one another out,” he said.
Chiu Jui-hsiang of the Judges Association of the ROC (Taiwan) said the law will stimulate the nations’ judges to strengthen their self-discipline and improve the care, speed and fairness with which they handle cases, to win back public confidence in Taiwan’s judiciary. (THN)