In response to recent disputes over the political affiliations of judges, the Judicial Ethics Guidelines specifically states that judges should stay away from politics to ensure independent rulings.
Article 22 of the draft cites some political activities that judges should not engage in. For example, judges cannot hold positions in any political organizations. Furthermore, they are restricted from delivering speeches or public statements to comment on any candidates, receiving money or assistance from political figures, taking part in campaigns, participating in assemblies of political nature, and abusing the resources or personnel of the court in the course of engaging in such inappropriate behavior.
The Judicial Yuan held a public hearing Sept. 21 to gather opinions about this draft of guidelines. Lin Ruey-bin, deputy director of the Department of Judicial Administration under the Judicial Yuan, said Sept. 21 that experts and scholars had a long discussion at the hearing. As for the section about banning judges from participating in political affairs, there are some doubts about the exact definition of "activities and organizations." Lin noted that the Judicial Yuan may call for more hearings or conferences, and they hope to finalize this draft as soon as possible.
In fact, judicial independence from politics has already been established in the Constitution of the Republic of China. Article 80 of the Constitution states that "judges shall be above partisanship and shall, in accordance with law, hold trials independently, free from any interference."
The current Moral Code of Judges, revised in December 1999, also stipulates that judges should avoid political activities, and they are banned from participating in affairs or activities that are improper. These articles only serve as guidelines, however, and are not enforceable.
Lin Feng-jeng, an executive at the Judicial Reform Foundation, commented Sept. 12 that the current Moral Code of Judges contains only five articles, and it has no legal restraint. In addition, the code does not apply to current times anymore, Lin commented.
Another regulation that covers the separation of the judiciary and politics is the Judge Law. The Judicial Yuan initiated the draft of the Judge Law in November 2006. It attempts to stipulate the appointment and discharge of judges, set basic guidelines, establish the judges' council and create a system for evaluating judges.
Lin pointed out that while judicial groups and the Judicial Yuan discussed the draft of Judge Law, there was a general consensus that the separation between judges and politics should be officially regulated. Therefore, Article 15 of the draft states that judges are prohibited from engaging in any political activities and joining political parties. If a person was in a party before being appointed as a judge, he or she has to renounce party membership. If incumbent judges would like to run for any public office, they should resign before starting campaigns.
The content of this law is similar to that of the Judicial Ethics Guidelines. This draft of the Judge Law is still subject to the approval of the Legislative Yuan, however. If the Judicial Ethics Guidelines is finalized first, the displinary committee within the court will be able to reprimand judges based on the guidelines, according to Wu Chiu-hung, judge from the Judicial Yuan.
Write to Amber Wu at amber0207@mail.gio.gov.tw