Taiwan Today

The Council of Grand Justices dealt a triple blow to former President Chen Shui-bian Oct. 16 in his efforts to overturn his recent conviction on corruption and money-laundering charges and to be released from detention. The major setback to Chen’s cause was the council’s ruling that switching judges in the former president’s case late last year was not unconstitutional. It reasoned that the method the Taipei District Court used to combine the corruption and money-laundering cases was in accordance with the ROC Constitution and affected neither the defendant’s litigation rights nor the independence of the judiciary. Chen had petitioned the council for a constitutional interpretation of the change of judges with the aim of undermining the legitimacy of the case against him. The former president also argued that his detention based solely on the seriousness of his alleged crimes ran counter to the principle of the presumption of innocence and was unconstitutional. However, the grand justices rejected this argument, saying that the serious felony indeed cannot be cited as the only ground for detention, as other factors, such as flight risk and potential collusion with witnesses, would also have to be taken into consideration when deciding on whether to detain a defendant. As such, unless the judges think factors such as flight risks cease to exist, they are unlikely to make rulings that favor the former president’s petition. In yet another setback for Chen’s cause, the council ruled that in accordance with the Code of Criminal Procedure, it is constitutional for prosecutors to appeal the ruling if judges were to release him from detention. The grand justices reasoned that this authority did not hamper the defendant’s right to defense. The council also rejected Chen’s plea that a temporary injunction be issued, ordering the Taipei District Court to replace the judge currently handling his case and release him from jail, on the grounds that the defendant can petition to courts for his release at any time. (The article originally appeared in the “United Daily News” Oct. 17, 2009)