THE JUDICIAL REFORM FOUNDATION

Against Corruption, Interference & Incompetence

History

Following the establishment of the Judicial Reform Committee by Taiwan's government in the Autumn of 1994, a group of reform-minded lawyers, professors, and social activists banded together in the belief that judicial reform could not become a reality without support of the rank and file working within the judicial system. It is these lawyers, professors, and social activists who gathered together to form the "Judicial Reform Foundation" (JRF), which operates independently of Taiwan's government. In November 1994 a preparatory office of the JRF was formed, and one year later, it was officially inaugurated; and by May 1997, the JRF registered with the court as a foundation at law. For the next two years JRF members worked tirelessly, devoting time from their normal practices to help establish the organization, which aims to reform and improve the judicial system.

The JRF firmly believes that the establishment of a judicial system deserving of the people's respect, and that metes out "justice" requires the active participation of all citizens. Thus, the JRF invites all to join us in our efforts.

Our Mission

The JRF wishes to achieve the following goals:

1. The Revision of Laws

The Judicial Reform Program has drawn a blueprint for judicial reform, which establishes procedures for discussing proposed law revisions and promotes their enactment. Specific efforts include supporting an amendment to the Constitution to include an independent judicial budget, revising the Code of Criminal Procedure, enacting a new law similar to the Organized Crime Act, and revising the Administrative Action Act, Appeal Act & Organizational Act of the Administrative Court. New laws currently under consideration in the Legislature include the Judges Law and the Prosecutor's Offices Law. Simultaneously, new laws or revisions of current law presently undergoing review include the Legal Aid Basic Law, Lawyer's Law & Police Law.

2. Supervision & Assessment

Since 1996 the JRF has published annual reports on two major reform activities: An Assessment of Court Judges and An Observation of the Courts. These reports document our observations of judge and court improvements as well as announce new JRF proposals. The assessments intend to push the judiciary to establish its own monitoring system and hope that judges themselves will create their own supervisory entity for instituting improvements.

3. Legal Reform Education Initiatives

The JRF organizes the following promotional activities to disseminate among the public the importance of judicial reform: school-wide speech tours, periodic student camps & seed-teachers' one-day court tours. These events strive to spread the desire for judicial reform throughout the greater society by demonstrating the importance of the legal system to everybody's daily life.

4. Follow-up of Individual Legal Issues

The JRF has been inundated with judicial reform requests since its inception. While it cannot attend to every one, it nevertheless consolidates and classifies these requests and then proceeds with respect to those issues of greatest concern to the general public. By doing so, the JRF hopes to ameliorate judicial ills through establishing procedural outlets for contentious issues pertinent to the judicial system.