Legislate Against Lobbying! Abolish the Special Investigation Division! Ban "Fishing Wiretaps"!—Demanding the Control Yuan to Investigate Civil Servants Suspected of Lobbying and the Prosecutor-General and Special Investigation Division Suspected of Abuse of Power

In response to the Legislative President and the opposition whip being suspected of lobbying, as well as the Special Investigation Division (SID) being suspected of abuse of power in investigation—thereby triggering a political dispute and a constitutional crisis—the Foundation holds that the civil servants derelict in their duties should be referred to the Control Yuan for disciplinary action, and calls for reforms to the relevant systems. Details are as follows:

1. No one may lobby in judicial cases; individuals involved in lobbying shall be investigated and held accountable with no grey area

1. Individuals involved in lobbying shall be investigated:
   • Legislative President Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) and Legislator Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) are both members of parliament and, based on the "principle of congressional self-discipline," should be investigated by the Disciplinary Committee of the Legislative Yuan.
   • Former Minister of Justice Tseng Yung-fu (曾勇夫), Chief Prosecutor of the Taiwan High Prosecutors Office Chen Shou-huang (陳守煌), and Prosecutor Lin Hsiu-tao (林秀濤) are all civil servants and should be investigated by the Control Yuan in accordance with the law. Furthermore, Chen Shou-huang and Lin Hsiu-tao, holding the status of prosecutors, should also be evaluated by the Prosecutor Evaluation Commission.
   • Wang Jin-pyng and Ker Chien-ming are also party members, and political parties should investigate their affiliated party members based on the "principle of responsible politics."
2. Should the facts be verified through investigation, all shall bear corresponding political, administrative, or even criminal responsibilities with no grey area whatsoever.

2. The Control Yuan shall investigate Prosecutor-General Huang Shih-ming and the SID prosecutors handling the case for illegal abuse of power

1. This investigation by the SID not only violated procedural rules but also raised concerns of illegal abuse of power, as stated below:
   • The "corruption case" fell under a "Ta-tzu case" (miscellaneous case designation), and wiretapping—or even "long-term wiretapping"—conducted by the SID against a "Ta-tzu case" already violated the principle of proportionality. Furthermore, since the SID deemed the "lobbying case" to be a minor matter belonging to the administrative responsibility level, it should not have wiretapped rashly; otherwise, it violated the "principle of wiretapping for felonies." Conversely, if wiretapping had already been executed, it meant that "felony investigation" was underway; whether it could subsequently be closed as an administrative matter casually is not entirely free from controversy.
   • Administrative investigation and referral procedures are not within the statutory duties of the SID and the Prosecutor-General, which clearly exceeded the authority of the agency.
   • Without any legal basis, arbitrarily altering the "criminal investigation procedure" and the "administrative investigation procedure" manifestly constitutes the illegal practice of abusing criminal investigation means, evading the requirements of the Code of Criminal Procedure, and usurping administrative investigative power.
   • Providing wiretap contents to others violated the Communication Security and Surveillance Act and also breached the principle of "non-disclosure of investigation."
   • Enforcing compulsory measures without opening a formal case violated the requirements of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
   • Convening a press conference to make unilateral accusations without giving the parties an opportunity to defend themselves violated "case-handling procedures," "due process of law," and the "ethical norms of prosecutors' objective obligations," constituting a grave infraction.
2. The Control Yuan shall investigate Prosecutor-General Huang Shih-ming and the SID prosecutors handling the case for illegal abuse of power.

3. Rational dialogue and reform initiatives on the institutional level

In summary, the Foundation proposes the following six reform recommendations:

1. Legislate against lobbying
   Legislation should be enacted immediately to regulate lobbying and other acts obstructing judicial justice.
2. Abolish the Special Investigation Division
   The powers of the SID are overly broad and concentrated, rendering mutual supervision and checks and balances impossible; it is recommended that the SID be abolished.
3. Establish mechanisms to eradicate abusive litigation
   Establish routine review and accountability mechanisms to thoroughly root out the malpractices of prosecutors abusing indictment or appeal powers, as well as abusing non-indictment or non-appeal decisions.
4. Public participation in the judiciary
   To check and balance prosecutorial abuse of power, a judicial system featuring "substantial public participation" should be established.
5. Reform "prosecutorial integration"
   Superiors directing prosecutors in handling cases must do so entirely in writing.
6. Ban "fishing wiretaps"
   
   • Amend the Communication Security and Surveillance Act.
   • Wiretapping should be limited in time and quantity; endless "fishing wiretaps" must not be conducted, wiretapping for unrelated cases ("other cases") must not be permitted, and wiretapping under "Ta-tzu" case designations must also be prohibited.

Press Contact

Attn: Eric F. C. Lee (林峰正), Executive Director, Judicial Reform Foundation 02-2523-1178