Statement Regarding Judge Chen Cheng-quan's Travel to China with a Litigant

According to media reports, Judge Chen Cheng-quan of the Taichung Branch of the Taiwan High Court traveled to China in April 2006 without prior reporting and traveled together with a litigant. Investigations revealed that Judge Chen had presided over the litigant's divorce case over a decade ago, admitted to knowing the litigant two years after the divorce case, and had also presided over the litigant's land dispute case over four years ago. The judgments in both cases appeared to favor the litigant, sparking controversy. Following the travel incident, the High Court convened a self-discipline committee and recommended that the Judicial Yuan issue a minor demerit.

Judge Chen's actions have sparked controversy in roughly two aspects: First, as a civil servant, traveling to Mainland China without prior reporting runs counter to the current system. Given a judge's role as a guardian of the law, it is virtually inevitable that he will face societal criticism for "knowing the law yet breaking it," which inevitably harms the overall image of the judiciary. Second, as a neutral adjudicator, a judge must avoid associating with litigants and must never allow personal friendships with litigants to lead to dereliction of duty through bias or unfairness in adjudication. The Foundation believes that since doubts regarding Judge Chen's impartiality have already arisen, and although the High Court's investigation is still underway, considering the perceptions of other litigants, it would be advisable to temporarily reassign him away from judicial duties. Once the investigation concludes, a comprehensive judgment should be made based on the evidence presented in the overall investigative findings regarding whether to restore his judicial duties, keep him in non-judicial duties, or pursue disciplinary action for dereliction of duty.