2006 Public Opinion on Amendments to the Criminal Procedure System

Judicial administration cannot be too far removed from public opinion...

To understand the general public's views on the quality of court handling of criminal cases and their opinions on amendments to criminal appellate trials, the Action Alliance Against Depriving the People's Right to Appeal commissioned Hometown Market Research Co., Ltd. to conduct a random telephone sample survey between January 3 and January 11, 2005, targeting citizens aged 20 and above across 23 counties and cities in Taiwan as well as the Kinmen and Matsu areas. A total of 1,094 valid samples were surveyed, culminating in the report titled "2006 Survey on Taiwanese Public Opinion Regarding Amendments to the Criminal Procedure System."

According to the survey results, assuming a maximum score of 100 points, the average score given by interviewed citizens for the current quality of criminal cases handled by courts was only 60 points. This clearly shows that following the implementation of the new criminal procedure system, the general public has not felt a significant improvement in the quality of criminal judgments. Furthermore, before the adjudication quality of courts of first instance improves, 68% of the public disagree with the government amending the Code of Criminal Procedure by increasing the difficulty of appealing. Even higher, 75% of the public do not agree with restricting people's opportunities to appeal under the rationale of reducing the courts' caseload burden. Regarding the Judicial Yuan's goal of moving toward a pyramidal criminal procedure system by amending the law to increase restrictions on the conditions for appellate trials (including second and third instances)—while this may indeed reduce the overall caseload burden on the courts, it will inevitably impact people's existing right of appeal. Not only does this public opinion poll reflect the general opposition of most citizens, but local bar associations across the country also unanimously oppose the Judicial Yuan enacting amendments that restrict appeal opportunities before the adjudication quality of first-instance criminal cases reaches an ideal level. Even more than 600 professional lawyers have signed a petition expressing their opposition.

Facing the widespread wave of opposition from the general public and professional lawyers against the current stage of amendments to criminal appellate trials, the Judicial Yuan should immediately halt its proposals or efforts to advance these legislative amendments. This survey indicates that the public believes the quality of court judgments in criminal cases must reach an average of 85 points or higher to convince the people and eliminate the need for further appeals. Compared to the current satisfaction score of only 60 points, the 25-point gap is substantial. Rather than being overly eager to amend appellate trials to reduce court burdens—which easily invites criticism of making excuses—the judicial authorities should instead immediately focus on how to strengthen and elevate the quality of investigation and case handling in the first instance, striving for continuous improvement. They should also conduct empirical investigations into whether the spirit of the new law has been implemented in investigation and trial practices following the implementation of the new criminal procedure system, and propose complementary improvement measures. Only after the general public and legal professionals have recognized a considerable improvement in the quality of first-instance criminal judgments will it be timely to discuss amending appellate trials.

Attachments

2006 Survey on Taiwanese Public Opinion Regarding Amendments to the Criminal Procedure System