Establishment Statement of the "Alliance for Civilian Monitoring of the Truth Commission"

Following the nomination of ten members to the Special Committee on the Investigation of the March 19 Shooting (hereinafter the "Truth Commission") by the Kuomintang, the People First Party, and the Non-Partisan Solidarity Union caucuses, the Truth Commission is reportedly set to be established and commence operations today. After days of deliberation and preparation, and in order to prevent an entity with potential unconstitutional concerns from arbitrarily disrupting the national legal system and infringing upon fundamental human rights, civil society organizations have decided to respond to public demand by establishing the "Alliance for Civilian Monitoring of the Truth Commission" (hereinafter the "Truth Commission Monitoring Alliance").

The Truth Commission Monitoring Alliance is jointly formed by organizations including the Taiwan Association for Human Rights, the Judicial Reform Foundation, the Taiwan Law Society, the Judicial Reform Association of Prosecutors, the Formosa Association for Public Advocacy (澄社), and the Taiwan Bar Association. To avoid being embroiled in political disputes, the Alliance will monitor the Truth Commission from a civil society perspective, specifically examining whether the exercise of its powers violates the Constitution, the law, and human rights. Prior to implementing concrete monitoring measures against the Truth Commission, the Alliance hereby puts forward six appeals:

1. We hope that the Grand Justices of the Judicial Yuan will soon render an interpretation regarding the Truth Commission Act, so as to prevent society from remaining in a prolonged state of confrontation and anxiety.
2. When exercising its powers or drafting enforcement rules and other subordinate regulations, the Truth Commission must exercise self-restraint and limit its powers to prevent any further occurrences of unconstitutional doubts.
3. We remind the public nationwide to be vigilant against the infringement of their constitutional rights. Citizens have the right to refuse compliance with unlawful and unreasonable demands made by the Truth Commission. Should any infringement occur, the Alliance is willing to coordinate and provide free legal resources for assistance.
4. Personnel requested, seconded, assigned, or employed by the Truth Commission must not blindly follow the commands of the commissioners; rather, they must act in accordance with the Constitution and the law. If their actions are illegal, unconstitutional, or infringe upon human rights, they cannot be justified under the proviso of Paragraph 2 of Article 21 of the Criminal Code, and they shall bear the corresponding legal responsibilities.
5. Agencies requested by the Truth Commission to hand over case files and physical evidence or to review materials should ensure the integrity of the case files and evidence, and prevent documents from being damaged, which could delay the opportunity to solve the case.
6. Provided that the principle of non-publicity of investigations is not compromised, all administrative procedures of the Truth Commission should be transparent and open to the public in order to accept supervision by the Alliance or other civil society organizations.