Judicial Reform Three Laws Promotion Alliance Visits KMT Chairman Lien Chan

The Judicial Reform Three Laws Promotion Alliance (hereinafter referred to as the Judicial Reform Alliance), composed of groups such as The Society, the Judicial Reform Foundation, the ROC Judges Association, the Prosecutor Reform Association, the Taiwan Bar Association, and the Pan-Blue Alliance, visited Kuomintang (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan today (the 2nd). They hope Lien Chan will fulfill the promise he made during the presidential election televised debate to swiftly push for the passage of the amendment to the Judicial Yuan Organization Act.

Ch'u Hai-yuan, convener of the Judicial Reform Alliance, stated that while the Alliance affirms Mr. Lien Chan's clear expression of support during the first televised debate of the presidential election on February 14 of this year (93rd year of the Republic), wherein he endorsed the conclusions of the 1999 National Judicial Reform Conference and expressed his willingness to fully promote the passage of the amendment to the Judicial Yuan Organization Act in the current legislative session (the fifth session), it still hopes that both the ruling and opposition parties will make a concerted effort to pass this flagship judicial reform bill before March 20.

In response, Lien Chan stated that his position supporting the conclusions of the National Judicial Reform Conference has not changed, but he also expressed concern over how the tens of thousands of backlog cases left behind would be digested after the Supreme Court is merged into the Judicial Yuan. Regarding this point, Attorney Lin Yung-sung, CEO of the Judicial Reform Alliance and Director of the Judicial Reform Foundation, explained that the current focus of the amendment to the Judicial Yuan Organization Act is solely on consolidating the court of final appeal, rather than reducing the number of working judges; therefore, the issue Chairman Lien is concerned about should not arise. Furthermore, one of the purposes of amending the Judicial Yuan Organization Act is precisely to prevent the accumulation of backlogs. As for the problem of old backlog cases, it can only be resolved through special measures and special legislation, and can no longer rely on the current trial structure—which continuously generates backlogs—to handle them on its own.

After a full exchange of views, Mr. Lien Chan accepted the perspectives of the Judicial Reform Alliance and instructed Legislator Tseng Yung-ch'uan, Executive Director of the KMT Policy Coordination Committee, on the spot to promptly carry out cross-party consultations on the bill. Lien Chan stated, "I hope the amendment to the Judicial Yuan Organization Act is done 'as fast as possible'! Even if there are difficulties before the presidential election, I will definitely make an all-out effort to demand the KMT legislative caucus to pass the amendment to the Judicial Yuan Organization Act in this session in accordance with the conclusions of the National Judicial Reform Conference."

Regarding Chairman Lien's response, Alliance Convener Ch'u Hai-yuan expressed affirmation, but also emphasized: "We must not only 'listen to his words' but also 'observe his actions'! In the future, the Alliance will continue to closely monitor the performance of the KMT legislative caucus to test whether Mr. Lien Chan truly intends to fulfill his promise to the general public and judicial reform groups."

Attendees

Prof. Ch'u Hai-yuan, Alliance Convener / Executive Committee Member of The Society
Mr. Chien Hsi-chieh, Alliance Vice Convener / Convener of the Pan-Blue Alliance
Judge Su Su-o, Alliance Vice Convener / Board Director of the ROC Judges Association
Attorney Huang Jui-ming, Alliance Vice Convener / Acting Chairperson of the Judicial Reform Foundation
Attorney Ch'en Ch'uan-yueh, President of the Taiwan Bar Association
Attorney Ku Li-hsiung, President of the Taipei Bar Association
Mr. Chung K'ung-chao, Vice President of the Chinese Federation of Labour
Attorney Cheng Wen-lung, Executive Committee Member of the Taiwan Association for Human Rights
Prosecutor Ch'en Jui-jen, Spokesperson of the Prosecutor Reform Association
Attorney Chang Chu-fang, Vice Chairperson of Awakening Foundation
Attorney Lin Yung-sung, Alliance CEO / Board Director of the Judicial Reform Foundation
Attorney Lin Ching-p'ing, Alliance Deputy CEO / CEO of the Judicial Reform Foundation