Legislative Success for the Dragon Boat Festival—Protecting the Vulnerable is True Justice!

The newly passed bills will resolve the following issues:

1. Difficulty in obtaining court audio recordings.
2. Abuse of payment orders.
3. The weakening of legal aid functions.

Bill Name	Reform Outcome	Proposing Legislator
Amendments to Articles 514 and 521 of the Code of Civil Procedure	A finalized payment order may serve as an executive title, but shall no longer have the same effect as a final judgment. If the debtor files a lawsuit for confirmation, the court may permit them to provide security to suspend compulsory execution.	Lin Kuo-cheng and 25 others
Amendments to Articles 4-4 and 12 of the Enforcement Act of the Code of Civil Procedure	Payment orders finalized prior to the amendments may be subject to a retrial within 2 years after the promulgation and implementation of the new law, based on grounds such as "the evidence submitted by the creditor in the urge procedure was forged or altered" or "the debtor submits evidence capable of securing a more favorable judgment." However, this shall not apply to the extent of debts already settled by the debtor.	Lin Kuo-cheng and 22 others
Draft Amendments to Certain Provisions of the Court Organization Act	Parties and persons legally permitted to review case files may apply for the contents of court audio or video recordings in order to assert or protect their legal interests. Unless otherwise restricted by law, the court shall not refuse or restrict delivery, and the retention period for court audio or video recording contents shall be extended.	Wu I-chen and 18 others
Draft Amendments to Certain Provisions of the Legal Aid Act	Expand matters eligible for legal aid, allowing the Legal Aid Foundation to act as agent, defense counsel, or assistant in non-contentious matters and administrative procedures. Lower the threshold for applying for legal aid. Revise the number of board members to increase the quota of representatives from vulnerable groups. Explicitly define the scope of supervision and management by the competent authority to ensure the operational independence of legal aid.	Yu Mei-nu and 29 others

Sunlight and Transparency for Court Audio Recordings

The year before last, the Judicial Yuan unilaterally and arbitrarily amended the "Regulations on Court Audio Recordings," restricting people's rights to obtain court audio and video recordings and sparking strong backlash. Over 1,000 attorneys even launched a joint petition demanding the abolition of these regulations that evade sunlight and transparency. Faced with public criticism, the Judicial Yuan remained unmoved, treating court audio recordings as its exclusive prerogative and forbidding the public from obtaining them. To resolve this issue, the newly amended Court Organization Act explicitly stipulates that parties and persons legally permitted to review case files may apply for court audio or video recording contents. Unless otherwise restricted by law, courts shall not refuse or restrict delivery. Furthermore, a higher-ranking statute replaces the Judicial Yuan's low-ranking administrative order, curbing the Judicial Yuan's abuse of power.

No More Victims of Payment Orders

The new law that has garnered the most media attention and public concern is the reform of the payment order system. In recent years, payment orders have been abused by fraud syndicates, and victimized citizens can be found all over Taiwan. However, the Judicial Yuan believed that payment orders could alleviate litigation backlogs, and blamed victimized citizens for disregarding their own rights, persistently refusing to propose a solution. To resolve this issue, the new law explicitly stipulates that finalized payment orders may only be enforced through compulsory execution and shall no longer have the same effect as a final judgment. This gives people, when they are unaware or neglectful of filing an objection beforehand, at least a chance for relief and to turn the tables when their assets are seized.

At the same time, payment orders that were finalized but unsettled before the legal amendments may be subject to retrial within 2 years after the promulgation and implementation of the new law, based on grounds such as "the evidence submitted by the creditor was forged or altered" or "the debtor submits evidence capable of securing a more favorable judgment," thereby exempting them from the debt. Since the old payment order system has been in effect for nearly half a century, after the new system is launched, many supporting measures still need to be perfected, and a large number of problematic cases from the past still await retrial for vindication. We will continue to work hard to assist individual cases so that the good intentions of the legislation can be truly realized.

Further Progress in Legal Aid

Finally, the Legal Aid Act has been in legislative operation for over 10 years. With social progress and changes, the originally established functions of the Legal Aid Foundation began to fall short of the public's expectations. Excessive monitoring by the Judicial Yuan further bureaucratized legal aid work, causing it to lose the autonomy and vitality of a civil society organization. To resolve this issue, the new law substantially lowers the threshold for applying for legal aid, expands aided matters to include acting as agents, defense counsel, or assistants in non-contentious matters and administrative procedures; revises the number of board members to increase the quota of representatives from vulnerable groups; and explicitly defines the scope of supervision and management by the competent authority to safeguard the operational independence of legal aid. The Legislative Yuan also passed a supplementary resolution requiring transparency in the process of the Board Member Selection Committee. This legislative amendment will grant legal aid more room for autonomy, and we hope it will ameliorate the malady of poor efficacy.

Amidst the still chaotic and unsettled political landscape, we strive to build a pan-partisan consensus to fight for the rights and interests of vulnerable people. Because we believe that "protecting the vulnerable is true justice!" Your support is the driving force that encourages us to move forward! You are welcome to join the ranks of regular small-amount donations to give us stable and sustained strength.