Advisory Letter to the Grand Justices Nomination Advisory Committee of the Judicial Yuan

To the Grand Justices Nomination Advisory Committee of the Judicial Yuan,

Grand Justices are the highest symbol of judicial power in our country and hold a revered status. Beyond shouldering the responsibilities of constitutional protection and human rights safeguards, they also convey forward-thinking perspectives and progressive actions to society. The selection of these candidates must undergo proper nomination and rigorous review. The list of Grand Justice nominees proposed by your Advisory Committee will have a profound impact on Taiwan's constitutional development, making the Committee's mission of paramount importance.

Since its establishment in 2003, our coalition has conducted oversight and evaluation of Grand Justice nominees during every nomination cycle, producing evaluation reports for public scrutiny. Building upon this foundation, we believe that putting forward a list of Grand Justice nominees who are trusted by the people and capable of safeguarding the nation's future is the shared goal of the Presidential Office and the "Civilian Coalition for the Monitoring of Grand Justice Candidates".

While the coalition affirms the diversity of this year's Advisory Committee members, the process for outsiders to recommend nominees this time was overly rushed, providing a mere 16-day window for public recommendations. This raises doubts as to whether opinions from all sides could be properly gathered under such a timeframe, and whether potential public backlash against the candidates can be avoided in the future.

Given that in the past the public had no way of knowing the reasons why individual nominees were ultimately "nominated" or "not nominated", the coalition urges the Advisory Committee to explain to the public how the "review criteria" for determining nominees are established. Furthermore, to enable the members of your Advisory Committee to properly exercise their expertise and carefully evaluate and propose appropriate candidates, the coalition offers the following advice to your Committee based on our past experience in monitoring Grand Justice nominees:

1. The nomination schedule should not be hasty and rushed; sufficient time should be given to all sectors to recommend appropriate talent.
2. The nomination process should be open and transparent, with the criteria for reviewing candidates made public.
3. Candidates possessing human rights safeguards and gender equality awareness should be nominated, and attention should be paid to whether they have an authoritarian background in their resumes.
4. The President should publicly explain the reasons for selecting the nominees.
5. The resumes and representative works of the nominees should be published online for public review.

It is our sincere hope that your Advisory Committee will take our advice into consideration and review candidates with a fair, objective, and professional attitude, so as not to fail the expectations of the people.

Civilian Coalition for the Monitoring of Grand Justice Candidates Respectfully Submitted