Handbook on the Rights of Inmates and Defendants
Last edited: 2026-08-30
After the amended Prison Act and Detention Act took effect on July 15, 2020, the JRF began preparing this handbook to explain the rights available to inmates and defendants.
Table of Contents
Rights, Remedies, and Feedback (Concise Version)
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I am a "sentenced inmate"-what can I do?
- Remedies for dispositions and management measures affecting individual rights
- Parole review and remedies when parole is denied
- I am a "defendant"-what can I do?
- Seek assistance from JRF
Mail Inspection and Perusal
- Legal Provisions
- Administrative Directive
- Practical Issue: Can Mail Inspection Be Used as a Pretext to Read the Contents?
- Court Opinions
- Administrative Litigation
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Civil Litigation - State Compensation
- The only identified case in which an inmate prevailed in a state-compensation action concerning mail inspection
- State-compensation actions concerning prison perusal of correspondence before J.Y. Interpretation No. 756 were all unsuccessful
- State-compensation actions concerning service of official documents through prisons, allowing prison staff to read the contents, were all unsuccessful
- Appendix: Correspondence Provisions in the Prison Act and Detention Act
Guard Instruments, Protective Restraint, and Placement in a Protective Cell
- Use of guard instruments, protective restraint, or placement in a protective cell must satisfy statutory requirements
- Use of guard instruments, protective restraint, or placement in a protective cell must follow statutory procedures
- Guard instruments and protective-restraint equipment are subject to statutory specifications, and protective cells must meet statutory standards
- Specific safeguards apply to guard instruments, protective restraint, and placement in a protective cell
- What can I do if I believe guard instruments, protective restraint, or placement in a protective cell were used unlawfully?
- Appendix: Court and Control Yuan Decisions on Guard Instruments, Protective Restraint, and Protective Cells
This article is an AI-generated translation of the original Chinese text. In the event of any discrepancy, the Chinese version shall prevail.