2021.01.01-08.31 Work and Financial Report | After the Pandemic: Integrating Online and In-Person Operations

Citizen Judges Act Monitoring Project We formed the Civil Society Coalition for Monitoring the Citizen Judges Act, drawing inspiration from Japan's Saiban'in NET. The project seeks to build a Taiwanese civil-society monitoring network, encourage public participation, and press authorities to release more complete court documents and data. In April, we held briefings in Taipei and Taichung to recruit members of a Citizen-Judge Mock Trial Public Observation Group; 69 people registered and joined the observation effort.

• Observed mock trials around Taiwan and collected implementation information: 20 sessions
• Organized the Citizen-Judge Mock Trial Public Observation Group and coordinated public monitoring
• Developed teaching materials for campus citizen-judge mock trials

Crime Victims' Rights Protection Project Together with civil society groups, scholars, and attorneys concerned with crime victims' rights, we formed the Crime Victims' Rights Protection Alliance. We visited branches of the Association for Victims Support to hear directly from frontline workers, completed and published a civil-society draft, met with the Ministry of Justice and legislators to advocate for reform, and convened numerous internal and external meetings to continue refining the proposal.

• Alliance press conferences and related media interviews
• Created an online complaint group for crime victims
• Prepared the civil-society draft Crime Victim Rights Protection Act

Reducing Judicial Workload and Improving Judicial Quality Project After a year of regular meetings and research, the project was preparing proposed legislative reforms addressing excessive judicial workload, with the aim of advancing judicial reform in a healthier working environment.

Possible reforms included broadening the circumstances in which prosecutors and police need not transfer a suspect; allowing parties, with consent, to submit consolidated written comments when evidence is presented; expanding non-prosecution and deferred-prosecution dispositions with supporting safeguards; expanding plea bargaining with supporting measures; allowing records of oral pronouncement to replace full written judgments in simplified or summary proceedings; developing procedures for judicial assistants to help draft judicial documents; and extending outsourced transcription practices used in criminal cases to other case types.

Prosecutor-Police Reform Project The project examines how prosecutors and police divide responsibilities in frontline investigations, with the goal of developing a model better suited to Taiwan. It also addresses the long-criticized police performance system and the excessive workload created by large numbers of cases that are formally treated as criminal matters despite lacking the substance of genuine crime, including proposed amendments to the Police Act.

• Prepared proposed amendments to the Police Act and studied creation of a Police Performance Management Committee in line with resolutions of the National Conference on Judicial Reform.
• Prepared proposed amendments to Article 92 of the Code of Criminal Procedure to broaden the circumstances in which police may, with prosecutorial approval, refrain from transferring an arrested suspect, better reflecting practical needs.
• Studied ways to reduce the burden on frontline police created by large numbers of pseudo-criminal cases.
• Planned an October 2021 forum to collect views on these issues.

Non-Disclosure of Investigations Project We monitored whether investigative agencies and agencies assisting investigations complied with the principle of non-disclosure of investigations, reported approximately 100 suspected violations, and held an online forum marking two years since the amended Regulations Governing Non-Disclosure of Investigations took effect, with 56 participants. We also studied new problems revealed by implementation and possible directions for the next round of reform.

• Formed a legal team to assist people whose rights were harmed by violations of the non-disclosure principle by prosecutors, police, investigators, or other agencies in pursuing state-compensation litigation.
• In June 2021, held an online forum reviewing the first two years under the amended Regulations Governing Non-Disclosure of Investigations and considering further reforms.
• Prepared an implementation review of the amended Regulations Governing Non-Disclosure of Investigations.

Technology-Assisted Investigation and Communications Surveillance

• Participated in public hearings and, in October 2020, co-hosted a forum with the Taipei Bar Association on the draft Technology-Assisted Investigation Act, bringing together academics, practitioners, and NGOs to examine the proposal and its legislative direction.
• On October 8, 2020, we formed a Technology-Assisted Investigation Act Working Group. Legal and technology communities met monthly to review comparative legislation, exchange information on Taiwan practice, and-through collaboration among partners and experts-develop a civil-society draft while tracking new technological and legal developments.

From January through the end of August 2021, the Complaint Center received 606 cases. Of these, 240 were submitted through LINE, including 181 complaints concerning judges or prosecutors and 55 alleging wrongful convictions.

Wrongful-Conviction Casework

• Chiu Ho-Shun Case Defense-team meetings in the first half of 2021: 3/10, 5/11, and 5/24.
• Su Chien-Ho Case Joint meetings of the Su Chien-Ho civil legal team and supporting organizations in the first half of 2021: 2/3, 3/29, and 5/12. On 6/17, the legal team submitted civil filings.
• Chen Ching-Kai Case Won successive civil-retrial rulings confirming that Chen Ching-Kai did not have to repay insurance benefits to three insurers (Taiwan High Court Kaohsiung Branch Court Case Nos. 105-Shang-Yi-127 and 107-Tsai-Yi-63; another case settled). After completing three regional seed-instructor workshops in 2020 on the wrongful conviction of a former national handball player accused of feigning blindness, the project began a campus lecture tour in 2021, holding nine sessions from February through May before the outbreak interrupted the program. The Chen Ching-Kai team also worked with director Shih Yao-Cheng to co-host an online preview screening of the documentary Blind Spot on June 6.
• Chiu Sung-Cheng Case The order denying retrial was received on 1/11/2021; the legal team filed an interlocutory appeal on 1/20. An evidentiary hearing on the retrial petition was held in Courtroom 9 of the Taiwan High Court Kaohsiung Branch Court on 5/13, and the legal team filed a supplemental statement of reasons for retrial on 6/15.
• Lo Ming-Tsun Case A legal-team meeting was held on 4/29/2021 to discuss next steps.
• Wang Lung-Chang Case Legal-team meetings were held on 2/8 and 2/26 to discuss the retrial petition. On 3/23, the team submitted supplemental grounds seeking review of the final conviction.
• Lin Chun-Sen Case Lin Chun-Sen received the Control Yuan's review opinion on 1/26/2021. A legal-team meeting was held on 3/26, after which a JRF staff attorney drafted a criminal retrial petition. The petition was filed on 5/4.
• Kuo Chung-Hsiung Case Acquitted on retrial in March 2020 (Taiwan High Court Case No. 108-Tsai-3), clearing a 35-year-old wrongful conviction.

Human-Rights Violation Casework

• Minor-Offense Parole Revocation Project: organized attorneys and volunteers to assist 76 inmates around Taiwan with legal remedies, contributing to J.Y. Interpretation No. 796. The combined remaining prison terms of inmates released as a result exceeded one thousand years.
• Completed the Rights Handbook for Inmates and Defendants: the Rights, Remedies, and Feedback chapter and the Mail Inspection and Perusal chapter.
• Completed workshops for external inspection panels, providing recommendations to panels serving prisons and detention centers around Taiwan.

Pro Bono Defense Team for Anti-Black-Box Trade Agreement Cases

• March 23 Defense Case Held the " Occupation Movements and Freedom of Expression: Symposium on Civil Disobedience and the Right of Resistance held on 4/10. The first preparatory proceeding was held on 5/4. Subsequent hearing dates: 8/10 and 8/25.
March 24 Private-Prosecution Case Concluded. The Unidentifiable exhibition was held at URS27W from 3/18 to 3/24.
• March 24 Fourth-Anniversary Paint-Splashing Case Judgment was announced on 6/3; all six defendants were acquitted and the acquittals became final. On 6/9, the legal team issued a statement on the second-instance acquittals.
• March 24 State-Compensation Case The 6/16 hearing was canceled because of the outbreak. Preparatory proceedings resumed in Civil Courtroom 11 of the Taiwan High Court on 8/20.
April 28 State-Compensation Case Preparatory proceedings were held in the Taiwan High Court's civil division on 3/3 and 5/5. The next hearing was scheduled for 9/3.

• Eighteen legal-team meetings: 2020/2/21, 3/23, 4/22, 5/12, 6/16, 7/14, 8/5, 9/28, 11/3, 12/3, 12/24; and 2021/1/12, 3/2, 4/13, 6/2, 7/8, 8/10, 9/22.
• Principal litigation theories
  • 1. Preventive injunction: prohibit the central competent authority from announcing the invalidation of existing identification cards under Article 59 of the Household Registration Act and Article 15 of the relevant regulations.
  • 2. Preventive declaratory action: confirm that individuals have no legal duty to replace their existing cards (Article 9 of the relevant regulations).

Monitoring Unfit Judges and Prosecutors

• Published a 20-page civil-society annual observation report on the poor performance of the new judge- and prosecutor-evaluation system and held a press conference that drew substantial public attention.
• Published our complete experience handling past evaluation matters to help members of the public prepare evaluation petitions.
• Actively submitted comments on implementing regulations after amendment of the Judges Act; some recommendations were adopted.
• Monitored follow-up in the Shih Mu-Chin disciplinary case: held five press conferences, submitted amicus curiae briefs, and issued statements.
• Published a civil-society draft amendment to the Judges Act strengthening court presidents' responsibility to supervise judges and actively lobbied legislators to introduce the proposal.
• From January through the end of August 2021, the Complaint Center received 606 cases, including 240 through LINE; 181 concerned judges or prosecutors.

Shining Haiwang: Chiu Ho-Shun, The Forgotten 32 Years After the Taipei exhibition concluded at the end of 2020, Shining Haiwang moved to Chiu Ho-Shun's hometown of Zhunan in late January 2021. The 19-day exhibition drew 533 visitors, and six related lectures attracted 211 registrations. In early April the exhibition moved to Taichung, drawing 225 visitors and 107 registrations for seven related lectures.

Unidentifiable: Seven Years Since the March 24 Violent Dispersal at the Executive Yuan Litigation materials accumulated over seven years by the pro bono legal team in the anti-black-box trade agreement cases were transformed into exhibition materials. The exhibition ran from 3/18 to 3/24 for seven days, drew 1,212 visitors, and included three related lectures attended by 205 people.

Rule-of-Law Education Project Restarted the thesis and dissertation grant program, published the application rules on 1/11/2021, and completed the first-stage review.

Campus Programs 34 sessions

• Campus Thematic Lectures: 25 sessions
  • Wrongful Convictions Theme: 19 sessions
  • Bills and Policies Theme: 6 sessions
• Campus Mock Trials: 5 sessions
• Multi-Session Campus Collaborations: 4
  • Banqiao Senior High School School-Developed Required Course: The Distance Between Evidence and Truth
  • Wesley Girls' High School International Humanities Program: Human Rights and the Rule of Law in China

Internship Program 133 students, totaling 14,035 internship hours

• Taipei Office: 113 students, totaling 9,183 hours
  • Winter: 24 students, more than 3,140 hours
  • First half of the year: 50 students, more than 1,623 hours
  • Summer: 39 students, more than 4,420 hours
• Taichung Office: 30 students, totaling 6,480 hours
  • Summer: 20 students, more than 4,852 hours
  • Sunshine Web Project volunteers: 10 students, more than 1,628 hours

• Si-Si 2021.02 | quid pro quo: Afterword on the Minor-Offense Parole Revocation Project
• Si-Si 2021.04 | Farewell to Authoritarianism: From the Street to the Courtroom, from the Courtroom to the Exhibition Space
• Si-Si 2021.06 | While We Could Still Gather: Curating Shining Haiwang
• Si-Si 2021.08 | Under the Pandemic: 2021 Judicial Reform Summer Watchlist

Facebook reach: 359,411

• Local Casework
  • Current Taichung Office cases: Yang O-Chih, Hsiao Ming-Yueh, Dai O-Hui, Chang O-Kuei, Yuan O-Ya, Lin O-Wen, and Ho O-Liang 
  • Cases pending review: 3
      
• Correctional Complaints
  • The correctional volunteer team meets every Tuesday evening to discuss prison-reform issues arising from correspondence received from people in custody; volunteers and interns prepare replies.
  • Current assisted cases: progressive-treatment matters involving Wu O-Lin and Wu O-Chun, and the Huang O-Yi state-compensation case
  • Correctional Human Rights Lectures: 2
     
• Local Events
  • 8/28 Systemic Judicial and Human Rights Issues Forum: Starting from Dummy-Account Fraud Cases - 165 participants (online)
  • Shining Haiwang | Taichung - Chiu Ho-Shun: The Forgotten 32 Years; exhibition 04/09-05/08, with seven related forums
     
• Interns and Volunteers
  • 2020: 61 interns and 11 volunteers, totaling 5,332 hours
  • 2021: 30 student interns, totaling 6,480 hours
    • Summer: 20 students, more than 4,852 hours
    • Sunshine Web Project volunteers: 10 students, more than 1,628 hours

• Punishment, Violence, Chronicle-Notes on Protesters Documentary Screenings and DiscussionsThree screenings were held in central and southern Taiwan in early 2021.
• Fifth Chinese Human Rights Lawyers Day and International Symposium Marking the Sixth Anniversary of the "709 Crackdown"1,540 views
• Co-signed statements and open letters with Taiwanese and international organizations in support of human rights in China and Hong Kong.

• Routine foundation administration
• Daily administrative work
• Standing Executive Committee meetings
• Volunteer attorney recruitment
• Education and training
• IT equipment and information-security checks
• Office equipment maintenance and upgrades

• Charity art sales
• Supporter engagement