Seminar | Comprehensive Review of 40 Years of the State Compensation Act—Principles of Attribution, Judicial Accountability, and Proposed Civil Society Articles

Since the official passage of the State Compensation Act in 1980, aside from minor amendments in 2019, it has not undergone comprehensive and holistic adjustments and revisions in response to the changing times and the advancement of practical jurisprudence over the past forty years.

In September 2021, the Executive Yuan submitted a draft for the comprehensive amendment of the State Compensation Act, expanding the existing 17 articles to 42 articles. What drew the most attention from the legal community was the review of the strict conditions constituting state compensation liability for courts and prosecutors, in response to long-standing public skepticism.

However, prior to introducing its draft amendment to the State Compensation Act, the Executive Yuan regrettably failed to hold public hearings to further build social consensus and gather legal community opinions. Regarding issues including the state compensation liability of courts and prosecutors, independent legal professionals and civil society organizations believed that the Executive Yuan's version had limited progressive value, and there remained many areas worthy of review and revision in the development of the state compensation legal system. To this end, the Judicial Reform Foundation initiated the "State Compensation Act Amendment Study and Discussion" in October 2021 to comprehensively review the current state compensation legal system and the draft proposed by the Executive Yuan.

Following over a year of brainstorming and deep exchange among lawyers and scholars, the initial draft of the civil society version of the State Compensation Act was finalized at the end of 2022. Key amendments include: adopting the legislative approach of the "theory of the State's own liability," shifting the burden of proof to presume negligence upon illegality, reverting the state compensation liability of courts and prosecutors to general standards, institutionalizing the establishment of the "State Compensation Claims Review Committee," and improving the mechanism for filing incidental state compensation lawsuits in criminal proceedings.

Although the State Compensation Act is not a priority bill for the current legislative session (the 7th session of the 10th Legislative Yuan), it has a significant and profound impact on consolidating our nation's state liability, enhancing the sense of responsibility and administrative reform in public agencies, and improving human rights protections. Therefore, after gathering diverse opinions at this seminar, the civil society draft amendment to the State Compensation Act is expected to be communicated to the future administration team to make our state compensation legal system more progressive and sound. Accordingly, the Judicial Reform Foundation, the Administrative Law Committee of the Taiwan Bar Association, the Constitutional Reform Committee of Taiwan Bar Association, the Judicial Reform Committee of Taiwan Bar Association, and the Taiwan Law Association cordially invite groups and legal professionals interested in this amendment issue to jointly organize and participate in this academic seminar. Based on the contents of both the civil society version and the Executive Yuan version, we aim to broadly collect opinions from all sectors to serve as a reference for future system implementation.

Time

August 26, 2023, 9:30 AM (Admission opens at 9:00 AM)

Location

Multimedia Classroom 1301, 3rd Floor, Linsê Hall, National Taiwan University (No. 1, Sec. 4, Roosevelt Rd., Da'an Dist., Taipei City - College of Law)

Online Registration

※ Eligible for attorney continuing education credits | Those wishing to apply for attorney continuing education hours, please sign in and collect the study certificate form on the day of the event, fill in your name, attorney certificate number, and hours yourself, and have the staff check and stamp it before leaving.

Agenda

Time	Activity		Speaker		Discussant
9:00-9:30	Admission and Registration
9:30-9:40	Opening Remarks			Ch'en Ming-t'ang / Political Deputy Minister of Justice Kao Yang-hui / Chair of the Administrative Law Committee, Taiwan Bar Association Liao Yü-ch'ing / Secretary-General of the Taiwan Law Association Chiang Jung-hsiang / Convener of the State Compensation Special Task Force Meeting, JRF
9:40-10:00	Introduction to the Civil Society Draft of the State Compensation Act
[Session 1] Moderator: Chiang Jung-hsiang / Convener of the State Compensation Special Task Force Meeting, JRF
10:00-11:20 (80 mins)	The Significance of Comprehensive Amendment to the State Compensation Act		Lin Ming-chiang / Distinguished Professor, Department of Law, National Taiwan University (30 mins)		Liu Ying-hsiu / Director of the Department of Legal Affairs, Ministry of Justice Cheng Ming-hsiu / Distinguished Professor, Department of Law, Soochow University Lin Hsing-ju / Associate Professor, Graduate Institute of Ocean Law and Policy, National Taiwan Ocean University (3 persons / 45 mins)
11:20-11:35(15 mins)	General Discussion
11:35-12:55 (80 mins)	Lunch
[Session 2] Moderator: Hung Chia-yin / Distinguished Professor, Department of Law, Soochow University
13:00-14:20 (80 mins)	Principles of Attribution for State Compensation Liability—Moving from Fault Liability to Enterprise Liability		Lin Chia-ho / Associate Professor, Department of Law, National Chengchi University (30 mins)		Chou Yü-hsiu / Chair of the Constitutional Reform Committee, Taiwan Bar Association Wang Ch'en-huan / Managing Partner, Chien-Yeh Law Offices Wang Yün-ju / Professor, Department of Law, National Chung Cheng University (3 persons / 45 mins)
14:20-14:35 (15 mins)	General Discussion
14:35-15:00 (25 mins)	Intermission and Tea Break
[Session 3] Moderator: Huang Hsü-t'ien / Chairperson of the Judicial Reform Foundation
15:00-16:20 (80 mins)	State Compensation Liability of Judges		Fan Wen-ch'ing / Associate Professor, Department of Law, Soochow University (30 mins)		Chang Sheng-hsing / Judge Lü Li-hsiang / Assistant Professor, Graduate Institute of Cultural and Educational Law & Indigenous Law Program, National Taipei University of Education Chang Chih-wei / Assistant Professor, Department of Public Affairs and Administration, Ming Chuan University (3 persons / 45 mins)
16:20-16:35 (15 mins)	General Discussion
16:35-	Conclusion

Appendix

Comparison Table of Civil Society and Executive Yuan Draft Amendments to the State Compensation Act (Not finalized, for seminar use only)

Organizer

Judicial Reform Foundation
Administrative Law Committee, Taiwan Bar Association
Constitutional Reform Committee, Taiwan Bar Association
Judicial Reform Committee, Taiwan Bar Association
Taiwan Law Association

Contact

Lü Cheng-yen, Attorney, Director of Legal Policy Department
Phone: 02-2523-1178#37
Email: elvin@jrf.org.tw

Ch'en Yu-chia, Bill Researcher, Legal Policy Department
Phone: 02-2523-1178#23
Email: megan@jrf.org.tw