The judiciary is the last line of defense for social justice. If it fails to win the public's trust, society will fall into a dilemma where everyone speaks their own truth and right and wrong are hard to determine. Although judicial reform has made some progress since its inception, with Taiwan's advancement and the rise of human rights awareness, society's demands for justice are growing day by day.

From the past to the present, while reforms such as reflecting on wrongful convictions and removing incompetent judicial personnel have made slow progress, it is difficult to make the public feel the impact overnight. Furthermore, facing new problems such as rampant fraud and exploding caseloads that squeeze judicial quality, new public grievances are generated. Amidst the dilemma of "old problems remaining and new problems arising," there is an even greater need for bold and resolute judicial reform driven from the perspectives of the public and grassroots personnel.

The vision of judicial reform most directly reflects presidential candidates' imagination of justice and human rights. We call upon presidential candidates of all parties to propose new visions and directions for enhancing judicial justice and human rights during the campaign, and to commit to valuing and promoting judicial reform after being elected.

To this end, a total of 18 civil society organizations have united to meet with presidential candidates Hou You-ih and Lai Ching-te on October 23 and October 25, respectively. Following the meetings, a press conference will be held to express our expectations for judicial reform and to take questions from the media.

Regarding presidential candidate Ko Wen-je, we are actively in contact with his office and will hold a meeting in the near future. As for Mr. Kuo Tai-ming, who has recently been actively conducting petitioning to run for president, we will contact and arrange a meeting once his official registration is completed.

 

Co-hosting Organizations (18 Organizations in Total)

Judicial Reform Foundation
Taiwan Bar Association
Taipei Bar Association
Covenant Watch
National联盟 of Persons with Disabilities, R.O.C.
Taiwan Association to End the Death Penalty
Taiwan Association for Children and Youth Rights and Welfare
Garden of Hope Foundation
Taipei Women's Rescue Foundation
Taiwan Innocence Project
Taiwan Association for Human Rights
Taiwan Criminal Defense Lawyers Association
Taiwan Police Rights Association
Taiwan Labour Front
Environmental Rights Foundation
Environmental Jurists Association
Stella Maris Hsinchu - Migrant Workers Center
Taiwan Indigenous Peoples Policy Association

Press Contacts

Lü Cheng-yen, Attorney-at-Law, Director of the Department of Legal Policy, Judicial Reform Foundation 02-2523-1178 #37