Statement｜Tsai Chiu-ming's Silence Undermines His Suitability as President of the Judicial Yuan

On March 21 of this year, the Office of the President announced the following seven nominees for Grand Justices: Tsai Chiu-ming, Su Su-e, Chan Chen-jung, Lin Li-ying, Hsiao Wen-sheng, Chen Tzu-yang, and Cheng Chun-hui. Among them, Tsai Chiu-ming was also nominated as President of the Judicial Yuan.

Since the announcement of the nominations, civil society organizations and various sectors of society have openly raised questions to nominee Tsai Chiu-ming. On June 2, the Judicial Reform Foundation also requested the nominee to provide explanations and clarifications regarding "prosecutorial reform background, legislative amendment stances, and vision for judicial reform." However, up until the eve of the questioning session for the President of the Judicial Yuan, nominee Tsai Chiu-ming has still not replied. Therefore, our coalition of 15 organizations jointly issues the following statement:

1. Candidates for President of the Judicial Yuan should possess a willingness to engage in sincere dialogue and the determination to advance judicial reform.

2. As Tsai Chiu-ming has failed to respond to questions from civil society organizations, this coalition has no way of knowing Tsai Chiu-ming's suitability.

3. Tsai Chiu-ming should respond to the concerns of all sectors during tomorrow's questioning at the Legislative Yuan.

1. Candidates for President of the Judicial Yuan should possess a willingness to engage in sincere dialogue and the determination to advance judicial reform.

Given that the judgments rendered by Grand Justices will have major and far-reaching impacts on all citizens, this coalition has always maintained that Grand Justice nominees should possess sound "moral integrity," "constitutional and human rights ideals," and "knowledge and professionalism."

In particular, when a Grand Justice nominee is also nominated as "President of the Judicial Yuan," they exert a crucial influence on the administration of the judicial branch and the direction of judicial reform. This coalition believes that a nominee for President of the Judicial Yuan should meet the following standards and traits:

1. Has a history of important contributions, participation, or public voice in Taiwan's democratic movement or judicial (prosecutorial) reform.
2. Has a profound understanding and awareness of the hardships faced by the people within the justice system, and is able to earnestly and sincerely engage in dialogue with the public, gathering public opinions on the judiciary to achieve the goal of expanding participation.
3. Is willing to actively engage in dialogue with the public, civil society organizations, and other agencies through public forums, build consensus on reform through open and transparent means, and possesses the determination and ability to promote major reforms.

2. As Tsai Chiu-ming has failed to respond to questions from civil society organizations, this coalition has no way of knowing Tsai Chiu-ming's suitability.

However, to this day, nominee Tsai Chiu-ming has yet to formally respond to the public questions raised by civil society organizations. This coalition has no way of ascertaining: Does nominee Tsai Chiu-ming hold steadfast to constitutional ideals? Does he care about human rights ideals? Has he ever participated in or cared about judicial (prosecutorial) reform? What are his tendencies regarding the differing opinions on legislative amendments between the Judicial Yuan and the Ministry of Justice (for details, please refer to the table already presented by the Judicial Reform Foundation at its June 2 press conference)? Is he willing to engage in dialogue with the public? Does he possess the determination to advance judicial reform?

Furthermore, Tsai Chiu-ming's prosecutorial background also brought the issue of "whether a prosecutorial background is suitable for the President of the Judicial Yuan" into focus at the July 3 public hearing, drawing concern from civil society. We believe that a prosecutorial background does not inherently mean someone is unsuitable to serve as President of the Judicial Yuan; however, if the nominee fails to reasonably clarify questions raised by various sectors, it will lay hidden troubles for future communication between the Judicial Yuan, the community of judges, and all sectors of society, making it difficult to deem him a suitable candidate for President.

The abundance of questions listed above is likely not unfounded anxiety on the part of the organizations in this coalition: a candidate who may potentially serve as President of the Judicial Yuan in the future maintains an unclear attitude toward numerous major issues, leaving the outside world unable to examine his thoughts or obtain reform commitments, which undoubtedly affects his suitability. We believe that as the leader steering judicial reform for the next eight years, nominee Tsai Chiu-ming does not have the right to remain silent when faced with questions from civil society.

3. Tsai Chiu-ming should respond to the concerns of all sectors during tomorrow's questioning at the Legislative Yuan.

Tomorrow's (July 9) formal questioning procedure at the Legislative Yuan is precisely the final opportunity to publicly reply and clarify doubts. Therefore, this coalition solemnly calls upon nominee Tsai Chiu-ming to swiftly respond to the questions and concerns from all sectors. At the same time, regarding the 15 questions put forward by this coalition on March 28, we also look forward to replies from all Grand Justice nominees.

To thoroughly review the suitability of the nominees, this coalition sincerely invites legislators of all parties to conduct questioning by referencing the joint questions and Presidential questions put forward by this coalition.

Civil Coalition for Monitoring Grand Justice Nominees of the Judicial Yuan

1. Taiwan Association for Human Rights (Covenants Watch)
2. Disabled People's Federation, R.O.C.
3. Citizen's Congress Watch
4. Citizen Constitutional Promotion Alliance
5. Taipei Bar Association
6. Taiwan Association for Human Rights
7. Taiwan Criminal Defense Lawyers Association
8. Taiwan Alliance to Promote Civil Partnership Rights
9. Taiwan Association for Innocence
10. Taiwan Labour Front
11. Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty
12. Judicial Reform Foundation
13. The Awakening Foundation
14. Environmental Jurists Association
15. Taiwan Forever Association

Press Contacts

Elvin Lu, Attorney-at-Law, Director of the Legal Policy Department, Judicial Reform Foundation
Telephone: 02-2523-1178#37
Email: elvin@jrf.org.tw