Judicial Reform Blueprint

Judicial Reform Blueprint

When the Judicial Reform Foundation was established in 1995, Taiwan's judicial problems were numerous, complex, and deeply interconnected. The following year, in 1996, former Chairperson Attorney Ch'en Chuan-yüeh therefore initiated the formation of the "Committee for Drafting the Judicial Reform Blueprint," with the aim of developing a comprehensive reform plan that would serve as a benchmark for the JRF's long-term advocacy.

After three years of deliberation, the committee completed the Judicial Reform Blueprint in 1998, and the book was published in January 1999. It is divided into eight chapters: Chapter 1, Basic Principles; Chapter 2, Judicial Organization; Chapter 3, The Litigation System; Chapter 4, The Judge System; Chapter 5, The Prosecutor System; Chapter 6, The Attorney System; Chapter 7, Training and In-Service Education of Legal Professionals; and Chapter 8, Education of Legal Professionals.

In early 2009, the tenth anniversary of the Judicial Reform Blueprint, the JRF set out to develop a new-generation blueprint that would review the reform proposals made a decade earlier and offer more forward-looking recommendations for Taiwan's judiciary. Because of the project's immense scope, however, only part of it was completed. In 2013, former Chairperson Attorney Ku Li-hsiung revived the project by convening the "Committee for Drafting the Second-Generation Judicial Reform Blueprint." The Second-Generation Judicial Reform Blueprint was originally scheduled for release in 2016 as a guide for the JRF's future work; however, because the National Congress on Judicial Reform was convened around that time, the related proposals were instead presented to the public separately.

In 2025, the JRF's 30th anniversary year, the organization's specialized working groups spent a year drafting the Third-Generation Judicial Reform Blueprint, and a series of related events will be held in 2026.