The Legislative Transformation of Taiwan’s Criminal Justice and Human Rights System After Democratization

• Main Authors: Tai-San Chiu, 邱太三
• Other Authors: 翁岳生
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2009
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/47794033482928011497

博士 === 國立臺灣大學 === 國家發展研究所 === 97 === Taiwan’s Constitution, implemented in 1947, clearly defined the rights and freedoms of the people. The implementation of these rights and freedoms, especially those concerning the criminal justice system, was under the sway of the KMT’s authoritarian regime and martial law which meant they were not realized. It was not until martial law was lifted in 1987, as part of the third wave of global democratization that the legal system began to undergo a transformation. Using criminal laws as social control measure, however, does not disappear with the death of a dictator or the removal of an authoritarian regime. Instead, this practice is changed into a more subtle and pervasive form of social control. On February 1, 1993, Taiwan ushered in a new era of democracy when all the legislators were elected by the people in Taiwan and the Legislative Yuan instituted structural changes. These changes did not, however, fully promote the rights of the people. Due to different political and economical forces experienced conflict, and then negotiated and compromised; legitimacy of the ruling class and the social stability were more emphasized. Examining the criminal justice system’s response to human rights issues, the Legislative Yuan, the representative of people’s will and welfare, had apparently failed to fulfill its duty. The criminal justice, among other laws, is most closely related to social structure, and contemporary culture and values. The criminal justice system and litigation procedures are undoubtedly the embodiment of criminal justice legalism; they are also the primary tool to practice justice. To better understand the background, transformation and problems of the criminal justice system, we can take a look at the grand justice’s interpretation on the criminal justice system, human rights, detention, arrest, search, seizure, and communication freedom, and at the laws enacted or modified by the Legislative Yuan. Taiwan’s criminal justice system laid a strong foundation in the transformation and shaping of the legal culture and in the cultivation of legal professionals after the introduction of Western legal system in the Japanese Reign era. However, the interference and manipulation of the authoritarian regime resulted in the collapse of legal discipline; the consequences of this collapse continue to affect the people’s trust in the legal system. There are four major reform measures (e.g., administration separation between judges and prosecutors, institutionalization of Judicial Yuan, criminal procedure reform toward adversary principle, military criminal procedure reform) that reveal the failure of both the military and civil judicial systems to protect human rights or to dispense justice and account for the people’s mistrust of the judicial system.