| Summary: | 碩士 === 國立政治大學 === 法學院碩士在職專班 === 103 === A Study on the Completeness and Evidentiary Value of Written Interrogation Records
The Code of Criminal Procedure is a procedural law for stipulating state power of punishment. In the process of judicial proceedings, it is inevitable that people’s rights might be violated. Therefore criminal investigation should abide by procedural justice in order to protect human rights. Interrogation is to detain defendant or criminal suspect at a certain place, namely investigation room of District Prosecutors Office or interrogation room of judicial police agencies, where the defendant or criminal suspect will be interrogated or questioned by prosecutor or judicial policeman. Based on the principle of secret investigation, the person in question, if not accompanied by a hired lawyer, the investigation process will not be known to the public. To prevent unjustified interrogation, the first part of sub-item 1 of Article 100-1 of The Code of Criminal Procedure stipulates that when interrogating a defendant, the whole process should be tape-recorded. When necessary, the whole process will be video recorded. This is meant to guarantee the willfulness of defendant’s statement of when being interrogated as well as the correctness of interrogation record. Sub-item 2 of Article 100-1 of The Code of Criminal Procedure stipulates that if defendant’s statement in interrogation record is not in accordance with contents of interrogation tape record or video record, the Inconsistent part shall not serve as evidence, with the exception of emergency which is especially marked in the said record. Therefore, if defendant’s statement is not in accordance with contents of tape record or video record, the interrogation record will be excluded as evidence，meanwhile losing the credibility of the evidence.
In practice, the production of interrogation record is not possible to synchronize with defendant’s statement. The interrogation record is produced by selecting part of defendant’s statement that is related to the case after statement organizing by the prosecutor or judicial police officer who interrogated. In other words, interrogation record is not the word-for-word defendant’s statement. Disputes often happen on whether interrogation record agrees with the true meaning of the defendant’s statement.
This research has explored completeness and evidential power of interrogation record through documentary analysis, historical analysis, and comparative analysis. It has also conducted analysis on relevant regulations regarding interrogation (questioning) and current status of actual interrogation record. The research offers the following suggestions after a comprehensive analysis:
A. Suggestions on interrogation practice
Regarding suggestion on interrogation practice, the investigation organ should draw a complete plan to cultivate qualified investigators, so that the interrogation could be handled by professional law enforcement officials. A supervising mechanism for interrogation tape and video record should be further strengthened in order to supervise the correctness and willfulness of interrogation record.
B. Complete Plan for Investigators Cultivation
The investigation organ should draw complete plan to cultivate investigators and compile laws and regulations relevant to the work of interrogation into books. Interrogation should be standardized and classified, with the establishment of operational procedure. Based on the nature of different cases, various standard operational manuals with prepared questions should be produced.
C. Mechanism to Supervise Tape or Video Record of Interrogation
To avoid the threat or intimidation happened before wide-ranging questioning of prosecutor and judicial police officer, the witness, defendant, and suspect will immediately be led into the interrogation room once arriving at the judicial office. Whole-process video recording will be conducted immediately to prevent him from being threatening before interrogation. The exact time and place that the witness, defendant, and suspect arrive at for interrogation (questioning) and the start time of interrogation record should be clearly recorded for checking.
D. Interrogation Record
Interrogation record, after being compiled by investigator, is being recorded. The investigator should be objective and neutral, and record the statement of the person in question as complete as possible, which conforms to the principle of due process of law.
E. Stenographer of Interrogation Record
Stenographers must obtain certification after receiving professional training and pass examination. Taiwan has special professional training programs for stenographer. Stenographer is listed in examination category of “professionals and technicians” of Ministry of Examination, which meets the requirement that stenographers have to be civil servants.
F. Secondary System of Interrogation Record
In order to improve the completeness and correctness of interrogation record, computer technology can be applied to create shortcuts for commonly used phrases，reducing time for recording and compiling.
G. Revising Article 40 of the Code of Criminal Procedure
Interrogation record is recorded by computer. The printed final written version of the record will not show previous processes of addendums and deletions. Suggestion is given to revise Article 40 of the Code of Criminal Procedure according to the following quoted text: “Documents made by public functionaries are forbidden to revise or edit. Should there are addendums, deletions, or notes added, chops should be placed where such amendment occurs, with the number of altered words noted. When documents are made with computer, original texts should be kept for identification purpose.
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