The ROC Judicial Yuan announced a draft bill Jan. 11 for trial implementation of a quasi-jury system, which would give citizens the right to participate in courtroom trials as early as 2013.
According to the proposed act, ROC citizens aged 23 and above with a high school education and continuous residency for over four months in the area within the jurisdiction of a local district court are eligible to serve as trial panel members.
Under the system, five citizens will sit with three judges to hear serious cases, defined as those subject to the death penalty or life imprisonment. While a judge can decide whether to introduce the quasi-jury system for a particular case, defendants have no right to reject a quasi-jury.
Citizen observers will be allowed to participate in the determination of guilt, applicable laws and suggested sentencing, but their opinions will not be binding. However, when the judges rule in opposition to the citizens’ views, they are required to note their reasons for doing so.
Civic organizations have criticized the proposal for lacking teeth, arguing that binding jury trials are critical to reforming Taiwan’s judiciary.
“A jury system would help cure the three ills plaguing Taiwan’s judicial system—corruption, socially biased judges and political influences,” said Jerry Cheng, an attorney-at-law who heads an alliance promoting a 12-member jury system for Taiwan.
With judges having the final say, citizen participants may still be influenced by the views of professional judges and fail to really deliberate on their own, the alliance said, adding that with a jury system it would be difficult to bribe 12 jurors at a time.
Judicial Yuan President Rau Hau-min said the quasi-jury design, in contrast to the civic version, poses less risk of violating the ROC Constitution, which enshrines judges’ nonpartisanship and independent decision-making.
“This is only the first step to public participation in court, and it will be evaluated after the trial implementation, with adjustments or changes to follow,” Rai said.
The system is expected to enter a three-year trial run in 2013, first at Shilin and Chiayi district courts, after the bill is passed by the Legislature.
