More details were revealed about the citizen judge system that''s to come into effect in 2023, pursuant to a law passed on July 22. According to the Judicial Yuan, citizens will be asked to participate in certain criminal cases, including murder cases or those with a minimum sentence of 10 years. They will be present throughout the trial process, and they''ll join professional judges in deciding verdicts. Judges will be trained to make trial proceedings clear and comprehensible to all, so that citizens can have a meaningful role in court.
Judicial Yuan President Hsu Tzong-li, Minister of Justice Tsai Ching-hsiang and other officials pour glitter over the board to reveal a slogan: “Citizen judge participation in court trials.”
On July 22, following three rounds of cross-party negotiations and a 31-hour vote, the Legislative Yuan passed the Citizen Judges Act. The legislation was officially promulgated on Wednesday. It comes into effect on Jan. 1, 2023.
Peng Shing-ming
Judicial Yuan Criminal Department
All R.O.C. nationals aged 23 or older and who have resided in their administrative area for four months may be summoned.
To prepare for the enactment, the Judicial Yuan will provide training to judges to help them make court proceedings easier to understand. The goal is to make trials comprehensible to citizen judges, and to bring the judiciary closer to the people. Lay judges won’t simply be in court to fill up the room, says the Judicial Yuan. They’ll play a vital role on the panel.
Peng Shing-ming
Judicial Yuan Criminal Department
A panel of citizen judges will be summoned for serious criminal trials, including murder cases or criminal cases that have a minimum prison sentence of 10 years.
Ahead of the system’s implementation, Taiwan’s courts of law, the Executive Yuan, and the Ministry of Justice will be working together to raise awareness of the mixed court system and familiarize the public with the concept of citizen judges. In addition a committee will be established to assess the effectiveness of the system’s implementation.
Hsu Tong-li
Judicial Yuan president
In the future, there might be cases that require professional expertise. We might consider incorporating a panel of experts. We’ll evaluate that and see how it would work. Instating a jury system is not completely off the table.
The Citizen Judges Act aims to open up a dialogue between the public and the judiciary, so that people aren’t just an observer in the proceedings but a part of the system.
