Taiwan has been experiencing a wave of espionage cases, prompting President of the Republic of China, Lai Ching-te, to announce today (13th) that the military judicial system will be reinstated in response. The Ministry of National Defense held a press conference in the afternoon to explain the plan and proposed five principles for legislative amendments.
President Lai Ching-te convened a national security high-level meeting at the Presidential Office in Taiwan today. In his speech following the meeting, he expressed concerns about the deliberate infiltration and espionage activities conducted by the Communist Party of China within the Taiwanese military. He mentioned that 66% of current and former military personnel involved in espionage cases brought to trial last year were military personnel. To address this threat, the military judicial system will be reinstated in the future, with active-duty military personnel who violate military laws to be prosecuted by military courts.
The Ministry of National Defense in Taiwan convened the “Explanation of the New Military Judicial System Plan” at 4 p.m., presided over by Major General Sun Li-fang, director of the Military News Bureau, with Major General Shen Shi-wei, director of the Legal Affairs Bureau, explaining the related planning. Sun Li-fang stated that since the amendment of the military judicial system law in 2013, military law cases have been fully transferred to judicial authorities in two phases starting from August of the same year. The military retains the function of trying military crimes only during wartime.
Shen Shi-wei mentioned that over the 11 years since the restructuring, the Ministry of National Defense has attempted to maintain the operation of military trials during peacetime by conducting internal training and temporarily appointing military judges to serve as prosecutors in the prosecution office. However, the effectiveness has been limited. After a comprehensive review, it was concluded that maintaining a military legal system that operates normally during peacetime is essential to smoothly transform military trials between peacetime and wartime, in order to uphold military discipline rigorously, safeguard human rights, and enhance national security.
Regarding future legislative directions, Shen Shi-wei pointed out that there was a period in the history of the Republic of China where military trials were not trusted by the public. Concerns such as hierarchical jurisdiction and lack of independence still persist in various sectors of society and are acknowledged by the Ministry of National Defense. The upcoming legislative amendments will be comprehensively reviewed and adjusted to ensure that the reinstated military judicial system complies with the principles of fair trials, constitutional requirements for due legal process, and balances human rights protection with military discipline to strengthen national security. He reported the future legislative plans of the Ministry of National Defense as follows:
(1) Military judicial cases primarily focused on crimes committed in the line of duty by military personnel: In the future, active-duty military personnel who commit military crimes under the Army, Navy, and Air Force Criminal Code, such as offenses related to violating national loyalty duties, will be subject to military trial; while cases of general crimes committed by military personnel will continue to be handled by judicial authorities.
(2) Enactment of the Military Court Organization Act and the Military Prosecutors Office Organization Act: The Ministry of National Defense’s regulations allow for the establishment of military courts and military prosecutors offices in suitable areas according to the needs of military units, operating based on the “Organization Guidelines for Military Courts at Various Levels of the Ministry of National Defense.” To enhance the independence of the institutions and prevent external interference in investigations and trials, separate laws for the organization of military courts and military prosecutors offices will be devised.
(3) Creation of the “Military Judges Personnel Act”: The current regulations governing the appointment, employment, and service of military personnel in the national armed forces do not contain specific provisions for military judges, unlike the system of institutional safeguards provided for judges under the Judges Act. To ensure fairness and independence, the military will establish regulations for the appointment, transfer, evaluation, and dismissal of military judges separate from the general military personnel system.
(4) Military judges involved in investigations and trials must have military experience: Due to the specialized nature of military law cases, military judges handling judicial matters must possess a certain level of experience or qualifications from serving in military units to properly understand the characteristics of military law cases. In the future, regulations will stipulate that military judges engaged in military investigations and trials must have a certain level of service experience within military units to be eligible for selection.
(5) The Ministry of National Defense will conduct a comprehensive review and amendment of the military judicial system to ensure adherence to the principles of fair trials and due legal process. Discussions will be held on implementing comprehensive mandatory defense and abolishing hierarchical jurisdictions. Consultations with judicial authorities, expert scholars’ opinions, appropriate planning for the design of the trial and appeal systems for fact and law review will be conducted, along with effective communication with society to garner support from the Taiwanese people.