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Laws & Regulations Database of The Republic of China (Taiwan)

Print Time:2024/11/22 07:53
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Chapter Law Content

CHAPTER IV TRIAL PROCEDURE
Section 5 FINAL DELIBERATION AND JUDGMENT
Article 81
Unless there exist extraordinary circumstances, the Final Deliberation shall be conducted promptly after the conclusion of proceedings of oral arguments.
Article 82
The Final Deliberation shall be conducted by the full panel of Tribunal with citizen judges, with the participation of citizen judges as well as judges, in which issues on the findings of facts, the application of the law, and the sentencing shall be deliberated in the foregoing sequence.
All judges and the citizen judges shall participate in the entire process of the Final Deliberation stipulated in the preceding paragraph, with the presiding judge serving as the chairperson.
During the final deliberation, the presiding judge shall earnestly explain the general principles of criminal trial, the facts of the case concerned and the contentious legal issues, and illustrate the outcome of the investigation of various pieces of evidence, as well as offer plenty of opportunities for the judges and the citizen judges to freely state their opinions and fully discuss the case, so as to ensure that the citizen judges may reach their independent decisions in the fulfilment of their appropriate authority.
The presiding judge shall, if he or she deems it necessary, elaborate to the citizen judges matters on the admissibility of evidence, the necessity of the investigation of evidence, the rulings regarding the litigation proceedings and the interpretation of laws and regulations, which have been exclusively determined by the panel of judges.
The citizen judges shall exercise their duties stipulated in the first paragraph of this article in observation of the foregoing elaboration given by the presiding judge.
During the Final Deliberation, each citizen judge and judge shall state in turn his or her opinions on the findings of fact, the application of the law and sentencing individually.
A citizen judge may not refuse to state his or her opinions on a subsequent matter to be discussed in the final deliberation solely for the reason that his or her opinions on a previous matter were in the minority.
An alternate citizen judge who observed the proceedings as such may not take part nor state his or her opinions in the Final Deliberation.
Article 83
A verdict of guilty is rendered by the approval of the Tribunal with the two-third members, including at least one citizen judge and one judge. In the circumstances that the said approval is not satisfied, a verdict of not guilty or a finding in favor of the defendant should be rendered.
A verdict of exemption from prosecution, dismissal, or lack of jurisdiction to hear the case is rendered by the Tribunal with the approval of the majority members, including at least one citizen judge and one judge.
A decision of the Deliberation on sentencing is rendered by the Tribunal with the approval of the majority members, including at least one citizen judge and one judge. However, a decision of death penalty shall not be rendered without the approval of the two-third members, including at least one citizen judge and one judge.
When the Deliberation involves the decision for the first half of the preceding paragraph and the approval with the majority members, including at least one citizen judge and one judge, is not reached due to divided opinions, the decision is made by the approval that the least favorable opinion to the defendant is added into the second least favorable, until a majority including at least one citizen judge and one judge is reached.
Article 84
Unless there exist extraordinary circumstances, a Final Deliberation that cannot come to its conclusion on the day shall continue the next day.
Article 85
A citizen judge and a judge shall keep the knowledge he or she acquires in Final Deliberation, including the expressions of individual opinions, the overall direction of the general views, and other occurrences in Final Deliberation in strict confidence.
The parties, the defense attorney, or the assistant of the accused may, after the judgment is finalized, make a petition for reviewing the deliberation opinions. No note-taking, photocopying, video recording, or copying thereof shall be allowed.
With regard to the circumstances of the preceding paragraph, the personal information, as defined in Subparagraph 1 of Article 2 of Personal Data Protection Act, of a citizen judge shall be kept in confidence, which shall not be subject to reviewing.
Article 86
Unless there exist extraordinary circumstances, the judgment shall be pronounced promptly after the conclusion of the Final Deliberation.
A judgment shall be pronounced by reading aloud the syllabus of the decision, accompanied by necessary explanation of its meanings. With regard to a judgment imposing a sentence, the said judgment may be pronounced by reading out only the offense convicted and the principal punishment.
The court shall notify the citizen judges the date set for pronouncing the judgment so that they may be present at court. However, the pronouncement of judgment may proceed without the presence of the citizen judges at court.
After the pronouncement of judgment, the original copy of the said judgment shall be given to the clerk within thirty days from the date of the pronouncement of the judgment at the latest.
Article 87
The judgment pronounced by the Tribunal with citizen judges shall be written and signed by the judges. In addition, the written judgment shall indicate that the said case was jointly tried by all of the citizen judges.
Article 88
A judgment that contains a guilty conviction, regarding the grounds on which the findings of facts are made, may merely show the titles of material or documentary exhibits, and the reasons for the conclusion on the critical contentious issues.
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