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CHAPTER III CITIZEN JUDGES AND ALTERNATE CITIZEN JUDGES
Section 3 SELECTION OF CITIZEN JUDGES AND ALTERNATE CITIZEN JUDGES
Article 17
Before September 1st of each year the district court shall notify the municipality, city, or county government within its jurisdiction the estimated number of the potential citizen judges required for the next year.
Before October 1st of each year the municipality, city, or county government referred to in the preceding paragraph shall randomly select the potential citizen judges in the number required by lottery from the eligible individuals within the jurisdiction of the district court with qualifications set forth in Paragraph 1 of Article 12, and prepare a preliminary roster of the potential citizen judges and submit it to the district court.
Regulations on the preparation and management of the preliminary roster of the potential citizen judges referred to in the preceding paragraph shall be prescribed by the Judicial Yuan together in consultation with the Executive Yuan.
Article 18
The district court shall establish a review committee for the potential citizen judges. The president of the district court or a person that appointed by the said president shall serve as a member as well as the convener of the committee. The remaining five committee members shall be appointed by the president of the district court in accordance with the following requirements:
1. One judge of the District Court;
2. One prosecutor of the Prosecutors' Office of the District Court;
3. The Commissioner of the Department of Civil Affairs of the municipality, city, or county government within the jurisdiction of the District Court, or the person appointed by the said director;
4. One attorney representing and recommended by the local Bar Association within the jurisdiction of the District Court, or one recommended by Taiwan Bar Association if there is no such association within the area; and
5. One scholar, expert or just and fair individual within the jurisdiction of the District Court, besides the individuals referred to in the preceding subparagraph.
Article 19
The authority of the review committee for the potential citizen judges are as follows:
1. To review whether the preliminary roster of the potential citizen judges prepared by the municipality, city, or county government is correct;
2. To review whether any of the potential citizen judges shall not be eligible pursuant to Article 13 or 14; and
3. To prepare the second-round roster of the potential citizen judges.
The review committee for the potential citizen judges may gather information and conduct investigation for the review referred to in the preceding paragraph. The authorities retaining the required information shall cooperate.
The regulations on the review procedures, methods of information investigation and gathering, and other authorities to be exercised by the review committee of the potential citizen judges, referred to in the preceding two paragraphs, shall be prescribed by the Judicial Yuan.
The members of the review committee for the potential citizen judges and other relative individuals shall not disclose the personal information they came to know during the course of performing their duties.
Article 20
The district court shall notify each of the potential citizen judges on the second-round roster of the potential citizen judges in writing after the second-round roster is completed.
Article 21
In a trial with civil participation, the court shall, prior to proceedings on the trial date, randomly draw prospective citizen judges from the second roster of the potential citizen judges in the number required by the case and conduct necessary investigations to confirm the non-selection (or removal) either on the ground of disqualifications set forth in the in Article12, Paragraph 1 or on the ground of ineligibility set forth in Articles 13 to 15.
Where the random selection referred to in the preceding paragraph did not produce the required number of prospective citizen judges, the court shall repeat the random selection process in accordance with the preceding paragraph.
Article 22
The court shall notify each of the prospective citizen judges to be present at court by a written notice issued thirty days before the citizen judges selection date.
The written notice referred to in the preceding paragraph shall be accompanied by a summary guideline of the system of civil participation in criminal trials and a qualification form for a prospective citizen judge. A prospective citizen judge shall fill out the qualification form with true and correct information, and submit it to the court ten days before the citizen judges selection date.
The matters to be included in the guideline and qualification form referred to in the preceding paragraph shall be prescribed by the Judicial Yuan.
The court shall conduct necessary investigations after receiving the survey form referred to in Paragraph 2 of this article. The court shall remove a prospective citizen judge where he or she lacks the necessary qualifications set forth in Article 12, Paragraph 1, where there exists a ground of ineligibility set forth in Articles 13 to 15 in his or her profile, or where he or she refuses to serve as a citizen judge after reporting the existence of a ground contained in Article 16. The court shall notify the prospective citizen judge concerned of its removal decision.
Article 23
The court shall provide the prosecutor and the defense attorney with a roster of the prospective citizen judges who shall be present at court two days before the citizen judges selection date of the citizen judges.
For undergoing the selection procedures of citizen judges, the court shall provide the prosecutor and the defense attorney with the qualification forms filled by the prospective citizen judges who shall be present at court for their review. No note-taking, photocopying or video recording of the aforementioned forms shall be allowed.
Article 24
The court shall notify the parties of the case and the defense attorney of the citizen judges selection date.
The accused may choose not to be present on the citizen judges selection date. The court may prohibit the accused from being present or restrict their presence if it deems their being present is inappropriate.
Article 25
The proceedings for the selection of the citizen judges shall not be held in open court, and shall not proceed without the presence of the prosecutor and the defense attorney.
The court may orally inform the date, time, and location for the next session of the proceeding for the selection of the citizen judges, and the punishment of being absent without cause, and put the same on record, which shall have the same effect as a written notice that has been delivered.
Article 26
For undergoing the procedure provided in Article 27, the court may, on its own initiative or upon the request of the prosecutor or the defense attorney, question the prospective citizen judges who are present in court at any time.
The questioning in the preceding paragraph may be conducted directly by the prosecutor or the defense attorney where the court deems it appropriate.
The questioning in the preceding two paragraphs may be conducted by the court to the prospective citizen judges collectively, in groups or individually, and more than once.
To the questions in accordance with the preceding two paragraphs, the prospective citizen judges shall not make any false statement, nor refuse to answer without justifiable reasons.
The prospective citizen judges shall keep any secrets that he or she comes to know in the course of the examination in confidence.
Before starting the initial questioning, the court shall inform the prospective citizen judges of the obligations and legal effects of the preceding two paragraphs.
Article 27
Where a prospective citizen judge lacks the necessary qualifications set forth in Article 12, Paragraph 1, where there exists a ground of ineligibility set forth in Articles 13 to 15 in his or her profile, or where he or she violates the provision of Article 26, Paragraph 4, the court shall, ex officio or upon the petition of the parties or the defense attorney, rule not to select the said person; provided however, the request made by the defense attorney pursuant to Subparagraph 9 of Article 15 shall not contradict the express intention of the accused.
Where a prospective citizen judge meets any circumstances set forth in Article 16, Paragraph 1 and refuses to be selected, the court shall rule not to select the said person.
Article 28
After the completion of the procedure specified in the preceding article, the prosecutor, the accused and the defense attorney may, without giving a reason, request the court not to select any specific prospective citizen judge. However, either of the prosecution or the defense including the accused and the defense attorney shall not make the request for more than four persons.
The request made by the defense attorney shall not contradict the express intention of the accused.
The parties shall take turns in making the petition set forth in paragraph 1, with the prosecutor making the petition first.
Upon the receipt of the request made pursuant to paragraph 1, the court shall rule not to select the prospective citizen judge concerned.
Article 29
After the completion of the procedures of the preceding two articles, the court shall, through a lottery process, randomly select six citizen judges and alternate citizen judges in the number required among the prospective citizen judges who are present at court and the selection of whom has not been ruled against by the court.
The court shall assign a serial number to each of the alternate citizen judges thus selected, which represents their sequence for substituting the citizen judges.
Article 30
In addition to the method of selection specified in the preceding article, the court may, when it deems necessary and with the consent of the prosecutor and the defense attorney, select from prospective citizen judges who are present at court a certain number of ones through a lottery process, followed by assigning a serial number to each of them, and conducting the non-selection-by-rulings process pursuant to Articles 27 and 28. Those prospective citizen judges selected through the aforementioned process who are not subject to a non-selection ruling shall be appointed as citizen judges and alternate citizen judges in the sequence according to his or her serial number to fill the vacancies of the panel until it is fulfilled.
In order to select citizen judges and alternate citizen judges at a number sufficient to compose a panel, the court may repeat the process specified in the preceding paragraph.
Paragraph 2 of the preceding article shall apply mutatis mutandis to the situations stipulated in the preceding two paragraphs.
Article 31
When the number of prospective citizen judges in the roster is not sufficient for filling the vacancies of the citizen judges or alternate citizen judges necessary to compose a panel, the court shall conduct the selection proceedings all over again, instead of randomly selecting citizen judges or alternate citizen judges through a lottery process from the prospective citizen judges who are present to fill the vacancies.
Article 32
No interlocutory appeal may be filed against a ruling made by the court in the course of the selection procedure.
Article 33
For the purpose of conducting investigations on matters provided in Article 12, Paragraph 1 and Articles 13 to 15, the district court may utilize relevant personal information database for auto reviewing, the request of which the competent administrative agencies for management and maintenance shall not refuse and shall provide batch processing query platform and access authority.
Article 34
Regulations on necessary matters in respect of the conducting of the selection proceedings shall be prescribed by the Judicial Yuan.