|
Military judicial
system altered
CIVILIAN JURISDICTION: A consensus was reached
in cross-party negotiations in the morning. The Hung case will be immediately
transferred out of the military system
By Chris Wang / Staff reporter
Democratic Progressive Party
lawmakers hold up signs in the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday after
amendments to the Code of Court Martial Procedure and the National Security Act
were passed.
Photo: CNA
The Legislative Yuan yesterday passed
amendments to the Code of Court Martial Procedure (軍事審判法) and the National
Security Act (國家安全法) that would transfer jurisdiction of all military criminal
cases to the civilian judicial system during peacetime.
The immediate result of the vote is that the prosecution of 18 army officers and
non-commissioned officers in connection with the death of army corporal Hung
Chung-chiu (洪仲丘) last month will be passed to civilian prosecutors and judges.
Other military criminal cases will be transferred to the civilian system by the
beginning of next year.
Political parties quickly reached a consensus on the issue yesterday morning in
a cross-party negotiation convened by Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平)
that came less than three days after hundreds of thousands of people
demonstrated in Taipei on Saturday to demand the immediate reform of the
military judicial system.
Lawmakers hailed the vote as “historic” and said that the move would safeguard
human rights in the military and enforce the principle of judicial monism.
The amended clauses include Articles 1, 34 and 237 of the Code of Court Martial
Procedure and Article 8 of the National Security Act.
The amendments transfer jurisdiction for cases involving abuse of subordinates,
obstruction of petition by violence or threat, offense against the external
security of the nation and other criminal cases.
The Democratic Progressive Party caucus said it welcomed the amendments, since
the party has always advocated the use of a single, centralized judicial system
during peacetime.
The military’s handling of the investigation into Hung’s death has sparked
widespread public outrage, with many people saying they no longer trusted the
military judicial system.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lai Shyh-bao (賴士葆) told a news
conference at the legislature that his party, which previously insisted on a
two-phase amendment of the legislation, had listened to the public’s demands and
agreed to amend the laws in one go, but implement the reform in two phases.
That means the Hung case, as well as other cases that fit the criteria, will be
immediately transferred while all other military criminal cases will be
transferred in five months to allow time for the military and civilian judicial
systems to work out the transfer process.
However, the KMT insists that a special military court be established under the
Ministry of Justice since expertise on military affairs would be required for
prosecutors and judges who handle such cases, Lai said.
Some lawmakers were not happy with the rush to pass the amendments.
KMT Legislator Chen Cheng-hsiang (陳鎮湘), a retired general who has been one of
the most vocal critics of the proposed transfer, said wrongdoers in the military
should be punished, but the image of the nation’s military should not be
tarnished by one case.
Chen said that under the amendments, the definition of abuse would be ambiguous,
which could destroy the military. He said it would be a “tragedy” if
supplementary measures were not put into place.
Taiwan Solidarity Union caucus whip Hsu Chung-hsin (許忠信) said he was concerned
that the military might not cooperate with civilian investigators on military
criminal cases in the future.
The Ministry of National Defense said it would fully cooperate with the civilian
judicial system in the execution of the amendments.
Ministry spokesman Major General David Lo (羅紹和) said the military is studying
and comparing the military confinement systems in the US, the UK and Japan as
part of the process to draft amendments to the Punishment Act of Armed Forces
(陸海空軍懲罰法).
After a draft is completed, the military would hold a series of public hearings
before sending its proposal to the Executive Yuan for approval and the
Legislative Yuan for review, Lo said.
Meanwhile, the North Military District Court early yesterday morning upheld its
earlier decision to release Staff Sergeant Chen Yi-hsun (陳毅勳) on bail.
Chen Yi-hsun, who oversaw Hung’s punishment, was released on Thursday last week
on NT$150,000 bail. He faces the most serious charge of those indicted for
allegedly abusing Hung to death by forcing him to do excessive exercises.
The Military High Court on Monday ordered the North Military District Court to
review its decision to release the sergeant on bail.
Chen Yi-hsun was quoted as telling the court during a late-night hearing that he
was willing to remain in custody if his detention would help uncover the truth.
An attorney for the Hung family had argued for Chen Yi-hsun to be kept in
custody, saying that he would be able to make telephone calls if released and
might be able to collude with the other defendants.
Additional reporting by Rich Chang
|
