《TAIPEI TIMES 焦點》 Prosecutor takes on justice minister over promotions

By Jason Pan / Staff reporter

Shilin District （士林） Prosecutor Tsai Chi-wen （蔡啟文） on Monday filed for a preliminary injunction against Minister of Justice Lo Ying-shay （羅瑩雪） with the High Administrative Court in Taipei in a dispute over promotions and transfers of judicial personnel.

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Tsai’s move is considered the first time in the nation’s history that a public prosecutor has publicly challenged the head of the Ministry of Justice.

The dispute stems from disagreements over the ministry’s jurisdiction and administrative power, which Tsai says has affected the judicial independence of prosecutors.

Tsai said he was opposed to the minister having the final say on promotions to head prosecutor, as well as job transfers and demotions for public prosecutors, with Lo selecting names from a list of recommended personnel.

Tsai, who is a member of the Prosecutors’ Personnel Review Committee, said that according to the Judges Act （法官法）, the power to make a decision is vested in the committee, which submits a prioritized list of names to match vacancies. In principle, the minister of justice gives perfunctory approval, he said.

However, the conventional practice has been for the committee to provide extra names, giving Lo more choices.

“The current practice contravenes the Judges Act. It allows chief prosecutors and the minister of justice to monopolize promotions and transfers of public prosecutors, and so, those who get promoted are those sycophantic [prosecutors] who are subservient to their superiors,” Tsai said.

The High Administrative Court is considering Tsai’s petition, which can temporarily freeze Lo’s selections for a promotion and transfer list submitted last month.

Tsai said the action is needed to bring democracy to the nation’s judicial system.

“We must strip this power from the chief prosecutor, because they have interfered in the promotions and job transfers of prosecutors,” he said.

He added that this would stop the practice of prosecutors having to “acquiesce to the political winds and personal whims of our superiors” when making an indictment.

Deputy Minister of Justice Chen Ming-tang （陳明堂） disputed Tsai’s claims, saying: “Tsai’s view is based on an erroneous interpretation of the law and a wrong understanding of the procedure.”

“The review committee was set up to increase transparency. Most prosecutors believe the current practice allows for their more qualified colleagues to be promoted or transferred,” he said.

Tsai said he aims to fight the government’s use of prosecutorial power as an instrument of oppression against Sunflower student movement activists.

“In the case of Dennis Yang （魏揚）, who led students to briefly occupy the Executive Yuan [during the Sunflower movement], he was detained for political reasons,” he said. “Those who stormed the Executive Yuan that night were people who were fed up with the prevailing social situation... For any level-minded prosecutor, there was no need to detain Yang.”

“I believe the government prosecuting Yang at the time was meant to put fear into people and to suppress the social activist movement. If we allow such actions to continue, then all prosecutors will be repudiated and held in disdain by the nation’s citizens,” Tsai said.

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES