Court Organization Act Passes Third Reading: Victims May Request to View Deliberation Opinions After Judgment is Finalized
The Legislative Yuan passed the third reading of the amendment to Article 106 of the Court Organization Act. This amendment allows victims to request to view deliberation opinions after a judgment is finalized and stipulates that deliberation records for cases resulting in the death penalty must be permanently preserved. This revision, based on a proposal by KMT Legislator Weng Hsiao-ling and further amended by Wu Tsung-hsien, aims to maintain social order and ensure fair trial procedures.
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- 📰 Published: April 17, 2026 at 13:18
- 🔍 Collected: April 17, 2026 at 13:31 (13 min after Published)
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 17, 2026 at 17:30 (3h 58m after Collected)
Central News Agency
(Central News Agency reporter Wang Yang-yu, Taipei, 17th) The Legislative Yuan today passed the third reading of the amendment to Article 106 of the Court Organization Act. In addition to adding that victims may request to view deliberation opinions after a judgment is finalized, it also stipulates that deliberation records for cases resulting in the death penalty must be permanently preserved.
The Judiciary and Organic Laws and Statutes Committee of the Legislative Yuan reviewed the amendment draft of Article 106 of the Court Organization Act proposed by Kuomintang Legislator Weng Hsiao-ling on January 29.
The current Article 106 of the Court Organization Act stipulates that the opinions of each judge during deliberation should be recorded in the deliberation book and strictly kept confidential before the judgment of the case is finalized. The parties, litigation agents, defense attorneys, or former assistants of the case may request to view the deliberation opinions after the judgment is finalized. However, copying, photographing, or photocopying is not allowed.
Weng Hsiao-ling's proposed amendment pointed out that given the significant impact of death penalty judgments on social security and the profound impact on the defendant's right to life, the content of such judgments' deliberations is crucial. However, according to current regulations for institutional archives, deliberation books only need to be preserved for 10 years, which could lead to cases where the death penalty has been imposed potentially escaping execution due to the loss of deliberation books, making it impossible to confirm whether it was a unanimous decision.
Weng Hsiao-ling mentioned that to maintain social order and ensure proper trial procedures, she proposed an amendment to add a provision that deliberation books for cases resulting in the death penalty should be permanently preserved.
During the committee discussion, Kuomintang Legislator Wu Tsung-hsien and others proposed an amendment motion, which, in addition to Weng Hsiao-ling's proposal, also added that "victims" may request to view deliberation opinions after a judgment is finalized and defined what constitutes a "victim." After discussions among legislators from both ruling and opposition parties and officials from the Judicial Yuan, the amendment motion proposed by Wu Tsung-hsien and others was passed. It did not need to be sent to party caucus negotiations.
The entire case was processed in the Legislative Yuan today, and no legislators raised objections, thus passing the third reading of the amendment.
The third-reading passed article stipulates that the parties, litigation agents, defense attorneys, victims, or former assistants of the case may request to view deliberation opinions after a judgment is finalized. However, copying, photographing, or photocopying is not allowed. The term "victim" refers to a victim of crime as defined in Article 3, Paragraph 2 of the Crime Victim Rights Protection Act; if the victim of crime dies, their family members as defined in Paragraph 3 of the same article are considered victims under this article. In addition, deliberation books for cases resulting in the death penalty should be permanently preserved. (Editor: Chang Jo-yao) 20260417
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(Central News Agency reporter Wang Yang-yu, Taipei, 17th) The Legislative Yuan today passed the third reading of the amendment to Article 106 of the Court Organization Act. In addition to adding that victims may request to view deliberation opinions after a judgment is finalized, it also stipulates that deliberation records for cases resulting in the death penalty must be permanently preserved.
The Judiciary and Organic Laws and Statutes Committee of the Legislative Yuan reviewed the amendment draft of Article 106 of the Court Organization Act proposed by Kuomintang Legislator Weng Hsiao-ling on January 29.
The current Article 106 of the Court Organization Act stipulates that the opinions of each judge during deliberation should be recorded in the deliberation book and strictly kept confidential before the judgment of the case is finalized. The parties, litigation agents, defense attorneys, or former assistants of the case may request to view the deliberation opinions after the judgment is finalized. However, copying, photographing, or photocopying is not allowed.
Weng Hsiao-ling's proposed amendment pointed out that given the significant impact of death penalty judgments on social security and the profound impact on the defendant's right to life, the content of such judgments' deliberations is crucial. However, according to current regulations for institutional archives, deliberation books only need to be preserved for 10 years, which could lead to cases where the death penalty has been imposed potentially escaping execution due to the loss of deliberation books, making it impossible to confirm whether it was a unanimous decision.
Weng Hsiao-ling mentioned that to maintain social order and ensure proper trial procedures, she proposed an amendment to add a provision that deliberation books for cases resulting in the death penalty should be permanently preserved.
During the committee discussion, Kuomintang Legislator Wu Tsung-hsien and others proposed an amendment motion, which, in addition to Weng Hsiao-ling's proposal, also added that "victims" may request to view deliberation opinions after a judgment is finalized and defined what constitutes a "victim." After discussions among legislators from both ruling and opposition parties and officials from the Judicial Yuan, the amendment motion proposed by Wu Tsung-hsien and others was passed. It did not need to be sent to party caucus negotiations.
The entire case was processed in the Legislative Yuan today, and no legislators raised objections, thus passing the third reading of the amendment.
The third-reading passed article stipulates that the parties, litigation agents, defense attorneys, victims, or former assistants of the case may request to view deliberation opinions after a judgment is finalized. However, copying, photographing, or photocopying is not allowed. The term "victim" refers to a victim of crime as defined in Article 3, Paragraph 2 of the Crime Victim Rights Protection Act; if the victim of crime dies, their family members as defined in Paragraph 3 of the same article are considered victims under this article. In addition, deliberation books for cases resulting in the death penalty should be permanently preserved. (Editor: Chang Jo-yao) 20260417
Choose to stand with facts, every sponsorship you make is a force to protect press freedom.
Download the Central News Agency "First-hand News" APP to stay updated with the latest news.
The text, images, and audio-visual content of this website may not be reproduced, publicly broadcast, publicly transmitted, or utilized without authorization.
FAQ
When can victims request to view deliberation opinions according to the amendment to the Court Organization Act?
Victims may request to view deliberation opinions after the judgment is finalized.
How will deliberation records for cases resulting in the death penalty be handled?
Deliberation records for cases resulting in the death penalty must be permanently preserved.