近年來,偶發生法院就特定刑事案件之判決內容,與國民法感情之期待結果間產生嚴重落差而難以理解的判決,承辦法官更被冠以「恐龍法官」之謔稱。長久以來,國內司法實務界戮力建立司法威信之改革努力與進步,雖是有目共睹,但鑑於讓不具法律專業的一般人民參與刑事審判程序,業蔚為世界各法制先進國家的共同趨勢,考量在國民主權的原則下,同屬國家主權之一的司法權,是否仍須堅守保留於職業法官領域內專擅職掌,即有再檢討之必要。 此次司法院構思建置人民觀審制,並研議擬具「人民觀審試行條例草案」作為國民參與刑事審判程序之依據。儘管此草案具體條文內容,尚屬研議過程中而未正式對外揭露,但是涉及司法改革之觀審制,不僅受到各界重視,司法院亦積極對觀審制之相關基本原則進行宣導,而展現出政府對於國民參與審判制度導入我國刑事訴訟程序之重視。況且,觀審制之引進勢必對國民就司法審判向來僅由職業法官專擅之觀念產生衝擊,同時,制度設計本身及施行的成敗,亦攸關是否能提升國民對司法裁判的信賴感。因此,有必要先針對觀審制之原則性規範加以研究,以作為吾人後續就具體之「人民觀審試行條例草案」內容,進行探討研究之基礎。 因此,本文擬先就具有悠久發展歷史之典型國民參與審判制度--美國陪審制、德國參審制,以及法制文化背景與我國相近之韓國陪審制、日本裁判員制,加以簡要之制度性介紹;其次,就司法院構思中之人民觀審制的重要基本原則作一概要性說明;最後,參考各主要先進民主國家的國民參與審判制度後,針對在我國憲政及法制環境條件下,司法院目前所規劃之觀審制其可能涉及的違憲爭議、國民參與審判制度型態之採行、適用案件範圍、觀審員資格與選任、合議庭成員之構成、觀審員意見拘束力,或因應觀審制度之施行,現行刑事訴訟法相關重要規定宜配合調整等問題,作進一步的探討與分析,並提出本文見解,俾供立法之參考。
The motivation for this article comes from the proposed modifications to our country’legal system, particularly the attempt to introduce a pseudo jury system into the judicial decision making process. With this article, we will attempt to answer 3 major questions: 1. The concept of citizen participation in the judicial decision making process originates from abroad; what social and cultural factors lead to its creation? And what social goals are they trying to accomplish with such a system? 2. Can citizen participation in the judicial process work in Taiwan? What social, cultural, and judicial obstacles can we expect from the introduction of such a system? Can the existing Taiwanese legal structure support such a system? 3. What advantages and shortcomings can one reasonably expect from citizen participation in the judicial decision making process? In the article, we shall analyze in detail the proposed citizen participation bill currently being debated in Taiwanese parliament. We shall begin with a constitutional analysis to make sure the proposed bill is in compliance with the Taiwanese Constitution. Then we perform a side-by-side analysis of the proposed bill with existing bills in the United States, Japan, and Germany, to determine if the bill is likely to work in Taiwan.