Article 8 Law and Justice Standards under Permanent Peace

Preface

Who is using rule of man in place of rule of law? Who persists in citing judicial reform to consolidate judicial dictatorships? Who is the enemy of our peace and justice? The answer is not "others". It is rather our "own" party government, a government supported by the hard-earned money of our taxpayers.

Therefore

The Charter for Permanent Peace / Universal Constitution for Human Beings / Strategic Constitution and Tactics Article 8 Global Justice under Unity- this is mainly intended to address far-reaching and basic constitutional provisions regarding judicial co-opetition and innovation across national borders and down through the centuries. It establishes a global legal system with co-opetition in global jurisdiction and allows international law to directly impact the rights and obligations of the people. Universal law is applied directly to domestic courts and to the people, allowing Taiwan to lead humanity in implementing the Constitution in the form of the Charter for Permanent Peace.

Judicial reforms: self-discipline is not reliable; the Law will meet the highest expectations of the people. The head of the Judicial Branch shall be elected by the people, with qualifications for candidates the same as those for the presidency. The directly-elected head of the Judicial Branch shall put together a judicial system that responds to change and reflects the needs of the people, thoroughly innovating a feudal judicial system that is now hopelessly complicated.

In order to implement a global legal system and realize the political views and judicial reform ideas of the elected Head of Judicial Branch, the Head should simultaneously form a committee for the localization of international law consisting of 12 members with experience in this area.

Innovative global governance under rule of law will require an International Court of Justice as well as a Supra-national Constitutional Court consisting of judges nominated by a variety of recognized entities, with half of them from various nations around the world.

The review of unconstitutional actions is used in the second phase of the second stage of prosecution, ensuring that the value and dignity of all people will be protected by the Constitution. Global courts have the right to review the constitution, and the Supra-National Constitutional Court of [Taiwan] serves as the court of final judgment for unconstitutional reviews.

This judicial system offers an approach for conducting trials and reviews that ensures quality, performance and efficacy. With it, we have all the advantages other states enjoy as well as advantages that Taiwan alone offers. We are in a position to refine and repair judicial shortcomings that plague the rest of the word while demonstrating our own features to the whole world. It will yield a constitution which guarantees [Taiwan] will be a holy place for justice, with all people protected by the guardians of justice. To this end, the people of [Taiwan] and oppressed peoples around the world have nothing to lose but their chains and iron curtains. Nothing else will be lost, while at the same time gaining universal justice in a fully-responsive legal system.

Figure 8-1: National Judiciary should comply with the normative transformation of more than 20,000 international standards (ISO), and then standardize the judicial constitutional standards for permanent peace and sustainable development through standardization.

Methods

Section 1. Permanent Peace Standards 8.1 (Global Co-opetition in Judiciary)

1. We recognize one world under the judiciary of one international court of law, confirming that national judicial systems are executive bodies empowered by the international judicial organization [1] . This affirms the globalization of the judiciary and consolidation of a legal system that protects human rights and ensures peaceful rule of law. This is a duty that no state may change or shirk.

2. Global co-opetition in judiciary matters [2] . With the exception of cases and trials where jurisdiction belongs to the global international court, our nation shall exercise independent judicial powers.

3. Judicial authority is independent of the legislative, administrative and prosecutorial branches. Its power comes directly from the people, and it is directly responsible to the people without any outside interference whatever. (See the Preface for details)

Section 2. Permanent Peace Standards 8.2 (National Judiciary)

1. The Judicial Branch is the highest judicial organ of the nation, responsible for conducting trials in civil, criminal and administrative cases as well as discipline of civil servants.

2. The Judicial Branch shall interpret the constitution and has the power to interpret laws and orders in a consistent manner.

3. The Judicial Branch shall include the Supra-national Constitutional Court and courts of all levels as defined by the Constitution.

4. Except as otherwise specified in the Constitution, organization of the courts shall be prescribed by law.

Section 3. Permanent Peace Standards 8.3 (Elected Head of the Judicial Branch and the International Law Council)

1. The elected Head of the Judicial Branch shall be directly responsible to the people in handling judicial impartiality ; judicial policies; trials; administration; personnel; budgets, sources of judges (through examination or election); training, appointment and dismissal, evaluation, retirement, pensions, etc. This shall be based on common values and basic standards, with the Head of the Judicial Branch directly promoting implementation to directly guarantee the Constitution will be upheld.

2. The qualifications for the Head of the Judicial Branch shall be the same as those for the President. The candidate must have passed the constitutional exam and will serve one five-year term. Remuneration and benefits may not be adjusted for six years after he/she steps down, and with the exception of judicial academic research, participation in political activities or business ventures shall not be permitted, with violators sanctioned by law.

3. The Head of the Judicial Branch shall nominate 12 candidates for the International Law Localization Council who are at least 45 years old and place each of them in the 12 specialized committees of the Parliament. Their term of office shall be the same as that of the Head of the Judicial Branch and all shall publicly swear to refrain from political activities and withdraw from any business relations. Members of the team shall not have the right to vote in impeachment hearings for the branch head, and unless they are nominated for another term with the council, designated a lifelong legislator or serve on the Committee for Permanent Development or the Law Internalization Council, or nominated for Justices of Constitutional Court, shall receive the same remuneration and benefits for three years after stepping down; they shall also continue abjuring from political and business activities, with violators subject to legal sanctions. (See Appendix Figure 4: Judicial Branch System)

4. When a place in the International Law Localization Council is vacant, it shall be filled with a nominee by the head of the Judicial Branch, subject to approval by more than 2/3 of the remaining members of the council.

5. An international law shall not take effect immediately upon domestic legalization. Members of the International Law Localization Council shall first review the law to improve its consistency, completeness and authority in relation to both domestic and international law. (See § 4.3)

6. The Head of the Judicial Branch shall serve as a "quasi- Justice ". When there are doubts about the decisions handed down by a judge, he/she may convene a review panel, presiding over its meetings. He/she shall have the right to vote on issues, and the final decision of the Review Court of the Constitutional Court may not be further appealed.

7. Election procedures and the oath of office for the Head of the Judicial Branch shall be prescribed by law.

Section 4. Permanent Peace Standards 8.4 (Organization and Authority of the Supra-national Constitutional Court)

1. The Super-National Constitutional Court shall consist of 18 judges and one Justice of Constitutional Court (the popularly elected head of the Judicial Branch). Nine of the 18 shall be locally-born and serve a term of nine years [3] , with no distinction as to session or number of times. They are not allowed to serve on the court again for four years after their term ends, with the exception of the Justice of Constitutional Court position through being elected head of the Judicial Branch; the remaining nine judges shall come from other lands. Foreign-born judges shall enjoy lifetime tenure [4] and immunity.

2. The Justices of Constitutional Court of the Supra-National Constitutional Court shall be appointed by the Parliament, choosing from 5 persons nominated by the President, 3 of whom are foreign nationals; 5 persons nominated by the Prime Minister, 2 of whom are foreign nationals; 4 nominated by the Head of the Judicial Branch, 2 of whom are foreign nationals; and 4 persons nominated by the Prosecutor General, 2 of whom are foreign nationals [5] .

3. The Supra-national Constitutional Court shall be responsible for the following matters:

(a) Act as Court of Final Appeal for cases involving unconstitutional decisions by courts.

(b) Interpretations of international laws / world laws.

(c) Explain the Constitution.

(d) Rule on dissolution of political parties charged with unconstitutional actions.

(e) Hear impeachment cases against the President, the Prime Minister, the Prosecutor General and the Head of the Judicial Branch.

(f) Other legal matters.

4. The Supra-National Constitutional Court shall bring the following cases to trial:

(a) When there is a dispute between the rights and obligations of an international organ and the state, it is requested to explain the case of the Constitution.

(b) Cases in which the State Council, the local government or all members of the Parliament are requested to accept more than one-fourth of the cases in the form of international law or national laws and the Constitution in the form and in substance of any conflict or disagreement or doubt.

(c) Regarding the rights and obligations of the central and local governments, and the allocation of resources, especially regarding the implementation of central laws in various localities and the central government's supervision of various localities, and cases of disagreement.

(d) Cases concerning public disputes between various central organs or between the central and local governments.

(e) Unconstitutional prosecutions with no legal remedies at hand concerning any citizen claiming his/her basic rights, or his/her right of resistance, civil rights and obligations, the authority of constitutional guarantees, the loyalty of civil servants to public law services, and rights to elections, recalls, initiatives, referendums, court hearings, and protection of rights under freedom damaged by public authority.

5. In disagreements between the government and the President of the Parliament or other major constitutional cases, the Constitutional Court shall, at the request of either party, offer a decision within eight days.

6. Once a judge of the Constitutional Court is elected, he/she does not represent the government or any other authority, and his/her first task shall be to swear in public court that he/she must exercise his powers as stipulated.

7. The organization, authority and procedures of the Supra-National Constitutional Court shall be prescribed by law.

Section 5. Permanent Peace Standards 8.5 (Judicial Judgments - International Law Takes Precedence)

1. As the leader in the system of One World under One Set of Laws, [Taiwan] shall be the first to apply international law in domestic courts [6] , ensuring that all citizens are subject to international law and have full international status and dignity.

2. Any stipulation in international law may be directly referred to in decisions of the International Court of Justice, and domestic law shall not apply [7] . If a domestic court cites a law in a case that is transferred from international law to domestic law, the parties to the case are not subject to international law and remain subject to domestic law. Judges who violate the intent of this provision and thereby degrade the international status and dignity of parties involved shall be subject to legal sanctions.

3. The state shall establish a special court for serious crimes that violate international law, consisting of three judges, one of whom is native born and two other foreigners. In special cases, 5 judges shall preside over the trial, including 2 native-born judges and 3 foreign judges.

Section 6. Permanent Peace Standards 8.6 (Judicial Judgments - Laws of All Nations May be Directly Applied)

1. As the leader in the system of One World under One Set of Laws, [Taiwan] shall change the "+ addition law” system arbitrarily imposed by the leaders of various countries in the world where the adoption the international law and fair laws of other nations is decided by the executors. The “- subtraction law” system should be promoted to provide the people the right to choose and adopt any law, while the executors are obliged for the decision of the adoption according to the law.

2. We affirm that "evil laws are illegal," and we do not recognize "bad laws." Comparing the laws of every nation and being passed with constitutional review by the Supra-national Constitutional Court, it specifically guarantees that the universal values of freedom, democracy, human rights and rule of law will not lag behind those of other countries, and our posterity will improve through generations.

3. We offer a model for global multi- common law for the world (unifying all laws into one law). Any citizen who comes to [Taiwan] for the first time and makes a mistake has the right to request that the laws of his/her native country be given priority.

4. The state shall promote the Charter for Permanent Peace / The Standard Constitution of Human Unity to the whole world. When citizens of other nations go abroad, they are protected by the laws of their own country only when they come to [Taiwan]. They can also reflect the advantages and disadvantages of the laws of their own nations. [Taiwan] thus can be seen as a second home for all humankind.

Section 7. Permanent Peace Standards 8.7 (Three-Level-Three-Instance System in National Courts)

1. The state shall establish a Supreme Court, an Administrative Court, a Financial Court, a Labor Court and a Social Court as the highest courts for hearing cases regarding general legal issues and administrative, financial, labor, and social legal issues [8] . Selection of the judges for such courts shall be prescribed by law in accordance with the nature of the case.

2. The Justices of Constitutional Court shall be nominated by the Head of the Judicial Branch and appointed by the President after approval by more than half of all members of the legislature. If the President disagrees with the nomination, he/she shall return the issue to the legislature for another vote. If more than two-thirds of all members of the legislature approve the nominee, the President must accept the nomination; if less than two-thirds show support, the Head of the Judicial Branch must nominate a different candidate.

3. Military units shall not establish trial courts, and military administrative offices may not act as judges or make rulings on final judgments. In special cases, however, the state may set up provisional military courts to serve the armed forces as national courts. These courts shall exercise criminal jurisdiction only over members of the armed forces stationed abroad or on warships. Their rulings shall not serve as final judgments, however, and details of their organization and procedures shall be prescribed by national law.

4. The state may set up special courts where necessary to deal with disciplinary procedures and petitions regarding the actions of public officials.

5. The state shall not set up provisional courts or courts to deal [9] with special issues. No one may be denied the right to be heard by a judge in accordance with the law.

6. Courts shall be established on the principle of the Three-Level-Three-Instance System. Special conditions must be specifically prescribed by law. When a case is concluded in the second instance, but the verdict differs in the first and second instance due to different opinions, the party have the right to appeal for the third instance.

7. Before arguments begin in court, the party may request the change of judges up to two times. The courts also have the right to provide a list of judges for the party to choose and agree on. Details should be set by the related courts [10] .

8. Where constitutional provisions, restraint clauses, guarantee clauses or entrustment clauses offer broad coverage without specific laws in regard to a case, the court shall call for a jury trial as a legal precedent. If the jury system is not well defined, the competent court has the right to adopt a preferred jury system used in other countries [11] .

9. Organization of the courts shall be prescribed by law.

Section 8. Permanent Peace Standards 8.8 (Authority of Judges – Regulations on Sitting Judges for Practicing as Trial Lawyers)

1. The judicial power of the people of [Taiwan] is entrusted to judges as the guarantors of constitutional and international judicial norms, including the Basic Principles on the Independence of the Judiciary.

2. Judges must be above party politics and shall render judgments in accordance with international law, the Constitution and local law, conducting conscientious, natural, independent and fair trials with no outside interference. A judge may not serve as a lawyer for ten years after stepping down from the court, but the remuneration and benefits shall be unchanged. Treatment of those who do not retire according to law shall be predicated by law.

3. In the inauguration, promotion, and transfer of judges, each new judge shall publicly swear as follows: "I solemnly swear to be impartial and sincere and faithful to my basic beliefs in exercising my duties and powers as a judge."

4. Judges should be tenured. Without a judgment of the court in accordance with legal grounds and due course of law, formally appointed judges shall not be dismissed, permanently/temporarily suspended or transferred, or being forced to retire in violation of their will. In the event of a change in the court organization or its jurisdiction, the judge may be transferred to another court or suspended, but the full salary shall be retained.

5. Judges must be truly neutral and sever all connections with political parties [12] . Violators shall be removed from office and prosecuted for unconstitutional punitive damages [13] . Any fines collected shall be awarded in full to the informant to reward his/her bravery in maintaining correct justice.

6. To improve the quality of decisions handed down by judges, the results of judges on collegial panels shall be open and transparent to ensure that decisions made by the court are justified and justice is achieved.

7. Any judge who uses the substantive influence or power of his/her position or acts in a non-professional manner to violate constitutional norms, the rule of law, the principle of transitional justice, or constitutional order of freedom and democracy, may be transferred, ordered to retire or removed from office according to the law.

8. Trials shall be open to the court for audio recordings and live broadcasts, subject to the written consent of the parties. In the case regarding  obvious detrimental to the "dignity" of the parties concerned in the society in the future, as well as cases involving privacy rights and trade secrets, asking for the consent of the parties is forbidden.

9. In cases where the safety of judges and their families may be threatened by performance of their judicial obligations, relevant state authorities shall provide personal safety protection as necessary.

10. The system of multiple sources of judges and whether they are elected or appointed, how to evaluate their performance, and the mechanics of appointment and dismissal, training, retirement and pension, etc., shall be prescribed by law.

Section 9. Permanent Peace Standards 8.9 (Reviews of Unconstitutional and Constitutional Actions)

1. Judges shall exercise judicial power according to legal orders (see Appendix Table 1: World Law Levels Table).

2. Global Examination of Unconstitutional Laws: Any court in the world has general constitutional review power over our Constitution and laws. (According to § 2.7)

3. Unconstitutional/constitutional examinations adopt the two-level-two-instance system, and the Supra-National Constitutional Court of is the final court for all unconstitutional/constitutional examinations. The general constitutional review procedure shall be prescribed by law.

4. If a court rules that a law is unconstitutional and the validity of the law is related to a trial case, trial procedures shall be immediately suspended and an unconstitutional review procedure shall be initiated. If it is found to be in violation of this charter, it shall be referred to the Supra-National Constitutional Court. If the constitutions or laws of other countries invoked by the people violate the Constitution or infringe on the laws of our country, any court may exercise the right of constitutional examination in accordance with the law, and an original letter laying out the review ruling shall be sent (by e-mail according to law) to be approved by the Supra-National Constitutional Court. If the notice is not received within 10 working days, it shall be deemed to have been accepted.

Section 10. Permanent Peace Standards 8.10 (Inherent Duties of Judges)

1. Model of Justice: The Charter guarantees that [Taiwan] will become a holy place for justice. Every citizen shall be a sacred angel for justice and the embodiment of righteousness. The Supra-National Constitutional Court guarantees universal justice and ensures that the system will be responsive.

2. International Responsibility: Promoting justice for all nations, and reforming every place into a judicial holy place is the basic and permanent national policy of the state. The state shall prepare a budget to support this international duty.

3. Achieving Justice: The judicial system is the last line of defense for justice. Justice should not only be achieved in a timely manner, but should be presented in visible way. Above the entrance to each courtroom the words "Everyone is equal under the law" should be engraved, to show that the spirit of "judicial fairness" will never die.

Section 11. Permanent Peace Standards 8.11 (This section shall be rescinded once Judicial Transition is complete)

1. A Justice of Constitutional Court who holds a seat on the bench when this Constitution is applied shall remain in place until the expiration of his/her term of office, unless he/she tenders a resignation.

2. With the exception of transitional justice, the salaries and benefits of judges who hold life tenure shall not be subject to change, but they should still retire according to the retirement age for judges as stipulated in this Constitution.

3. This section shall be rescinded once judicial transition is complete.

[1] See Kelsen's General Theory of Law and the State , "domestic law is empowered by international law", which can be used to achieve permanent peace (through the UN).

[2] For a description of Roscoe Pound's connection between law and civilization, and the effect and value of "competition", please refer to the previous note 99.

[3] According to the provisions of the current Constitution, the term of office is 8 years, regardless of the number of times, and is calculated separately. At present, the ideology and political inclination of most judges are still extremely biased, and the research team advocates maintaining the current situation.

[4] According to the current constitution, national judges are all tenured. It is very difficult to attract international legal scholars to serve the country and to absorb the laws of our country. In order to achieve stability, it is extremely reasonable to offer tenure for our judges and the Justices of Constitutional Court.

[5] Changing the rule in which the Justices of Constitutional Court of Taiwan were all nominated by the President. Only through different appointments and at different times, will the Justices have different opinions, and defend the constitution and Truth.

[6] "Subject": An individual who enjoys rights and duties under a legal system is a subject under the legal system. Under the system of international law, subjects of international law may include countries, international organizations and individuals. Please refer to Chiu Hung-ta, Chen Chunyi, Revised Modern International Law (3rd Edition), p. 265.

[7] See §38 of the Statute of the International Court of Justice stipulates that the court shall apply: 1.legislative treaties; 2. international customs; 3. general legal principles; 4. precedents; 5. doctrines; and 6. fair and good principles.

[8] See §95 of the German Basic Constitution for details.

[9] See §101 of the German Basic Constitution for details.

[10] Going to court can be like throwing a dart or spinning a roulette wheel. The risk lies in the quality of the presiding judge. If the parties in a suit have a role in picking the judge, the ruling will carry more weight, the judge will be viewed more favorably, and assistants in the trial will be better reviewed. The advantages build on each other, and it is a worthwhile system to adopt.

[11] Justice should be timely and clearly transparent; justice delayed is not justice.

[12] Advanced human rights countries have established guidelines regarding the conduct of judges and restrict the participation of judges in political activities; for example, the UK requires judges who are appointed to renounce any political activities and sever all contacts with political parties; Australia requires judges to break off all contact with political parties; in Canada, it is stipulated that judges should avoid participating in political parties and political activities.

[13] Laws or constitutions that do not carry penalties are not laws or constitutions. They are nothing more than moral persuasion offered up in vain.