to be a method to monitor mental activities. Thus they may contravene the
protection of personal rights and dignity claimed by a modern country ruled
by law. Therefore, it is advisable to carefully consider the enactment of written
laws to prohibit such examinations. Upon investigation and subsequent
follow-up by the Control Yuan, the Judicial Yuan has proposed a draft of
amendments to the current laws. The draft is still under review at the
Legislative Yuan.
106. According to Article 160-1 of the Draft Amendments to the Code of Criminal
Procedure proposed by the Judicial Yuan, since polygraph examination results
cannot be admitted as physical evidence, they should not serve as conclusive
evidence to determine the facts of criminal behavior. However, the existing
practices adopted by the Supreme Court in Taiwan, and those applicable in the
United States and Germany, all agree that the polygraph examination may be
applied as a defensive means to prove the defendant’s innocence, subject to
the defendant’s prior approval, and may be favorable to the defendant during
the investigation. Therefore, the investigating agency should be allowed to
conduct an investigation based on the polygraph examination results, in order
to rule out wrongdoing or verify the direction of investigation, which in turn,
helps with the investigation. The Executive Yuan should set forth consistent
criteria for training, qualification and audit of polygraph examiners, and
integrate all procedures into a consistent standard operating procedure for
polygraph examinations. This is to ensure the accuracy of such examinations
and maintain the concerned parties’ fair litigation rights.
Right to Confront Witnesses
107. In order to protect the concerned parties’ right to confront expert witnesses,
the expert witnesses should be subpoenaed in the process of a trial, and their
qualifications, expertise and impartiality, as well as the assessment process and
results thereof, be inspected rigorously through cross examination. The
Executive Yuan and Judicial Yuan should protect the concerned parties’ rights
of confrontation with the expert witnesses, insofar as the feasibility and
practicality of such expert testimony is taken into account.
Appeal
108. As provided in Paragraph 1 of Article 351 of the Code of Criminal Procedure,
where a defendant in a prison or detention center submits a written appeal to
the officer in charge of the prison or detention center during the period of
appeal, they will be deemed to have appealed within the period of appeal. In
this regard, the Ministry of Justice should clarify the definition of the “officer
in charge of the prison or detention center,” the officer’s rank, and whether the
definition of “officer” includes any service worker other than the public
servant (management personnel) working for the prison/detention center. It is
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