assistantship, the Judicial Yuan indicated that such data had never been
collected. 59 The NHRC believes that lacking such basic statistical data will
hamper Taiwan’s ability to develop supported decision-making mechanisms in
this area.
66.
Per a Control Yuan investigation report, the NHRC noted that government
agencies still have trouble differentiating between legal capacity and mental
capacity. Financial institutions respond to laws such as the Civil Code and Money
Laundering Control Act by setting disabled people’s asset and transaction
security as top priorities. For example, they require that at least one witness be
present when persons with visual impairments open accounts. Similarly, to
protect persons with mental disorders who have trouble expressing themselves or
are unable to clearly express themselves, financial institutions tend to request
commencement of guardianship or assistantship, and will not open accounts for
mentally disabled individuals even if they are accompanied by a social worker or
have a letter of approval issued by the local social affairs competent authorities.
The Ministry of Justice states that persons with disabilities who are not subject to
commencement of guardianship or assistantship possess legal capacity. However,
in actual practice, financial institutions do have concerns about conducting
transactions with such persons. Recommendations have been proposed
accordingly. Still, the FSC fails to recognize the responsibilities as the competent
authority in its disregard for the fact that the CRPD has been incorporated into
domestic law, which shall take precedence. Although the commission has
encouraged the BAROC to formulate inclusive financial guidelines for persons
with disabilities, the guidelines still fail to meet CRPD requirements.
Article 13: Access to justice
67.
According to the CRPD Second Report and data provided by the Judicial Yuan,
by 2019, a total of 17 sign language interpreters has been hired in courts
59
In a response letter to the NHRC, the Judicial Yuan indicated that because information related to
disabled persons currently does not need be recorded in written judgments, it cannot be obtained by
data analysts when the cases are reported closed to the Judicial Yuan. Additionally, because data
analysts do not participate in trials and do not come into contact with the parties involved, they have
no way of knowing whether the parties involved are persons with disabilities.
47