TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan’s judicial community was shocked by the death of Shilin District Court Judge Li Chao-ran (李昭然) on Friday (April 12), with many colleagues and judges throughout Taiwan calling for judicial reform.
The 38-year-old Li fell to his death from the judge’s dormitory building in Taipei’s Shilin District in the early morning and was pronounced dead after being rushed to a hospital, reported UDN. The Judicial Yuan prepared a press release that said the incident is being investigated, and that support services are available to his colleagues.
Li reportedly left a note to his wife, who also works as a judge in Taipei, to apologize for leaving her. Both Li and his wife have a reputation for being kind, efficient, and hard-working judges.
The incident shocked and angered many in Taiwan’s judicial community, who said the incident reflects the poor administration practices of the Judicial Yuan, with some criticizing the President of the Judicial Yuan and Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court Hsu Tzong-li (許宗力), per UDN.
Judges in some districts, particularly in Taipei, are under heavy pressure to complete large numbers of cases within a short time if they hope for advancement. It is believed the pressure of presiding over too many serious cases simultaneously led to Li’s suicide.
An unnamed colleague of Li was quoted by UDN, and said that the administrative resources for dealing with Taiwan’s criminal and civil cases are not distributed practically throughout the country. The problem has persisted for years, but case numbers continue to increase, and the Judicial Yuan has not taken any concrete steps to address the problem, according to the judge.
The Shilin District Court is considered a high-profile district in Taiwan, where the top class of those who pass the certification exams to serve as judges often seek to be assigned. While such a placement increases the likelihood of promotion to higher courts, promotions are typically determined by the number of cases a judge has completed.
Therefore, the workload and demands for districts like Shilin are often considered excessive among the judicial community.
The Judges Association of Taiwan called in a press release following Li’s death for the Judicial Yuan to implement a review system that will limit the number of cases judges can oversee each month. The association also called on senior judges of the Judicial Yuan to put less emphasis on case number count when reviewing judges for promotion.