Judicial pact with US a major breakthrough

Lung-chu Chen

There are reports that there has been a major breakthrough in negotiations for an agreement of bilateral judicial assistance between Taiwan and the US.

From July 30 to Aug. 3, the Taiwanese delegation, comprised of representatives from the Ministries of justice, foreign affairs and the interior, spent five full days negotiating with representatives from the American side in Washington. The two sides have already reached agreement on the contents of judicial bilateral assistance. They will first sign a memorandum, after which the official agreement will be signed. The contents of the agreement will include the collection and exchange of intelligence information, exchange of documents and evidence, the examination of witnesses, the bringing of law suits on a counterpart's territory, mutually beneficial arrests, the escort of criminals and drug arrests and investigations.

The agreement reached by the two sides on the bilateral judicial assistance accord has both symbolic and substantial significance.

The implementation of judicial powers is a sign of a country's sovereignty, and the symbolic significance lies in the fact that the bilateral judicial agreement can be seen as a de-facto recognition of Taiwan's judicial powers.

In the Taiwan Relations Act, the US in effect treats Taiwan as a country. Therefore, past agreements and treaties between Taiwan and the US are still valid, and in the US courts, Taiwan enjoys the tax status that befits sovereign countries.

The agreement on judicial bilateral assistance should therefore lead to substantial advances in the international acceptance of Taiwan's judicial powers.

Substantial significance lies in the judicial cooperation made possible by the agreement and the concomitant enhancement of our ability to jointly attack international crime, something that will be of great help in the maintenance of social order in Taiwan.

When Taiwanese prosecutors, police and investigative authorities in the past have handled large trans-national criminal investigations, they have often been unable to follow up their investigative work due to suspects seeking shelter in the US, or to bribes and illicit money flowing from there leading to the failure of major investigations.

US-Taiwan bilateral judicial cooperation will bring the two nations even closer together and it will bring positive benefits for law and order in both countries as well as helping the assault on international crime. I hope that both the US and Taiwan will cherish this development, and use it to cooperate for the mutual benefit of both peoples.

Chen Lung-chu is chairman of the board of the New Century Foundation.