BackIn October 2015, the Control Yuan (CY) voted in favor of impeaching a Taipei High Administrative Court judge for sexual harassment against an office assistant. In making its decision, the CY stated that the judge had tarnished the public’s respect for a court judge’s position; his conduct was unsuited to the role of a judge. The CY then sent the case to the Judicial Yuan’s Court of the Judiciary for trial.
The Court of the Judiciary, which handles disciplinary cases involving judges, ruled in October 2016 that the judge was guilty of sexual harassment and should be dismissed. However, the judge appealed the verdict, and the court, in its second ruling delivered on March 8, 2018, decided that the judge only needed to pay a fine equal to one year’s salary. The ruling, which was made on International Women’s Day, sparked a public outcry.
The CY, which is constitutionally empowered to oversee the disciplining of public servants for violations of the law or dereliction of duty and to eliminate sexual discrimination and safeguard women’s rights, decided to file an appeal against the ruling. The CY voiced several concerns, such as that the court had not considered some significant evidence without giving a reason for not doing so, and that the decision ignored several important factors such as the unequal power relationship between the judge and his assistant, and the judge’s power over her continued employment.
Just over a year after the CY filed the appeal, the Court of the Judiciary on February 14, 2019, finally issued its new ruling, overturning its previous decision and determining that the judge should be dismissed from duty in punishment. The CY will continue to work to ensure compliance by public servants and government officials and agencies with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), and to ceaselessly carry out its responsibility of safeguarding women’s rights as prescribed in the Constitution.
Source: Control Yuan (CY), Taiwan
