萬國法律事務所

President Ma announced the establishment of an Anti-Corruption Commission under the Ministry of Justice (MOJ). The new commission will take charge of investigation and prevention of corruption and malfeasance in the government and will not investigate or process other cases such as election bribery cases. The MOJ indicated that this commission will be parallel to the Investigation Bureau and will have an initial staffing of 200 persons including 10 prosecutors, to be increased to a staff of 400. Corruption and malfeasance cases will be investigated and processed by the prosecutors of this commission to a given point before the cases are forwarded to the various prosecutors’ offices.

According to the MOJ, the position of the head of this commission will perhaps be filled by a head prosecutor of the Taiwan High Prosecutors Office. The commission will also be staffed with prosecutors, anti-corruption officers and assistants, and administrative personnel, with the commission liaising with the existing ethics officers of various government agencies. The prosecutors in the Anti-Corruption Commission will have investigative powers just as prosecutors of ordinary prosecutors’ offices, while the anti-corruption officers and assistants will have investigative powers of judicial polices or judicial police officers.

The MOJ further indicated that the establishment of this commission is projected for the 1st of January, 2012. The draft bill for the amendment of the Ministry of Justice Organization Act, the organization act for the Anti-Corruption Commission and the related project plans will be submitted for review and approval by the Executive Yuan by the end of August 2010. The official launch of the Anti-Corruption Commission will nevertheless depend on the legislative progress.