Chapter 7.7.

👉The table of contents so far is here.

Chapter 7: The System of Litigation Law

 7.7. Impeachment Justice

The impeachment justice is a special judicial branch that tries corruption, abuse of power, and other misconduct in the course of official duties by public officials and quasi-public officials. It is the only exceptional judicial branch that employs a court format within the communist judicial system, which is essentially devoid of a court system.

The judicial branches that fall under the category of impeachment justice include the  Commons' Convention Impeachment Court, which tries misconduct by sitting delegates to the Commons' Convention  and public officials directly appointed by the Commons' Convention ; the Special Human Rights Court, a special impeachment court that tries cases of human rights violations committed in the course of official duties by public officials and quasi-public officials; and the Public Officials Corruption Tribunal, which tries cases of corruption committed by public officials and quasi-public officials not directly appointed by the Commons' Convention.

Of these, the People's Assembly Impeachment Tribunal and the Special Human Rights Tribunal are non-permanent judicial branches established on a case-by-case basis, while the Public Officials Corruption Impeachment Tribunal is a permanent judicial branch. Although it is a judicial body, it does not have a criminal punishment system, so the main sanction imposed on those found guilty is dismissal, and depending on the circumstances, they may also be subject to a fixed or indefinite suspension or permanent deprivation of their civil rights. If a person's civil rights are suspended or revoked, they will no longer be able to hold any public office.

The Commons' Convention Impeachment Court is a special tribunal established for each Commons' Convention Impeachment Court in a Zone and in each level within a Zone. Its primary audience is Commons' Convention  delegates, with a secondary audience consisting of various judicial positions directly appointed by the Commons' Convention for which status protection is strongly required to ensure neutrality. This is followed by other positions directly appointed by the Commons' Convention.

Because the Commons' Convention Impeachment Court takes the form of a trial, it begins with an indictment procedure similar to that of a criminal trial. A panel of prosecutors is appointed for this purpose, but before that, the Commons' Convention Impeachment Committee conducts a preliminary investigation and decides whether or not an impeachment trial is necessary.

Once the Impeachment Court is established, the appointed panel of prosecutors has the authority to conduct various compulsory investigations, if necessary, with a warrant from the Tribune for Habeas Corpus, but does not have the authority to detain suspects for long periods of time. Their authorities are limited to arresting suspects and questioning witnesses.

Once the panel of prosecutors has completed their investigation and decided to indict, a panel of judges is appointed. The panel of judges, consisting of a lawyer and two Commons' Convention delegates, hears and renders judgment on the charges. The defendant is guaranteed the right to submit counterarguments against the prosecutors' evidence, but appeals are not permitted against judgments and trials are finalized after one trial.

Corruption cases involving public officials and other individuals not covered by the Commons' Convention  Impeachment Court are heard by the permanent Public Officials Corruption Impeachment Tribunal. As a permanent judicial body, the Tribunal's Prosecutor's Office can directly indict suspects without a preliminary investigation. Trials at the Public Officials Corruption Impeachment Tribunal are composed of a professional judge and two citizen jurors who hold Commons' Convention  delegate licenses.

Special Human Rights Court, on the other hand, primarily concerns public officials and other individuals in a position to exercise coercive power over citizens. The establishment of such courts is decided by the Tribune for Habeas Corpus upon request from a citizen alleging human rights violations by a public official.

Apart from the fact that it is an emergency institution, the procedural flow of the trial is similar to that of impeachment trials for corruption of public officials. However, if the trial determines that the offender has strong antisocial tendencies and requires correctional treatment similar to that of ordinary offenders, the responsible person will be referred to the Correction and Probation Commission.

👉The papers published on this blog are meant to expand upon my On Communism.

Chapter 7.6.

👉The table of contents so far is here.

Chapter 7: The System of Litigation Law

7.6. Civil protection justice system

Civil protection justice is a judicial branch whose primary mission is to protect fundamental human rights and civil rights through a judicial position called the Tribune. However, it does not have a unified organization; instead, the General Tribunes and the specialized Tribunes appointed for each specialized field independently resolve cases under their respective jurisdictions.

Furthermore, each Tribune can exercise compulsory investigation powers and take corrective measures for problematic cases that he or she independently identify, without the request of the parties involved. This distinguishes civil protection justice as being proactive, going beyond passive dispute resolution.

Since Tribunes each perform judicial functions, they have judicial authority to summon and interview witnesses and issue orders to submit various types of evidence. Violators of these orders are subject to contempt of justice.

Furthermore, Tribunes can issue final judicial rulings or decisions. Tribunes' rulings are issued in the form of corrective orders, which can result in contempt of justice sanctions for noncompliance. However, the case may be terminated without a decision and with a non-binding recommendation for correction.

The General Tribunes are the Tribunes with the broadest authority. They are appointed by the  Commons' Convention in each Zone and are responsible for all legal authorities under the jurisdiction of their Commons' Convention, resolving complaints and disputes regarding the application of laws and regulations and law enforcement, as well as auditing compliance with laws and regulations.

The duties of the General Tribunes extend beyond protecting individual rights to the public interest of maintaining a fair society through supervision of legal authorities and other public organizations.

There will always be multiple General Tribunes appointed, but each exercises their authority independently and independently of the Commons' Convention.

Meanwhile, the most of the important specialized Tribunes is the Tribune for Habeas Corpus. This position is dedicated to habeas corpus, hence the name the Tribune for Habeas Corpus.

Its most important duties are in the field of offences justice, and involve issuing various types of compulsory investigation warrants such as arrest warrants, search and seizure warrants, and surveillance warrants for wiretapping and filming, as well as protecting the rights of suspects, and also convening the Truth Commission and requesting reconsideration, as we saw last time.

In addition, it is also responsible for issuing writs of habeas corpus and directly releasing people who are being illegally or unjustly detained, whether privately or publicly, upon request of such persons, their relatives, or third parties. The Tribunes for Habeas Corpus are appointed to each region by the Commons' Convention of a Provincial Area (or a Zonelet in the case of a federal Zone), which is a broader autonomous body that determines its jurisdiction for each area, but the Tribunes for Habeas Corpus always exercise their authority alone and independently of the Commons' Convention.

Other examples of specialized Tribunes include:

〇 The Information Tribune

This is a civil rights Tribune for handling complaints and disputes regarding the handling of personal information in organizations that accumulate personal information, both public and private, and for investigating and resolving problematic cases.

〇 The Labor Civil Tribune

This is a civil rights Tribune specializing in the protection of basic labor rights. It also handles various cases of harassment in the workplace. However, in the case of corporations, except for cases of harassment that can be immediately filed with the Tribune, a two-stage dispute resolution system is adopted, whereby the monitor intervenes upon request of the parties and resolves cases that could not be resolved by the company's internal labor arbitration committee (see my article).

〇 The Anti-Discrimination Tribune

This is a Tribune responsible for dealing with various cases of discrimination committed by individuals or groups, providing relief to discriminated parties and eliminating discrimination.

〇 The Children's Commissioner

This is a Tribune specializing in the protection of the rights of minors. It is responsible for resolving disputes regarding children's human rights in general, including bullying. The name "Commissioner" reflects the intention that they will represent children who are not yet mature enough to assert their rights.

Furthermore, while these specialized Tribunes are appointed by the Commons' Convention of each intermediate local autonomous authorities and large cities, they exercise its powers independently and independently of the Commons' Convention.

In addition to the listed above, new Tribunes Protection, excluding the Tribune for Habeas Corpus, can be established in individual fields depending on the circumstances, and such establishment, consolidation, and abolition are left to the policy of each Commons' Convention with appointing authority. 

👉The papers published on this blog are meant to expand upon my On Communism.