論發現新事證之刑事再審事由：2015年新法之適用與再改革

Discussion on the Retrial of Discovering the New Proof in the Criminal Procedure: The Application and Reform of the 2015 Amendment

2015年1月23日，立法院修正刑事訴訟法第420條發現新事證之再審事由，突破實務長年對於事證新穎性與確實性的嚴格限制，希望達成降低再審門檻之目的。此一修法，使已經瀕臨死亡的刑事再審制度重獲生機，被冤案救援運動者賦予高度期待。然而，再審新法應如何解釋適用，有無必要再改革，將是刑事訴訟法理論與實務的新挑戰。本文一方面指出，發現新事證之再審目的在實現實體正義與無辜者之權利救濟，故新事證係指原審法院於評議終結時未曾審酌，可能動搖原判決之事實基礎而達成再審目標之事實與證據，再審法院不得透過加重說明負擔與證據預斷，架空受判決人之救濟可能性。另一方面建議，未來應刪除本條第1至4款之再審事由，整合入發現新事證之再審事由，同時擴大發現新事證之再審目標。

On January 23, 2015 Legislative Yuan amended Article 420 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the retrial of discovering new proof. The Amendment broke through the strict limitation of novelty and authentic of the proof. Hopefully, the amendment would reach the goal of lower the threshold of retrial. However, how to interpret and apply the amendment, whether there’s still necessity to reforms would be new challenges to the scholars and the practitioners of the Code of Criminal Procedure. This study points out, the purpose of the retrial of new proof is to achieve substantive justice and legal remedy of the innocents. New proof refer to evidence the trial court have not evaluated before, but would shatter the fundamental fact of the original judgment and bring the possibility of retrial. The retrial court shall not increase the burden of proof on the convict to explain the reason for filing retrial, and shall not prejudge the proof, which would reduce the possibility of remedy. On the aspect of legislative policy, this study suggests: delete subparagraph 1-4 of Article 420, integrate these sections into the subparagraph 6, the discovery of new proof, and expand the purpose of subparagraph 6.