由大法官釋字第756號解釋探討受刑人之發受書信權

The Discussion of Inmates' Right to Send and Receive Letters: From the Viewpoints of the Judicial Yuan Interpretation No. 756

監獄行刑剝奪受刑人自由，卻不表示剝奪所有自由。在監服刑以使受刑人改悔向上，適於社會生活為目的，而受刑人與外界溝通聯繫屬不可或缺的方式。現行法規定受刑人發受書信，由監獄長官檢閱之，檢閱書信侵犯秘密通訊自由，監獄在沒有正當、具體的理由下，無差別檢閱，違反法律保留原則、明確性原則以及比例原則。為了監獄安全、秩序與矯治工作，監獄規定各種限制須遵守上述原則，尤其過度禁止原則，建議積極立法肯定受刑人之通信權利。又現行法授權監獄長官認為發受書信有妨害監獄紀律之虞，得令受刑人刪除後再行發出，否則不得發受，並透過監獄行刑法施行細則解釋「妨害監獄紀律之虞」範圍，規定內容部分抽象或不符合時宜，建議於監獄行刑法中規定以「危害監獄安全或秩序之虞」限制發送書信。最後，在比例原則要求下，檢閱書信建議區分特殊信件與一般信件、區分禁止與停止發受書信以及對書信與包裹檢查分別規定，以權衡受刑人權利與行刑目的之間的衝突。人道與和善的行刑環境應是監獄制度追求的目標，其規劃與建置是讓受刑人於恢復自由後，能對自己生活負責做準備，將來再度融入社會且不再犯罪，故受刑人之各種權利行使在不違背此目的下，不應禁止或限制。 The punishment of imprisonment should be restricted to the deprivation of one’s liberty only. Other rights shall be retained except for those necessarily limited by laws. The functions of penal imprisonment involve rehabilitating offenders. Prisoner attachment to family and friends is one of the most effective ways of rehabilitation, and keeping in touch with those outside the prison walls through letters is the most common method. Based on current laws in Taiwan, prisoners can receive and send approved letters while serving their sentence. However, to read and examine prisoners’ letters by prison officers may infringe prisoners’ privacy. If there are no regulations or any other reasonable reasons to examine and read their letters, it will violate the principle of legal reservation, the principle of clarity and definiteness of law, the principle of proportionality. In order to maintain facility security, order and control, the prison authorities have set up several regulations. However, all regulations must obey the above-mentioned principles, especially when the limitations of prisoners’ rights are involved. Hence, prisoners’ right to confidentiality of legal correspondence should be enacted into law. Additionally, based on Prison Act in Taiwan, if the content is suspicious of violating regulations of prison, the inmate has to delete the suspected part before sending. When the prison authorities assess whether the content violates regulations of prison, they will refer to Enforcement Rules of the Prison serving Act. However, based on the Act, the term ''risks of disrupting prison discipline'' is either too ambiguous or out of date. Therefore, it is necessary to amend the article of Prison Act. Only when the content of letters poses threats to security and order of institutions can the authorities hold the letters. Last but not least, according to the principle of proportionality, in order to balance inmates’ human rights and the purposes of imprisonment, it suggests that while prison officers examine and read inmates’ letters, the prison authorities should set up different clear regulations between special and general letters, between probation and cessation of sending and receiving letters, and between letters and packages. Humane conditions and treatments should be given to inmates to help them nurse their responsibilities, which not only assists them to be reintegrated into society after release but also prevents them from committing crimes in the future. Therefore, all of inmates’ rights shall be retained except for those necessarily restricted by laws.