澳洲毒品法庭及多元處遇之介紹與啟發

Introduction of Australian Drug Courts and Multiple Treatments

澳洲為因應毒品人口反覆再犯充塞監獄問題，自1990年代起進行改革，賦予刑事法院多種刑事分流處遇方案（Diversion Programs），包括「前端分流計畫」（Pre-Court Drug Diversion Programs）及「法院分流計畫」（Court Drug Diversion Programs），而非以刑罰監禁制裁為主，藉此協助被告復歸社會。本文特別介紹昆士蘭州五種計畫方案，顯示澳洲非以刑罰監禁制裁為主，利用司法多元處遇協助被告復歸社會。反觀我國相關刑罰及保安處分規定老舊缺陋，而澳洲多元處遇模式適足供我國借鏡，其實務運作更大幅降低監獄內毒品人口，轉向各類多元處遇方案。澳洲於1999年更引進美國毒品法庭制度，納入成為其刑事法院分流處遇方案之一環，並進行本土化調整，讓程序更具彈性，能提高成癮治療及矯正之成效。本文針對澳洲毒品法庭之背景、參加資格、轉介程序、處遇內容及彈性獎懲機制等加以介紹。對應我國刑事法制過於僵化，無法因應毒品成癮犯之需求，矯正成效有限。本文希冀透過澳洲經驗以啟發我國刑事司法處遇，作為我國未來修法之借鏡。

In response to the growing number of repeated offenses that overcrowds prisons and overburdens the criminal justice system since 1990s, Australia has expanded their multi-faceted approach to drugs in their justice system. Rather than convictions and punishment, it has been employing a variety of diversion programs for drug-related offenders, such as“Pre-Court Drug Diversion Programs”and“Court Drug Diversion Programs”, which has helped many of them to reintegrate into the society. The types of diversion programs in Australia vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and in this article, we specifically focus on five types offered by the Queensland’s justice system with an aim to show that their primary purpose is a therapeutic one rather than punishment and conviction when dealing with drug-related offenders and their social reintegration. Considering the lack of innovations in Taiwan’s criminal justice system, which is fairly rigid in its form with an emphasis on punitive aspect, we believe it can learn from a variety of Australia’s diversion programs, given their proven effectiveness of reducing drug-related prison population. Diversion programs use the criminal justice system to provide alternate responses to drug-related offenders, including education and treatments. From 1999 onwards, Australia followed the lead by USA, and started employing drug court system as a vital component of diversion within the criminal justice system. With some local adjustments, it made the procedure more flexible and improved the effectiveness of addiction treatment and correction. This article introduces the background, eligibility, referral procedures, and the flexibility of reward and punishment mechanism within Australian drug courts. Currently, Taiwan’s criminal justice system is too rigid to meet the needs of substance users and minimal effectiveness is shown as a result. Therefore, with this article we hope to use Australia’s experiences in diversion approach and inspire the criminal justice system in Taiwan to be willing to make legal revisions.