國民法官選任之困境與對策──以日本裁判員制度為借鏡

The Dilemma of National Judges’Election and Countermeasures−Focusing on Japan’s Saiban-in System

為使國民能參與刑事司法審判，我國於2020年7月22日三讀通過「國民法官法」，經2年半準備期間後，將於2023年1月正式施行上路。其中，國民法官案件之審理能否順暢且公平地進行，繫諸於事前能否有效篩選無偏見、預斷之國民法官參與審理程序，涉及對國民法官詢問事項及詢問方式，更是攸關裁判結果是否能公平，且達成訴追犯罪目的之不可忽視的課題。
在日本裁判員制度的運作上，關於裁判員的選任程序及應如何進行選任，例如如何判斷裁判員具有不公平審判之虞、如何行使不附理由拒卻權等，均有豐富實務運作經驗。本文藉由爬梳日本文獻及實際採訪日本具有裁判員選任經驗之實務家，透過日本實務經驗、分析及回饋，比較研究彼邦經驗，反思國民法官模擬法庭之運作，作為因應國民法官法施行後，選任國民法官之參考。
最後，由於選任國民法官之目的，在於使多元社會價值意見且能公正審理之人得以進入法庭，透過彼此討論進行評議並形成判決，本文以此目的形成為前提，提出選任程序之建議以作為結語。

In order to enable citizens to participate in criminal justice trials, Taiwan passed the“National Judge Act”on July 22, 2020, it will be officially implemented in January 2023. The smooth and fair trial of a national judge’s case depends on whether the national judge can be effectively selected to participate in the trial process without prejudice and prejudgment, and involves the voir dire of the national judge. And the manner of questioning, which is a crucial issue for the fairness of the decision and the achievement of the purpose of pursuing the crime.
In the operation of the Japanese“Saiban-in system”, there is a wealth of practical experience regarding the selection process of saiban-ins and how they should be selected, such as how to judge the risk of unfair trial and how to exercise the right of peremptory challenge.
This paper reflects on the operation of the Saiban-in’moot court by reviewing Japanese literature and interviewing Japanese practitioners who have experience in the selection of saiban-ins, and by comparing the Japanese practical experience, analysis, and feedback, as a reference for the selection of national judges after the implementation of the National Judges Act.
Finally, since the purpose of electing national judges is to bring diverse social values into the courtroom, to discuss with each other, and to form a judgment, this paper concludes with a proposal for the selection process based on this purpose.