Minister of Justice Luo Ying-shay, along with her delegation, attended the annual summer meeting of The National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG). At the general assembly, Minister Luo gave a speech titled “Mutual trust and assistance is the bridge to justice”.
Publication Date：
Last updated：
View count：6295
The 2015 National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) summer meeting was held from the 17th to 19th of June in San Diego, California. Minister Luo was invited along with Hsing, Tai Chao, Chief Prosecutor of the Hualien High Prosecutors Office , Kuo, Jen-Ni, Chief Prosecutor of Miaoli District Prosecutors Office, Huang, Yu-Yuan, Chief Prosecutor of Pingtung District Prosecutors Office, and Yu, Li-Chen, Deputy Director of the Prosecutorial Department of Ministry of Justice.. On the first day of meeting, Minister Luo delivered a speech with the theme “mutual trust and assistance is the bridge to justice”. She said: While developments in Internet technology and communication have provided society with many benefits, it has also helped to foster crimes such as money laundering, drug trafficking and human trafficking. Each country must adopt the philosophy of helping each other if we are to achieve true justice and serve the public will. Although Taiwan has its own diplomatic and judicial difficulties due to political factors, we will persevere in our duty as a member of the international community. In May of this year, we adopted the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC), and we established national measures to regulate financial systems, showing our commitment to cracking down on crime.
Every year since 1987, the Ministry of Justice has sent a delegation to the USA to attend the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) meeting where countries participate in constructive exchanges and interactions in order to understand each other’s justice systems and establish trustful relationships. Since signing the Agreement on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters in 2002, there have already been 151 requests of assistance. This included a request from the USA in 2011 for assistance in drug trafficking and money laundering crimes that resulted in the successful seizure of Taiwanese bank accounts containing over 15 million USD. In another case, the USA assisted in freezing the overseas assets of corrupt former president Chen Shui-bian, who had been laundering illegally obtained money. Through the mutual assistance and trust between Taiwan and the USA, we were able to achieve justice and serve the will of the people.
The recent hostage incident at Taliao prison in Kaohsiung revealed the many management problems of correctional institutions. Correctional work that is done in prisons is rife with challenges, yet it is the most direct way of benefiting society. The Ministry of Justice has invested long term in correctional work and, in recent years, seen the effectiveness of training inmates with technical and employment skills. At the meeting, Minister Luo specially prepared handicrafts, made by inmatesas giftsto Attorney General of each state, hoping that the exquisiteness of the handicrafts will demonstrate the Ministry’s dedication to correctional work. The meeting also included inquiry into California’s correctional institutions in an effort to learn more about them.
At the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) summer meeting, Minister Luo communicated with host state California’s Attorney General Kamala Harris, and other important people. She also received an invitation to visit the San Diego University Law School. A lot was learned through an extensive exchange of ideas regarding prosecution education training, correctional institution management and judicial mutual assistance policies.
