The ICJ assesses initiatives to incorporate the Bill of Rights in Taiwan

ICJ Commissioner, Professor Manfred Nowak, and ICJ Co-ordinator Gerald Staberock visited Taiwan on the invitation of the ICJ affiliated organization, the Taipei Bar Association.

The visit sought to undertake a first evaluation on recent plans to create a human rights infrastructure in Taiwan. It assessed in particular efforts to incorporate the international Bill of Rights into domestic law through a Human Rights Basic Law.

Among others, the ICJ met with relevant officials and non-governmental actors, including the President of the Council of Grand Justices (Constitutional Court), representatives of the Ministry of Justice, the Executive Yuan Human Rights Committee, the Presidential Human Rights Advisory Committee, the Taipei Bar Association and representatives of a range of Civil Society Organizations.

Discussions were also held with the drafting Committee on modes and strategies for an effective incorporation of the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (IESCR) into domestic law. Moreover, the ICJ delegation discussed strategies to use a Human Rights Basic Law incorporating international standards as a tool for the creation of broad-based human rights culture in Taiwan.