Abstract

Article 10 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights recognizes the right to a fair trial as a basic human right. Besides, the European Court of Human Rights has acknowledged the Principle of Equality of Arms a part of the right to fair trial. Hence, the right to access to dossier information in the criminal justice system is fundamental. While paragraph 1 of the Article 33 of the ROC Criminal Procedure Code, passed in 1967, and did not provide the defendant with the right to access to dossier information in the pretrial detention proceeding, the Grand Justice Council held it unconstitutional in Interpretation No. 737 in 2016. According to the 2007-amended paragraph 2 of Article 33, the right to access to dossier information was provided with the pro se defendant only. This provision has been treated by lower courts as a general restriction on the access right of the defendant with counsel. In 2018, the Grand Justice Council held this general restriction unconstitutional in Interpretation No. 762. As a result, the defendant, with or without a counsel, should be entitled to access to dossier information. This study provides an overview of the recent development of the right to access to dossier information in the Taiwanese criminal justice system.