Op-ed: Creation of judicial administrative commission in Korea would violate constitution and threaten judicial independence

The Democratic Party’s (DP) proposal to create a Judicial Administration Commission is designed to abolish the existing Court Administration Office and transfer judicial administrative functions to an independent external body. Yet Article 101, Paragraph 1 of the Constitution states clearly that “judicial power shall be vested in courts composed of judges.” Judicial power is generally understood to include not only adjudication but also judicial administration. [ . . . ] Judicial appointments and case assignment in particular have a direct bearing on trials themselves and must therefore be exercised with the utmost caution. Handing such authority to an external body would inevitably and gravely undermine judicial independence and the fairness of trials. For this reason, the proposal to establish a Judicial Administration Commission cannot escape the conclusion that it is unconstitutional. Why, then, are the government and ruling party pushing ahead with such legislation?
Read the full article here: