Law Professors Association criticizes prosecution reform

The Korea Law Professors Association has pointed out that the bills to remove investigative powers of the prosecution, which passed the plenary session at the National Assembly and the Cabinet Meeting, was “clearly illegal, not only in terms of its irrationality and unconstitutionality, but also in terms of the process.”

The association, which consists of approximately 1,500 members, issued on Tuesday a statement, which said that the bill lacks urgency against its gravity to reform the basis of the criminal justice of 70 years. “Failure to keep to the legislative procedures stated in the National Assembly laws significantly undermines the values of parliamentarism and constitutionalism and considered illegitimate, violating deliberation and voting rights of parliamentary members,” the association criticized.

The association pointed out that the bill’s passage in fortnight violated Article 59 of the National Assembly Law that the bill cannot be tabled unless 15 days have not passed since the bill was submitted to the standing committee, as well as Article 82-2 of the National Assembly Law that key contents of the bill should be pre-announced for more than 10 days.

People Making Good Laws, a private association consisting of 220 lawyers, also issued a statement on the same day, criticizing that the hasty passage of the bill, as well as the contents of the bill, is unconstitutional and that the bill to limit investigative rights of the prosecution should be scrapped. Two other conservative lawyer associations - Lawyers for Human Rights and Reunification for Korea, and Constitutional Law Advocates - announced to file constitutional appeal.

New National Council of Student Representatives posted bulletin messages at 113 university campuses, criticizing the passage of the bill. “It is unreasonable to strip investigation rights of the prosecution, which would give privilege rights to the police,” the bulletin said. “The bill passage process itself goes against the values upheld by the late President Roh Moo-hyun.”


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