Regulations Governing the Transfer of Prisoners

2020-07-15
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Article 1
These Regulations are established in accordance with Paragraph 3, Article 17 of the Prison Act (hereinafter referred to as the Act).
Article 2
The terms used in these Regulations are defined as follows:
1. Prison: Referring to any prison under the Agency of Corrections, Ministry of Justice, including any branch or female unit set up by the prison.
2. Severely exceeding the approved capacity: Referring to the condition where the actual number of prisoners in a prison exceeds the approved capacity by at least twenty percent;
3. Flexibly adjusting transfer operations: Referring to the conduct of the supervisory authority transferring prisoners from prisons severely exceeding approved prison capacity to other prisons as an effort to reduce the overcrowding conditions;
4. Family members: Referring to persons who cohabit with a prisoner for the purpose of living together on a permanent basis in accordance with Articles 1122 and 1123 of the Civil Code.
5. Nearest relatives: Referring to the prisoner’s spouse, lineal family, non-lineal family within 3 degrees of kinship, or marital family within 2 degrees of kinship.
Article 3
The supervisory authority shall submit a report to the Ministry of Justice and obtain its determination with respect to the types of prisoners to be accommodated, approved capacity, and criteria for the execution of decision for each prison.
The supervisory authority shall review the abovementioned approved capacity, types of prisoners accommodated, arrangement of living quarters, current status of accommodation, increase or decrease in the number of prisoners, and related matters, and shall determine the number of prisoners to be transferred into and out of the prisons in order to flexibly adjusting transfer operations.
The supervisory authority shall notify the transferring prison to select prisoners to be transferred to other prisons according to the number determined under the preceding paragraph.
Where a prisoner falls under any of the following circumstances, the transferring prison shall not transfer the prisoner to another prison in accordance with the provisions of Paragraph 1, Article 17 of the Act governing flexibly adjusting transfer operations:
1. The prisoner was transferred from another prison less than six months;
2. The remaining sentence to be served is less than two months;
3. The prisoner meets the criteria for parole;
4. The prisoner meets the conditions set forth in Subparagraph 2, Paragraph 2, Article 77 of the Criminal Code;
5. The prisoner falls under any of the conditions set forth in Paragraph 1, Article 13 of the Act or has been escorted to a medical institution for guarded treatment within the past month in accordance with Paragraph 1, Article 62 of the Act;
6. The prisoner holds the Nation-wide Medical Service Card issued by the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control.
Article 4
The special and necessary requirements for treatment, as set forth in Subparagraph 1, Paragraph 2, Article 17 of the Act, refer to any of the following:
1. Treatment for the crimes specified in Article 91-1 of the Criminal Code;
2. Treatment for any offense of domestic violence defined in Subparagraph 2, Article 2 of the Domestic Violence Prevention Act and for any violation of protection order defined in Article 61 of the same Act;
3. Other specific treatments.
Where other laws and regulations or any treatment plans established with authorization provide otherwise for the eligibility criteria for transfer of the prisoners who shall undergo the treatments mentioned in Subparagraphs 1 and 2 of the preceding paragraph, review procedures, procedures and methods of transfer, persons and entities to be advised and how they shall be advised, as well as other matters related to prison transfer, such laws, regulations, or plans shall prevail.
For the purpose of strengthening the provision of treatment, the supervisory authority may appoint any prison to provide specific treatment.
Article 5
The condition set forth in Subparagraph 2, Paragraph 2, Article 17 of the Act means that the prisoners are sent to a suitable prison based on the results of investigations and classification of the prisoners and the types of prisoners to be accommodated in each prison as stipulated in Paragraph 1, Article 3, thereby enhancing individual treatment plans and other rehabilitation programs.
Article 6
The condition set forth in Subparagraph 3, Paragraph 2, Article 17 of the Act refers to one of the following:
1. Having committed acts that adversely affect the order or security of the prison at least three times within the past year and been imposed punishment by the prison in accordance with Paragraph 1, Article 86 of the Act;
2. Committing acts of violence or coercion against the personnel carrying out their duties or other prisoners;
3. Committing acts of escape, unrest, or riot;
4. Being reasonably suspected of being likely to adversely affect the order or security of the prison based on facts.
Article 7
Any prison that files a request to transfer prisoners in accordance with Subparagraphs 1 to 5, Paragraph 2, Article 17 of the Act shall prepare a list of the prisoners to be transferred, basic information regarding the prisoners, and adequate supporting documents, and shall submit to the supervisory authority for examination.
For the examination under the preceding paragraph, the supervisory authority shall review such aspects as the approved capacity of the prison, types of prisoners accommodated, arrangement of the housing areas, current status of accommodation, registered residence of the prisoners, their visitation and prison transfer records, as well as prison sentences, and shall make a comprehensive decision.
The supervisory authority may, if deemed necessary, request related correctional authorities to provide their opinions on the examination set forth in the preceding two paragraphs.
Article 8
Any prisoner who falls under any of the following circumstances may apply to the prison for transfer in accordance with Subparagraph 6, Paragraph 2, Article 17 of the Act:
1. A parent or the spouse of the prisoner is aged 65 or older, or any child of the prisoner is under the age of 12;
2. Any of the grandparents, parents, spouse, or children of the prisoner holds proof of major illness and injury for national health insurance reimbursement or a disability certificate due to illness or physical or mental disability;
3. The prisoner is eligible to be admitted to any supplementary, extension, or continuing education program or vocational training program organized by the prison to which the prisoner wishes to transfer;
4. The prisoner is eligible to be selected by the prison to which the prisoner wishes to transfer for the tasks considered as work;
5. The prisoner has special and necessary requirements for treatment. The current prison is unable to provide relevant resources, but the prison to which the prisoner wishes to transfer is able to do so.
Any prisoner who falls under the circumstances listed in Subparagraphs 1 and 2 of the preceding paragraph shall meet the following conditions:
1. The prisoner was admitted to the prison more than three months or was transferred from another prison more than six months;
2. The remaining sentence to be served is more than four months;
3. No parole case is pending review.
Prisons shall make known to all prisoners in an appropriate manner the information regarding the admission and selection set forth in Subparagraphs 3 and 4 of Paragraph 1.
Article 9
A prisoner who falls under any of the circumstances set forth in Subparagraphs 1 and 2, Paragraph 1 of the preceding article may submit proof of household registration issued within the past month and other adequate supporting documents to the prison to apply for transfer to the designated prison.
The prison shall review the eligibility of the prisoner for prison transfer in accordance with the preceding article and preceding paragraph, and shall submit a roster of the prisoners and their information, a list of the prisoners eligible for prison transfer, and other supporting documents, on a monthly basis, to the supervisory authority for examination.
The prison shall, immediately upon receipt of the documents set forth in Paragraph 1 from persons other than the prisoner, forward such documents to the prisoner and record the date and time when such documents are received and forwarded.
Article 10
With respect to the prison transfer cases reported by the prison in accordance with Subparagraphs 1 and 2, Paragraph 1 of Article 8, the supervisory authority may allow those who are found to meet the following requirements to be transferred to the designated prison:
1. The prisoners meet the accommodation criteria for the designated prison;
2. The number of prisoners accommodated by the designated prison does not exceed the approved capacity;
3. The current prison and the designated prison are not located in the same municipality, city, or county;
4. The designated prison does not fall into the condition set forth in Subparagraph 4, Paragraph 2, Article 17 of the Act.
Where a designated prison fails to meet the requirements set forth in Subparagraphs 1, 2, or 4 of the preceding paragraph, the supervisory authority may, based on the prisoner’s will, allow the prisoner to be transferred to another prison located in the same area as the designated prison.
The delineation of the area in preceding paragraph shall be approved by the supervisory authority.
Article 11
A prison shall, within one month upon receipt of notice from the supervisory authority with regard to flexibly adjusting transfer operations, or approval of prison transfer, complete the transfer process and submit a list of the prisoners transferred to other prisons to the supervisory authority for its record. However, any prison that deems itself unable to complete such process due to a justifiable reason may apply to the supervisory authority to extend the time limit.
Article 12
The transferring prison shall take charge of prisoner transfer processes. However, those with justifiable reasons may request the supervisory authority to decide.
A prison shall pay attention to the matter of guard security when conducting a prisoner transfer process, and shall keep itself updated on weather and road conditions on the day of transfer. No stop shall be made at any places other than prisons along the way, unless it is justifiable and necessary to do so.
Article 13
In the event that, for any reason, prisoners are unable to arrive at the receiving prison on the day of transfer, they shall be temporarily incarcerated in a nearby prison during the period of waiting for their flight, ship, or other arrangements, and shall be separated from the prisoners in the said prison.
The guard and security of the prisoners while being temporarily incarcerated in accordance with the preceding paragraph shall be the responsibility of the officer of the transferring prison, who are subject to supervision by the senior officials of the prison that temporarily incarcerates the prisoners. Matters related to the supplies, sanitation, and medical care for the prisoners shall be the responsibility of the prison that temporarily incarcerates the prisoners.
Article 14
The receiving prison shall verify the following particulars immediately during the receiving process:
1. The identity of the prisoner;
2. The cause of prison transfer and eligibility of the prisoner.
Article 15
Where, during the receiving process, the receiving prison finds that a prisoner fails to conform to the particulars set forth in the preceding article, the receiving prison shall request the transferring prison to collect the prisoner.
Should the aforesaid prisoner fall under any of the conditions set forth in Paragraph 1, Article 13 of the Act, or have been escorted to a medical institution for treatment in accordance with Paragraph 1, Article 62 of the Act within the past month, the receiving prison shall first accommodate the prisoner and provide proper medical treatment and then adopt the following measures:
1. Where health conditions of the prisoner have seen significant improvement as assessed by a physician, the receiving prison may submit a diagnosis certificate to the supervisory authority to obtain its approval for requesting the transferring prison to collect the prisoner.
2. Where no proper treatment is available or possible, the prisoner may be either transferred to a medical branch in accordance with Article 62 of the Act or released on bail for medical treatment in accordance with Article 63 of the Act.
The transferring prison shall report to the supervisory authority the progress in regard to the preceding two paragraphs.
Article 16
The transferring prison shall inform a prisoner of the receiving prison on the day of transfer, and shall, within three days upon completion of the transfer process, give notice to the prisoner’s family members or nearest relatives in writing, by telephone or facsimile, over the Internet, or via other appropriate means, and record such notice, unless no notice can be given.
Where there are several family members or nearest relatives, as set forth in the preceding paragraph, the prison may only notify one of them.
Article 17
Where any of the following circumstances occurs after receiving a prisoner transferred in accordance with Paragraph 2, Article 17 of the Act, the receiving prison may seek approval from the supervisory authority for moving the prisoner back:
1. The cause of transfer is inconsistent or the prisoner fails to meet the eligibility requirements;
2. The cause of transfer ceases to exist;
3. It is appropriate to move the prisoner back to the transferring prison due to other special circumstances.
After receiving a prisoner transferred in accordance with Subparagraph 3, Paragraph 2, Article 17 of the Act, the receiving prison shall not request the supervisory authority to transfer the prisoner to the previous prison if the prisoner falls under the same condition again.
Article 18
These Regulations shall take effect as of July 15, 2020.