Eliminate Structural Injustices or Perpetuate Them: Indigenous Peoples and Transitional Justice in the Criminal Court System of Taiwan.

The article focuses on Taiwan's 2017 reforms to the Indigenous Specialized Criminal Court (ISC) as a judicial response to structural injustices faced by indigenous peoples within the criminal court system. It situates these reforms within an enhanced transitional justice framework that addresses cultural erasure and socio-economic disadvantages—issues inadequately tackled by the conventional transitional justice model focused on authoritarian-era wrongs. Key reform initiatives include enhancing judges' cultural understanding and establishing the Indigenous Peoples' Judicial Consultation Committee (IPJCC) to incorporate indigenous perspectives and cultural defenses in trials. While empirical evaluation shows progress in recognizing indigenous traditional practices related to natural resource use, the reforms have yet to fully address broader structural injustices, such as the negation of indigenous institutions and socio-economic marginalization, highlighting ongoing challenges in decolonizing Taiwan's court system.