摘要
The defendant’s mental capacity is often crucial in criminal procedure,and an expert witness may be requested to conduct a forensic psychiatric evaluation.This paper analyzes the law and clinical practice of adult defendants’forensic psychiatric evaluation in criminal courts between China' Mainland and Taiwan region.Results indicated that the law in Taiwan region explicitly mentioned more mental illness and mental capacity than the law in China' Mainland regarding forensic psychiatric evaluation.Concerning expert witnesses,China' Mainland has established a registration and management system,but in Taiwan region,the judge decides the expert witness’s admissibility.Furthermore,clinical evaluation guidelines have been promulgated in China' Mainland,while none in Taiwan region.Implications of the findings were discussed.
