Two Taiwanese lawyers who are training to become prosecutors will attend the Cornell Law School next fall for one academic year as part of the law school's first formal international program for prosecutors. The program also serves as a step toward linking the law school with the legal community in Taiwan, a nation undergoing groundbreaking judicial transformations and reforms.

"The legal system in Taiwan at this moment is at a fascinating crossroads," said Annelise Riles, director of Cornell's Clarke Program in East Asian Law and Culture. "Their supreme court has issued a number of very interesting rulings on matters of constitutional rights and election law. The judiciary is increasingly recognized for its independence. And most relevant to this exchange, there have been important procedural reforms regarding the rights of the accused in the criminal justice system."

Riles added that, "these legal reforms are being eyed as a model throughout Asia."

The two scholars, yet to be named, are training at the Taiwanese Ministry of Justice's Judicial and Prosecutorial Training Institute, a prestigious academy that prepares those who have passed Taiwan's grueling bar examination for careers as judges or prosecutors.

While here, the scholars will conduct legal research, present lectures, take courses and participate in scholarly workshops with faculty and students.

The program will continue for two years and then will be evaluated for possible renewal. Cornell is one of four American universities -- including Yale, Harvard and New York University as well as institutions in London and Tokyo -- at which prosecutors-in-training will study, thanks to an agreement with Taiwan's Ministry of Justice.

Larry S. Bush, executive director of Cornell's Clarke Center for International and Comparative Legal Studies, said the visiting prosecutors will provide several benefits for the law school as well.

"We will have an institutional tie with the Ministry of Justice in Taiwan, which is the highest level in their law enforcement system," said Bush. "It will bring professional prosecutors from Taiwan to the law school, where they can interact with both students and faculty. It simply opens a door to the legal community in Taiwan for us."