At least four bills that could act as an "emergency decree law" have been proposed by legislators as of yesterday, in reaction to the emergency decree declared by President Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) in the aftermath of the 921 earthquake.
But at least one legal expert said yesterday that such a law is unnecessary, unless the Constitution is amended to allow for substantial restrictions to be placed on such decrees.
Partly at the urging of lawmakers from both the ruling and opposition parties, President Lee issued an emergency decree on Sept. 25, four days after the deadly earthquake which killed more than 2,400 people and destroyed or damaged more than 80,000 houses. The decree took effect immediately, as the Constitution allows, and was later ratified almost unanimously by the legislature.
Soon thereafter, however, opposition lawmakers began complaining that the emergency decree had resulted in an abuse of power by the executive branch. They claimed that the Executive Yuan was taking advantage of the vagueness of the decree and expanding its power without any necessary checks and balances being put in place.
As a counter-measure, opposition legislators have proposed at least four draft versions of a emergency decree law. The most recent has been co-sponsored by DPP lawmakers Hung Chi-chang (
The trio claimed yesterday that to clarify a decree's authority and responsibilities, an emergency law within the boundaries of the Constitution should be passed by the legislature to regulate its implementation.
Legislators Shen Fu-hsiung (
But according to the Constitution, it is not necessary to write a law covering the emergency decree, said Su Yung-chin (蘇永欽), a law professor at National Chengchi University.
"It is not impermissible to have such a law ," Su said "but if it is to be done within the Constitution, there will be no point, as such a law can only regulate administrative formats and procedures, but not anything substantial as to what the government can or cannot do," he said.
If only for means of procedure, current laws are sufficient, he said. An article in the Constitution originally specified that an emergency decree must be preceded by an emergency decree law, but that article was later frozen by an amendment to the Constitution in 1991. The amendment stipulates that the president can issue an emergency decree to deal with emergency situations, without any specification on what should be done except that the decree should be rectified by the legislature.
Thus, it would be unconstitutional if the legislature wrote an emergency decree law that substantially restricts the power the president and the administrative branch of the government, Su said.
Admittedly, it is a legitimate concern that the administrative branch could have too much power under the current Constitution, Su said. However, to address this concern, the Constitution needs to be amended, he said.
As a matter of fact, Lee Wen-chung said, he and his colleagues recognize the constitutional shortcoming, and they called yesterday for an amendment to the Constitution to properly cover the emergency decree.
The US government has signed defense cooperation agreements with Japan and the Philippines to boost the deterrence capabilities of countries in the first island chain, a report by the National Security Bureau (NSB) showed. The main countries on the first island chain include the two nations and Taiwan. The bureau is to present the report at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee tomorrow. The US military has deployed Typhon missile systems to Japan’s Yamaguchi Prefecture and Zambales province in the Philippines during their joint military exercises. It has also installed NMESIS anti-ship systems in Japan’s Okinawa
‘WIN-WIN’: The Philippines, and central and eastern European countries are important potential drone cooperation partners, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung said Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) in an interview published yesterday confirmed that there are joint ventures between Taiwan and Poland in the drone industry. Lin made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper). The government-backed Taiwan Excellence Drone International Business Opportunities Alliance and the Polish Chamber of Unmanned Systems on Wednesday last week signed a memorandum of understanding in Poland to develop a “non-China” supply chain for drones and work together on key technologies. Asked if Taiwan prioritized Poland among central and eastern European countries in drone collaboration, Lin
NO CONFIDENCE MOTION? The premier said that being toppled by the legislature for defending the Constitution would be a democratic badge of honor for him Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) yesterday announced that the Cabinet would not countersign the amendments to the local revenue-sharing law passed by the Legislative Yuan last month. Cho said the decision not to countersign the amendments to the Act Governing the Allocation of Government Revenues and Expenditures (財政收支劃分法) was made in accordance with the Constitution. “The decision aims to safeguard our Constitution,” he said. The Constitution stipulates the president shall, in accordance with law, promulgate laws and issue mandates with the countersignature of the head of the Executive Yuan, or with the countersignatures of both the head of the Executive Yuan and ministers or
BACK TO WORK? Prosecutors said they are considering filing an appeal, while the Hsinchu City Government said it has applied for Ann Kao’s reinstatement as mayor The High Court yesterday found suspended Hsinchu mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) not guilty of embezzling assistant fees, reducing her sentence to six months in prison commutable to a fine from seven years and four months. The verdict acquitted Kao of the corruption charge, but found her guilty of causing a public official to commit document forgery. The High Prosecutors’ Office said it is reviewing the ruling and considering whether to file an appeal. The Taipei District Court in July last year sentenced Kao to seven years and four months in prison, along with a four-year deprivation of civil rights, for contravening the Anti-Corruption
RSS