DPP Chairman Lin I-hsiung (林義雄) yesterday questioned the power of the Council of Grand Justices to reject a constitutional amendment passed by the National Assembly, just as the council is gearing up to rule two controversial amendments as unconstitutional.
In a move derided by critics as self-serving, National Assembly deputies amended the Constitution in September 1999 to extend their terms by two-and-a-half years.
The next legislative elections, which were originally set to be held in December 2001, were also postponed until June 2002.
Under another amendment, future elections for the National Assembly will also be canceled. Starting in June 2002, National Assembly deputies will instead be assigned by political parties by proportion -- according to their vote shares in national elections.
The China Times Express reported last Saturday that the Council of Grand Justices, after months of discussion, would issue a ruling tomorrow that will reject the amendments as being unconstitutional. Lin said the ruling would violate the basic principles of democracy if the report was true.
"The National Assembly is a constitutional body elected by popular votes to express the will of the people. Under the present system, no organization can deny the results of its Constitution-writing efforts, unless it changes them on its own," Lin argued. He said the Council is empowered to interpret the Constitution, but does not have the power to determine if a constitutional provision is valid or not.
"If the Council of Grand Justices ruled that the amendments were unconstitutional, it would become a `super body' more powerful than the National Assembly," Lin said.
Lin suggested that inter-party negotiations be held soon to form a consensus on amending the Constitution again to correct the procedural errors.
According to news report cited by Lin, the justices believe the amendment on the term extension involves a violation of the procedural rules because it was passed by secret ballot. In addition, it also violates the covenant between National Assembly deputies and their voters.
A proportional system, on the other hand, is insufficient to explain how the votes for legislators can become the basis of representation to the National Assembly, the report said. If the amendments were determined unconstitutional, the National Assembly would have to be re-elected by May 10.
The deputies' terms were originally due to expire on May 20 before the amendment, and election laws stipulate that a re-election should be held at least 10 days before the term's expiration.
Responding to Lin, Judicial Yuan Secretary-general Yang Jen-shou (楊仁壽) said the grand justices definitely have the power to interpret the Constitution. Yang said he believes the justices will offer a clear explanation for their ruling when it is released, adding that it is still "premature" for anyone to make any comment at this time.
Yang urged the DPP to respect the independence of the grand justices in making their ruling.
"The DPP respected judicial independence in the past. We hope the DPP will continue to do so as the ruling party," Yang said.
Huang Chin-tang (黃錦堂), a professor of political science at National Taiwan University, said he believes the grand justices have the power to determine whether a constitutional provision is against the principles of the Constitution itself.
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