The Council of Grand Justices (
According to Interpretation Article 549 of the Constitution, which was made by the council yesterday, Article 27 of the Labor Insurance Act (
The grand justices asked the Labor Insurance Bureau to amend the article within two years.
The offending article in the act says that children of the deceased, including those who had been adopted for at least six months, are eligible for compensation.
The grand justices said this contravened Article 153 of the Constitution, which obliges the government to protect the livelihoods of laborers and farmers, and Article 155, which obliges the government to provide assistance to those unable to earn a living and to victims of unusual calamities.
Judicial Yuan Secretary-General Yang Ren-shou (楊仁壽) said that according to the grand justices, other than amending Article 27 of the Labor Insurance Act, the bureau should increase the burden of proof on claimants that they are "unable to make a living" and that they have been raised by the deceased.
"It is our hope to make sure that the insurance compensation goes to the people in need," Yang said. "Also, once the amendments are made, we won't have to pay so much tax, either."
The interpretation was made in response to an appeal by Taipei resident Chang Yao-wu (
Chang was adopted in January 1975 by his uncle, who died in March the same year. The uncle left two children and a wife, who both live in China.
In 1996, Chang and his uncle's family in China applied to the Labor Insurance Bureau for insurance compensation for the man's death. The bureau paid compensation to the China-based family members but rejected Chang's claim. Chang subsequently appealed to the Council of Grand Justices, claiming the rejection was unconstitutional.
In their interpretation, the grand justices rejected Chang's claim.
"The decision in Chang's case will remain regardless of the grand justices' request for the bureau to amend the law," Yang said.
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