The Control Yuan’s Committee on Judicial and Prison Administration Affairs on Wednesday rejected a request for a constitutional interpretation of pension reforms passed since June last year.
The committee said there is no suspicion that the reforms contravene the Constitution, which was the reason for the request, a Control Yuan member said on condition of anonymity.
The committee decided to vote after deliberating for more than two hours, the source said.
To stay neutral, committee convener Tsai Chung-yi (蔡崇義) did not vote, while committee member Jao Yung-ching (趙永清) was on leave, the source said.
Twelve members were in attendance and two did not vote, the source said, adding that the committee voted 6-4 to pass a resolution that the case does not meet the requirements for a constitutional interpretation, the source added.
Six of the seven experts that Control Yuan members consulted said that the reforms are constitutional, that the principle of legitimate expectation does not apply and that there is no problem with the principle of nulla poena sine lege, the source said.
After the original reviewing committee — in this case the Committee on Educational and Cultural Affairs — passes a resolution, the Committee on Judicial and Prison Administration Affairs typically reviews the case before forwarding it to the Control Yuan’s plenary meeting.
A formal request for a constitutional interpretation would be made only if the plenary meeting passes the case.
However, the Control Yuan on Tuesday decided that the case would be sent back to the Committee on Educational and Cultural Affairs, which would forward the proposal and the judicial committee’s decision to a plenary meeting for discussion next month.
There is to be a “voting war” at next month’s plenary meeting, the source said.
The source predicted that with the makeup of members in the Control Yuan, the older members would be able to approve the request with a majority vote.
However, newer Control Yuan members are to request that the case be forwarded to the Judicial Yuan along with the judicial committee’s resolution, the source said.
If the older members refuse to forward the case, the newer members would find a way to forward it themselves, the source added.
Eleven newer Control Yuan member were nominated by President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) to fill posts vacated by retired members, while the older members were nominated by former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九).
If the Control Yuan votes to overturn the decision at its plenary meeting, it would indicate that the case has become a political issue, the source said.
Whether the Council of Grand Justices would accept a constitutional interpretation case with political undertones is uncertain, they added.
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