During its first meeting last week, the National Pension Reform Committee discussed its agenda rules. Although the decision on the proposed rules for the reform draft should in principle be consensual, it was decided that if necessary, a decision could be passed with a majority vote.
That contravenes the pledge made by the committee’s convener, Minister Without Portfolio Lin Wan-i (林萬億), and representatives of current and retired military personnel, civil servants and public school teachers who felt that such a decision would be tantamount to the tyranny of the majority left the meeting.
As a result, the focus of the next meeting is likely to be how to define a “consensus decision.”
A majority vote is a legitimate way of arriving at a decision reflecting the majority opinion, and it is also the best way of resolving procedural disputes. However, there is no legal basis for the pension reform committee as it is not stipulated by law. Functionally, it is either an arbitration or a consultative committee, but its status is unclear. A majority decision would only be required if it is an arbitration committee.
The representatives of current and retired military personnel, civil servants and teachers feel that the government is attempting to define the committee as an arbitration committee and use majority decisions to endorse government policy. If this is the case, there would be constant controversy, they feel.
If a compromise is reached and the committee is defined as an aid to allow society and experts to participate in government decisions, and if a consensus decision model is adopted and committee members are encouraged to propose suggestions, the committee’s meetings are likely to reach the expected policy goals.
“Consensus decision” means a decision reached through cooperation and is supported by all members. Although a decision reached in a consensus situation might not be the first choice of all participants, it is a decision that is acceptable to everyone.
The time to adopt a consensus decision is when a decision is very important or when it has far-reaching consequences, and when the exchange of opinions and viewpoints would be helpful to the group. This really should be the case with pension reform.
A committee allowing for the participation of civic society and experts in government decisions is a consultative committee that collects information or listens to opinions.
The method used is to first draft a policy proposal and to let committee members read and discuss the proposal in advance in order to be able to define the issues that are to be discussed within that subject area, and then confer with experts in a public forum. Finally, the committee members discuss controversial issues and come to a decision. Viewpoints, including views where no consensus exists, are highlighted in a report, and the final decisionmaker then has the final say over which views to accept and which to reject.
Trust is what drives all regular processes, and if the final decisionmaker’s impartiality is in question at the beginning of a meeting it would be difficult to establish justice even if a more detailed procedure is adopted to protect the rules.
Because pension reform is a controversial issue, it is recommended that the committee be defined as a consultative committee.
Following democratic participation and debate, advisory opinions must be made the focus of national attention, and the legislature, based on the need to reflect public opinion, should use these advisory opinions as an important reference as it creates new legislation.
Lo Chuan-hsien is an adjunct professor of law at Central Police University and a former director-general of the Legislative Yuan’s Legislative Bureau.
Translated by Perry Svensson
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