Opposition lawmakers have again voted down all seven of President William Lai’s (賴清德) nominees for the Constitutional Court, a decision that would further prolong the court’s paralysis.
Among the seven nominees, five, including veteran prosecutor Tsai Chiu-ming (蔡秋明) and Supreme Court judge Su Su-e (蘇素娥), who were also nominated to serve as president and vice president of the Judicial Yuan, were rejected solely by opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) lawmakers.
The KMT and TPP hold a combined majority in the legislature, meaning no nomination could be confirmed without their support.
Photo: CNA
Several Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers also joined the opposition in voting down legal academics Chen Tsi-yang (陳慈陽) and Chan Chen-jung (詹鎮榮).
KMT Legislator Wu Tsung-hsien (吳宗憲) said that the party’s caucus had decided to reject all the nominees, because they lacked “the courage to say no to the ruling party.”
KMT Legislator Weng Hsiao-ling (翁曉玲) called on Lai to consult with opposition lawmakers the next time he nominates justices.
Meanwhile, TPP Chairman and legislative caucus whip Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) said that his caucus would not accept nominees with partisan leanings, adding that the nominees failed to meet the caucus’ review standards, including whether they could uphold the spirit of the Constitution, safeguard human rights and the spirit of democracy, and maintain independence and have the courage to say “no” to those in power.
The nominees had been selected by Lai in March to fill vacancies on the Constitutional Court, which was his second attempt, after the legislature rejected his initial round of nominees in December last year.
The opposition last year said that Lai’s nominees, submitted without consulting opposition lawmakers, were biased toward the DPP.
The outcome further deepens the deadlock in the Constitutional Court, which is currently unable to hear or rule on cases due to a measure passed by KMT and TPP lawmakers in December last year requiring a quorum of 10 justices for adjudication.
The Constitutional Court normally has 15 justices, but it currently has only eight, following the departure of seven justices whose eight-year terms ended on Oct. 31 last year.
The court serves as a check on the executive and legislative branches. It has the authority to resolve disputes between government bodies, impeach presidents and determine whether laws contravene the Constitution.
For people who believe their constitutional rights have been infringed, the court serves as the final avenue for redress.
Landmark rulings by the court in recent years include restricting the use of the death penalty, granting equal marriage rights to same-sex couples and decriminalizing adultery — decisions that have sometimes drawn criticism from conservative groups.
In response, Presidential Office spokesperson Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) said that Lai found the result "very regrettable and concerning."
Kuo said yesterday's vote left the Constitutional Court without the minimum number of justices to function, undermining public access to constitutional redress and placing Taiwan's democratic and constitutional system under an unprecedented challenge.
She called on "both the ruling and opposition parties" to work together to restore the normal functioning of the court, but did not say what steps the president plans to take next or why he had not consulted with opposition lawmakers on the nominees to begin with.
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