Amendments seeking to raise the threshold for passing a constitutional interpretation passed directly to the second reading today without any objections.
The changes to the Constitutional Court Procedure Act (憲法訴訟法) proposed by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Weng Hsiao-ling (翁曉玲) would require a two-thirds majority to pass a ruling.
Current law stipulates a simple majority of the 15-member Constitutional Court for a ruling to pass.
Photo: CNA
Another amendment proposed in the previous session by Weng would change the court’s quorum from two-thirds of presently incumbent justices to two-thirds of the full court.
With seven justices set to retire at the end of next month, the eight remaining judges would be short of the 10-member quorum stipulated by the amendment.
Critics have raised concern that the opposition could refuse to approve new appointments, effectively paralyzing the court as it is set to rule on controversial bills passed with the opposition parties’ majority.
The KMT and Taiwan People’s Party say the changes are necessary to prevent a few judges from having an outsized impact on the people’s lives.
The push also comes a week after a simple majority of a 12-member bench ruled to uphold the death penalty, but limited its application to only the most extreme cases.
Three justices had recused themselves for having previously represented death-row inmates.
EXCUSES: Beijing is using government and research vessels as a pretext to harass the nation and enter its EEZ, and engage in ‘hegemonic expansion,’ the coast guard said The Coast Guard Administration yesterday said it drove away Chinese oceanographic research vessel Xiang Yang Hong 22 (向陽紅33) from restricted waters after warning it that it was in Taiwan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ). The Chinese vessel entered restricted waters off the coast of Yilan County’s Suao (蘇澳) at 11:35pm on Thursday, the coast guard said, adding that it dispatched the Lanyu patrol vessel and the boat PP-10077 to shadow the Chinese ship and issue radio warnings ordering it to leave. China has no sovereignty over waters off Taiwan’s east coast, Lanyu’s crew told Xiang Yang Hong 22 over the radio, and demanded
Tropical Storm Mekkhala is forecast to strengthen into a typhoon tomorrow and could come close enough to Taiwan later in the week to prompt a sea warning, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2 pm, the storm was located 1,870 kilometers southeast of Taiwan's southern tip and moving west- northwest at 23 km per hour. CWA forecaster Cheng Chieh-jen (鄭傑仁) said Mekkhala is expected to continue moving west-northwest through Tuesday under the influence of the Pacific high- pressure system before gradually turning north toward waters east of Taiwan or south of the Ryukyu Islands. The timing and angle of the
Four Taiwanese universities have been ranked among the world's top 200 institutions in the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings for next year, the highest Taiwan has ever placed in the category, with National Taiwan University (NTU) achieving its best performance at 54th globally and 17th in Asia. The four Taiwanese institutions in the global top 200 are NTU (54th), National Tsing Hua University (142nd), National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University (177th) and National Cheng Kung University (191st), the rankings showed. All four universities achieved their highest-ever global rankings this year, QS data showed. National Cheng Kung University entered the top 200 for
RISING POPULARITY: Enhanced flight connectivity and a visa waiver trial program are among the motivations that have boosted travel to Taiwan by Filipinos, the agency said The Tourism Administration said yesterday that it is stepping up efforts to attract tourists from the Philippines following strong growth during the first quarter. The agency’s data showed the nation welcomed 210,000 Filipino visitors from January to March, marking a 43 percent increase compared with the same period last year. The Philippines is Taiwan’s top source of inbound tourists among the Southeast Asian nations, data showed. With a population of 116 million and national median age of 26, the Philippines boasts a young demographic with strong travel potential, the Tourism Administration said. Outbound travel demand in the Philippines continues to rise amid robust
RSS