The Judicial Yuan would strictly adhere to the death penalty ruling issued by the Constitutional Court, National Taiwan University professor of law Chang Wen-chen (張文貞) told lawmakers yesterday.
Chang and Yao Li-ming (姚立明) — who in September were nominated by President William Lai (賴清德) to be the next head of the branch and Judicial Yuan vice president respectively — faced a review of their qualifications from lawmakers.
The Constitutional Court on Sept. 20 said that the death penalty is constitutional, but the government must cautiously execute it by strictly following legal procedures, as it is an extreme punishment.
Photo: Lo Pei-de, Taipei Times
“The Constitutional Court has ruled that the death penalty is constitutional and required that due procedure must be followed before an execution can be carried out,” Chang said in response to a question from Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Yang Chiung-ying (楊瓊瓔). “That does not mean that the court would not be able to issue a death sentence.”
Yang asked Chang if she believed that the ruling would practically abolish capital punishment in Taiwan.
The Constitutional Court justices stated at the beginning of their ruling that the death penalty is constitutional, Chang said, adding that it is not an urgent issue.
There are more urgent issues, such as expediting court efficiency by revamping case management systems in the judicial branch and reforming legal procedures, she said.
Yang asked Chang if she would push to abolish the death penalty as Judicial Yuan president, as she is widely perceived as an opponent of the death penalty.
Chang said that the description of her was a misconception, adding that her only position on the death penalty as a nominee of a judicial post is to adhere to the ruling and interpretation of the Constitutional Court.
Referencing the political upheaval in South Korea triggered by a brief declaration of martial law, KMT Legislator Yeh Yuan-chih (葉元之) asked whether the government has a mechanism to quickly end a hypothetical martial law decree issued by the president during a recess of the legislature, or whether that would require the Constitution and Martial Law Act (戒嚴法) to be amended.
The Constitution lists martial law and emergency orders as laws of the land when the country is in an emergency situation, Chang said.
While previous constitutional amendments had laid out clear procedures for issuing emergency orders, there have yet to be changes to procedures required to implement martial law, she said.
Article 39 of the Constitution stipulates that “the president may, in accordance with law, declare martial law with the approval of, or subject to confirmation by, the Legislative Yuan.”
When the Legislative Yuan deems it necessary, it may by resolution ask the president to terminate martial law, she said, citing the article.
However, the article does not list the time required to approve or confirm the president’s declaration of martial law, she said, adding that it gives the legislature some legal room and frees it from following Article 1 of the Martial Law Act.
Meanwhile, Yao dismissed criticism that he was only nominated to be the next Judicial Yuan vice president because the president was rewarding him for managing his presidential campaign and helping him get elected.
Yao vowed to uphold freedom of the press while in office.
Yao began his political career as a member of the New Party, but supported former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) in the 2012 presidential election.
He was later the campaign manager of Taiwan People’s Party Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) when he ran for Taipei mayor in 2014.
Last year, Yao was invited by Lai to manage his presidential campaign.
“I am a constitutional expert. The nomination should not be described as a political favor, considering the difficulty of having the appointment approved by the legislature with the Democratic Progressive Party being the minority,” he said.
“Some might say that I am a chameleon, moving in and out of political parties, but does it not show that I am not a loyalist to a party, but rather to my conscience and my professional expertise?” he asked.
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