Declaring a policy as unconstitutional would be “stricter than martial law” under new amendments to Constitutional Court procedures, as the most stringent threshold to back a ruling would be 90 percent of sitting judges, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus chief executive Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) said today.
Amendments to the Constitutional Court Procedure Act (憲法訴訟法) passed by opposition lawmakers last week require that at least 10 justices participate in deliberations and nine agree in order to declare a law unconstitutional, Wu said.
With a maximum of 15 justices on the Constitutional Court, this establishes a minimum threshold of 60 percent and maximum threshold of 90 percent for ruling a law unconstitutional, she said.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
Chinese National Party (KMT) legislators rejected all seven judicial nominees and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) rejected six, making it impossible for the Constitutional Court to reach a quorum of 10 judges, she said.
With the inability to appoint all 15 justices, the threshold for unconstitutional rulings is effectively 90 percent, which is the highest since the court’s founding in 1948, Wu said.
Under these conditions, there would be no reasonable Constitutional Court capable of issuing rulings to safeguard people's rights and the constitution, Wu said.
The decision allows the KMT and TPP to act recklessly, arbitrarily and with impunity, declaring laws unconstitutional as they please, she said.
As DPP lawmakers were united in in their voting of the judicial nominees, they avoided falling into a trap set by TPP caucus whip Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌), Wu said.
As the TPP voted in favor of judicial nominee Liu Ching-yi (劉靜怡), if the DPP also voted in her favor, it would have allowed a minority to hijack constitutional rulings in the future, she said.
Liu should exercise restraint in her remarks, as “the nation’s constitutionalism is more important than personal power,” she said.
Separately today, Presidential Office Secretary-General Pan Men-an (潘孟安) said that President William Lai (賴清德) would promulgate the three amendments passed by the legislature on Friday last week according to lawful procedures, although the process has not yet begun.
Lai would renominate justices for the court in accordance with procedures, although the process may be delayed by the Lunar New Year and need to reconstitute the selection committee, Pan said.
Additional reporting by CNA
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