Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators have formally petitioned the Constitutional Court to review amendments to the Constitutional Court Procedure Act (憲法訴訟法), the court said today.
The Legislative Yuan on Friday last week voted against the Executive Yuan’s request to reconsider the amendments.
This morning, the Legislative Yuan’s Judiciary and Organic Laws and Statutes Committee invited the Judicial Yuan and Ministry of Justice to report on and answer questions about preventive rights relief, a legal tool to protect people’s rights before they are violated.
Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei Times
During the meeting, Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) asked if media reports were accurate about Minister Without Portfolio Lin Ming-hsin (林明昕) assisting others in filing for a constitutional interpretation of the amendment.
The court cannot rule on laws not yet in effect, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Tsung-hsien (吳宗憲) said.
DPP Legislator Chung Chia-pin (鍾佳濱) expressed concerns about the Constitutional Court suspending its functions, adding that it would only benefit political parties and not citizens.
There is precedent for filing judicial interpretations before laws go into effect when it comes to matters related to the Judicial Yuan’s authority, Chung said.
The timing of temporary measures, which are instated before a formal ruling may be reached, is the court’s decision, he added.
Yang Hao-ching (楊皓清), director-general of the court's clerk department, said that preventive legal relief and temporary measures are handled separately.
Until now, no petitions have been received around preventive relief, he added.
There has been a petition from a member of the public requesting temporary measures for the Constitutional Court Procedure Act, as well as a petition from DPP lawmakers requesting a constitutional review and temporary measures, Yang said.
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