Seven new nominees for the Constitutional Court were announced by Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) today, including Taiwan High Prosecutors’ Office Chief Prosecutor Tsai Chiu-ming (蔡秋明) as nominee for Judicial Yuan president and Supreme Court Justice Su Su-o (蘇素娥) as nominee for Judicial Yuan vice president.
The other five nominees are National Chung-Cheng University law professor Hsiao Wen-sheng (蕭文生), Supreme Court Justice Cheng Chun-hui (鄭純惠), Taiwan High Prosecutors’ Office Chief Prosecutor Lin Li-ying (林麗瑩), well-known law scholar Chen Tzu-yang (陳慈陽) and National Chengchi University law professor Chan Chen-jung (詹鎮榮).
The nominees’ expertise covers civil, criminal, administrative and constitutional law, and would result in a judiciary that the public can trust, the Presidential Office said.
Photo: Lo Pei-de, Taipei Times
President William Lai (賴清德) nominated the aforementioned candidates to fill the seven current vacancies in the Constitutional Court and ensure it can operate normally, Hsiao said.
Lai made the nominations after careful consideration and consulting with various parties, and would ask the Legislative Yuan to approve the nominees today, she said.
Lai made the nominations with three main considerations, Hsiao said.
First, to safeguard freedom, democracy and the constitution, and defend the public’s human rights, she said.
Second, to enhance professional expertise in national security cases, ensuring national security and clean politics, she said.
Third, to promote judicial reforms, improve the quality of trials and relieve pressure in the judicial working environment, she added.
Lai had previously nominated seven candidates for the Constitutional Court in August last year, but all were rejected by the Legislative Yuan in December last year.
This prevented the Judicial Yuan from being able to function normally and disrupted the separation of powers between the five branches of government, Hsiao said.
The ruling and opposition parties would hopefully agree this time, upholding professionalism and considering diverse issues that concern the public, she said.
Taiwan is currently facing a serious constitutional crisis with power imbalances between the government’s five branches, Tsai said in his speech after the announcement.
Many legal and political challenges brought about by agencies involve constitutional issues that should be addressed by the Constitutional Court, he said.
While there has been much criticism regarding courts and trials, the core of the issue is that judges, prosecutors and other judicial staff are under immense pressure, Tsai said.
He would address this and the quality of trials, striving to create a healthier judicial environment, he said.
Additional reporting by Su Yung-yao
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