Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators today submitted a petition to the Judicial Yuan to request a constitutional interpretation of the 2025 central government budget and amendments to the Act Governing the Allocation of Government Revenues and Expenditures (財政收支劃分法), promulgated earlier this year.
The Legislative Yuan passed the third reading of the budget allocation amendments, which were proposed by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), on Dec. 20 and the 2025 budget on Jan. 21.
However, the Executive Yuan approved two reconsideration proposals on Feb. 27 which were sent to the president for approval.
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
However, on March 12, the Legislative Yuan rejected the reconsiderations with the combined votes of the KMT and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) and the bills were promulgated by the president on March 21.
The Constitutional Court has strong grounds to rule both the budget and the allocation law unconstitutional, DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) said today.
The DPP is seeking constitutional interpretation for three reasons, he said.
Firstly, the budget reductions are unclear and contravene the principle of legal clarity, he said.
Secondly, the Legislative Yuan’s request for the Executive Yuan to adjust and reduce the budget contravenes the constitutional principle of separation of powers, he said.
The Constitution states that branches must work independently, though the Executive Yuan is responsible to the Legislative Yuan.
Thirdly, the amendments contravene Article 49 of the Budget Act (預算法) and thereby the rule of law.
Regarding the allocation law amendments, the DPP also has four key concerns, he said.
The amendments drastically reduced financial resources available to the central government, directly altered the fiscal structure between central and local governments and widened the urban-rural gap, which contravenes Article 147 of the Constitution, he said.
Moreover, it failed to simultaneously review the division of responsibilities between central and local governments, which undermined central fiscal capacity, he added.
As parts of the budget are already being unfrozen, there is no need to apply for provisional measures, he said.
KMT caucus secretary-general Wang Hung-wei (王鴻薇) today stated her opposition to the DPP petition.
Wang said the DPP is abusing the power of the Constitutional Court by using it as a political tool, petitioning to them whenever amendments do not meet the approval of the party and undermining the Legislative Yuan.
As such, the DPP is undermining the Constitution and causing political chaos, she added.
The DPP has already filed requests for the constitutional interpretation of legislative reforms for the Constitutional Court Procedure Act (憲法訴訟法) and the Civil Servants Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法), she said.
It is therefore unprecedented to request interpretation of another two items, she added.
The Lai administration initially wanted the budget passed quickly, and the Legislative Yuan is already reviewing proposals to unfreeze parts of the budget, so the DPP is the party which is blocking the budget, she added.
Additional reporting by CNA
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