The Constitutional Court on Wednesday reached a majority vote in favor of accepting a Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) petition to review the constitutionality of changes to the law regarding the makeup of the court, the Judicial Yuan said today.
DPP legislators on Feb. 20 requested an injunction and constitutional judgement on amendments to the Constitutional Court Procedure Act (憲法訴訟法), which were promulgated by President William Lai (賴清德) two days prior.
The third reading of the amendments was passed on Dec. 20 last year, stating that if the number of justices on the Constitutional Court falls below the mandated 15, the president must nominate candidates to fill the roster within two months.
Photo: Yang Kuo-wen, Taipei Times
It also stipulates that there be a minimum of 10 justices on a court, with nine justices required to back an unconstitutional ruling.
Current regulations do not specify the minimum number of judges required to hear a case.
The Executive Yuan on Jan. 2 submitted a proposal to reconsider the amendments, which was approved by the president and sent to the Legislative Yuan.
On Jan. 10, the Legislative Yuan voted on the proposal, which did not pass after Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party legislators joined forces to oppose it.
The DPP subsequently filed for an injunction and constitutional judgement.
The Constitutional Court held a public hearing on Monday, inviting relevant agencies and experts to speak.
Wednesday’s decision is in line with Article 32, Paragraph 2 of the Constitutional Court Procedure Act (憲法訴訟法), the Judicial Yuan said.
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