The proposed amendments to the Constitutional Court Procedure Act (憲法訴訟法) are yet another attempt by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators to destroy the constitutional order and introduce chaos in the government.
Some believe that the changes would paralyze the Constitutional Court, causing Taiwan’s democracy to regress.
Fortunately, the proposed amendments were returned to the Legislative Yuan’s Procedure Committee, and it remains to be seen whether KMT Legislator-at-large Weng Hsiao-ling (翁曉玲) would take any follow-up action.
NEW COURT SYSTEM
Under the new system of the Constitutional Court Procedure Act, which went into effect on Jan. 4, 2022, the Council of Grand Justices was replaced by the Constitutional Court, which consists of 15 grand justices.
The proceedings became those of a full-fledged court of law, which not only examines whether a case itself is unconstitutional, but also determines whether due process was followed.
AVOIDING ‘TEARS’
Judicial Yuan President and Constitutional Court Chief Justice Hsu Tzong-li (許宗力) said at the Judicial Yuan on the day the new system took effect that it gave the justices the authority to adjudicate on unconstitutional judgements, meaning they could avoid situations in which justices have to “dismiss a case in tears.”
The normal operation of the Constitutional Court is conducive to the development of democracy and constitutional government.
TYPES OF SUPERVISION
There are three types of constitutional supervision systems in modern countries:
The first is supervision by the highest state authority, such as the French Senate, established under its constitutions of 1799 and 1852.
The second is supervision by the judiciary. For example, in the UK and the US, the system of judicial review is carried out by ordinary courts, as they have not set up constitutional courts.
The third is supervision by special authorities, which refers to the supervisory system in which a special authority examines the constitutionality of laws, regulations, administrative orders and other normative documents in accordance with specific procedures, and has the power to revoke unconstitutional items.
This type of system is mainly practiced in civil law countries, with Germany being the prime example.
Interpretations of the now-defunct Council of Justice and judgements of the Constitutional Court are “supervision by special authorities,” although the situation in Germany is different.
The German Federal Constitutional Court has wide jurisdiction and can decide its budget independently, under Article 28 of the German Federal Budget Code. Moreover, it runs a unique system to select its 16 judges.
RESTRAINTS
In Taiwan, the Constitutional Court’s budget and the appointment of the grand justices are subject to the power and consent of the Legislative Yuan, which can easily be manipulated by a party that controls a legislative majority, or two parties working together to form a majority, as was the case with the proposed amendments to the Constitutional Court Procedure Act.
The Constitutional Court should operate normally and bring constitutional justice into play so that democracy can be strengthened.
Chen Yi-nan is an arbitrator.
Translated by Lin Lee-kai
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) continues to bully Taiwan by conducting military drills extremely close to Taiwan in late May 2024 and announcing a legal opinion in June on how they would treat “Taiwan Independence diehards” according to the PRC’s Criminal Code. This article will describe how China’s Anaconda Strategy of psychological and legal asphyxiation is employed. The CCP’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) conducted a “punishment military exercise” against Taiwan called “Joint Sword 2024A” from 23-24 May 2024, just three days after President William Lai (賴清德) of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was sworn in and
Former US president Donald Trump’s comments that Taiwan hollowed out the US semiconductor industry are incorrect. That misunderstanding could impact the future of one of the world’s most important relationships and end up aiding China at a time it is working hard to push its own tech sector to catch up. “Taiwan took our chip business from us,” the returnee US presidential contender told Bloomberg Businessweek in an interview published this week. The remarks came after the Republican nominee was asked whether he would defend Taiwan against China. It is not the first time he has said this about the nation’s
In a recent interview with the Malaysian Chinese-language newspaper Sin Chew Daily, former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) called President William Lai (賴清德) “naive.” As always with Ma, one must first deconstruct what he is saying to fully understand the parallel universe he insists on defending. Who is being “naive,” Lai or Ma? The quickest way is to confront Ma with a series of pointed questions that force him to take clear stands on the complex issues involved and prevent him from his usual ramblings. Regarding China and Taiwan, the media should first begin with questions like these: “Did the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT)
The Yomiuri Shimbun, the newspaper with the largest daily circulation in Japan, on Thursday last week published an article saying that an unidentified high-ranking Japanese official openly spoke of an analysis that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) needs less than a week, not a month, to invade Taiwan with its amphibious forces. Reportedly, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has already been advised of the analysis, which was based on the PLA’s military exercises last summer. A Yomiuri analysis of unclassified satellite photographs confirmed that the PLA has already begun necessary base repairs and maintenance, and is conducting amphibious operation exercises