The Legislative Yuan yesterday rejected the Executive Yuan’s request to reconsider amendments passed last month to expand the legislature’s power, setting the stage for a potential constitutional challenge to the measures.
The vote came after the Legislative Yuan convened on Wednesday and Thursday to examine the request made last week by the Cabinet, with the approval of President William Lai (賴清德), for the legislature to reconsider the amendments.
Lawmakers voted 62-51 to reject the request to reconsider amendments to the Act Governing the Legislative Yuan’s Power (立法院職權行使法) and amendments to the Criminal Code. A request for reconsideration can be overturned by a simple majority vote.
Photo: Ritchie B. Tongo, EPA-EFE
The 62 votes comprised the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) 52 lawmakers, two independents ideologically aligned with the party and the Taiwan People’s Party’s (TPP) eight lawmakers.
The Cabinet said the amendments are “difficult to implement,” because they contravene constitutional interpretations concerning the legislature’s scope of power.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) said the caucus would seek a judgement from the Constitutional Court on the constitutionality of the amendments after the passed bills are announced by the president.
As a constitutional judgement could take some time, the caucus would also file a motion with the Constitutional Court for “a preliminary injunction” to keep the amended laws from being implemented before a final ruling is made, Ker said.
Executive Yuan spokesman Chen Shi-kai (陳世凱) said the Cabinet would also seek a ruling from the Constitutional Court after the laws take effect once they are announced by the president.
The Cabinet would make the petition on its own, rather than jointly with the DPP caucus, following discussions with academics and ministers without portfolio, Chen said.
Presidential Office spokeswoman Kuo Ya-hui (郭雅慧) said Lai would also consider whether to file a similar petition for a constitutional ruling after receiving the amendments.
The president is the “guardian of democratic constitutional governance,” and has the duty to safeguard the constitutional system and act to protect the people’s rights, she said.
The Constitutional Court Procedure Act (憲法訴訟法) states that petitions concerning the constitutionality of laws can be lodged by state organs or legislators, with the latter having to obtain the approval of at least one-fourth of the legislature.
The KMT and the TPP have said that the measures are necessary to enhance legislative oversight over the government, because existing legislative powers lack teeth and allow the government to avoid providing critical information requested by lawmakers.
KMT lawmakers addressed a gathering of its supporters outside the Legislative Yuan after the vote, saying the amendments would “allow sunlight into the legislature” and “expose the ruling party’s corruption.”
TPP caucus whip Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) said the rejection of the Cabinet’s reconsideration request is “a crucial moment in Taiwan’s democratic history,” as it signifies the legislative reforms that failed to pass in the past 30 years were finally achieved.
He called on Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) to accept the legislature’s decision in accordance with the Constitution.
In response to the DPP caucus’ plan to seek a constitutional interpretation, Huang said the TPP caucus respects its right to do so.
However, what mattered for the people is for the legislature to use its new powers to investigate and hold hearings to “reveal the truth in the corruption cases that the DPP government has failed to explain,” Huang said.
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