A judgement on whether third-party use of the National Health Insurance’s (NHI) data archives is constitutional has been delayed for two months, the Constitutional Court said on Thursday.
The constitutional interpretation would have profound ramifications that could affect the entire country, so it needed more time to debate the issue, the court said.
It cited Article 26, Paragraph 2 of the Constitutional Court Procedure Act (憲法訴訟法), which states that the court “must pronounce its decision within three months after the closing of oral argument,” but the “time limit for pronouncement may be extended by two months when necessary.”
In 2012, then-Taiwan Association for Human Rights secretary-general Tsai Chi-hsun (蔡季勳) mailed an attestation letter to the NHI Administration declaring the group’s protest and refusal to comply with the agency’s policy allowing third parties to access NHI data and use of the information for purposes other than the NHI program.
The agency at the time said that when third parties are granted access, it is done so with strict adherence to the Personal Data Protection Act (個人資料保護法), adding that it has stringent data protection protocols to ensure that the information is used legally and for legitimate reasons.
Tsai filed for a constitutional interpretation with what was at the time the Council of Grand Justices. The case was accepted, but remained on the waiting list until April 26.
The Constitutional Court in January replaced the Council of Grand Justices, becoming the institution to oversee discussions over whether rulings or legislation are constitutional.
Under the new system, 15 grand justices hear constitutional litigation in a procedure similar to that of court proceedings. The court’s decisions are now referred to as judgements, rather than interpretations.
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