A Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) think tank yesterday urged the president and vice president of the Judicial Yuan to resign, stating that officials in those posts should step down when the administration that appointed them leaves office.
The KMT’s National Policy Foundation said that Judicial Yuan President Hsu Tzong-li (許宗力) and Vice President Tsai Jeong-duen (蔡炯墩) should tender their resignations before president-elect William Lai (賴清德) takes office, in line with a precedent set by former Judicial Yuan president Rai Hau-min (賴浩敏) and vice president Su Yeong-chin (蘇永欽).
It cited Article 5 of the Additional Articles of the Constitution of the Republic of China (中華民國憲法增修條文), which states that the tenures of grand justices serving as president and vice president of the Judicial Yuan are not automatically extended.
Photo: Yang Kuo-wen, Taipei Times
Former Judicial Yuan president Lai In-jaw (賴英照) resigned in 2010 amid a corruption scandal involving High Court judges, while his predecessor, Rai, stepped down when President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) assumed office in 2016, the foundation said.
Those resignations set precedents that a Judicial Yuan president should take responsibility for incidents under their watch and that they step down when a new administration starts, it said, adding that Hsu has been mired in controversy since his nomination.
During his tenure, not only has there been an increased volume of cases requiring legal action, but there have also been an increased number of judges who have committed suicide, it said.
The foundation said that many judicial rulings were insufficient for the crime they concerned, including cases involving sexual harassment and corruption, while many rulings exceeded the original parameters of the law.
Hsu should take responsibility for such failings under his watch, it said.
The foundation also said the Constitutional Court was “creating laws” by leading the Legislative Yuan to change laws.
The incoming administration of William Lai does not need to shoulder the cross of the Tsai’s administration and should find others it believes would do better as president and vice president of the Judicial Yuan, it said.
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