The Taiwan Bar Association has announced a march for Saturday to protest proposed changes to the Constitutional Court Procedure Act (憲法訴訟法), after issuing a statement signed by 153 lawyers yesterday condemning the bill.
The amendment, submitted by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Weng Hsiao-ling (翁曉玲), would raise the threshold for passing a constitutional interpretation from a simple majority to two-thirds of the judges on the Constitutional Court.
In a statement issued by the association yesterday, 153 lawyers said the bill risks damaging Taiwan’s democratic foundations and could “paralyze” the court.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus today called on the KMT to withdraw the proposal.
Weng wants to use the power of the legislature to control the Constitutional Court, ensuring that people are not able to seek redress and that the KMT can carry on any unconstitutional behavior, DPP caucus secretary-general Tsai Yi-yu (蔡易餘) told a news conference at the legislature.
The bar association has no political affiliation, Tsai added.
Weng told reporters this morning that the opinions of a few lawyers would not affect the amendment.
Of the nation's 20,000 lawyers, 153 is a relatively small number, she added.
DPP caucus chief executive Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) said that when the Judiciary and Organic Laws and Statutes Committee met to scrutinize the new amendment, the KMT and Taiwan People’s Party sought to retaliate against the judiciary rather than have a discussion.
Wu called on Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) to refrain from supporting publicly controversial amendments to laws including the Public Officials Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法) and the Act Governing the Allocation of Government Revenues and Expenditures (財政收支劃分法).
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