Seven new nominees for the Constitutional Court were announced by Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) today, including Taiwan High Prosecutors’ Office Chief Prosecutor Tsai Chiu-ming (蔡秋明) as nominee for Judicial Yuan president and Supreme Court Justice Su Su-o (蘇素娥) as nominee for Judicial Yuan vice president.
The other five nominees are National Chung-Cheng University law professor Hsiao Wen-sheng (蕭文生), Supreme Court Justice Cheng Chun-hui (鄭純惠), Taiwan High Prosecutors’ Office Chief Prosecutor Lin Li-ying (林麗瑩), well-known law scholar Chen Tzu-yang (陳慈陽) and National Chengchi University law professor Chan Chen-jung (詹鎮榮).
The nominees’ expertise covers civil, criminal, administrative and constitutional law, and would result in a judiciary that the public can trust, the Presidential Office said.
Photo: Lo Pei-de, Taipei Times
President William Lai (賴清德) nominated the aforementioned candidates to fill the seven current vacancies in the Constitutional Court and ensure it can operate normally, Hsiao said.
Lai made the nominations after careful consideration and consulting with various parties, and would ask the Legislative Yuan to approve the nominees today, she said.
Lai made the nominations with three main considerations, Hsiao said.
First, to safeguard freedom, democracy and the constitution, and defend the public’s human rights, she said.
Second, to enhance professional expertise in national security cases, ensuring national security and clean politics, she said.
Third, to promote judicial reforms, improve the quality of trials and relieve pressure in the judicial working environment, she added.
Lai had previously nominated seven candidates for the Constitutional Court in August last year, but all were rejected by the Legislative Yuan in December last year.
This prevented the Judicial Yuan from being able to function normally and disrupted the separation of powers between the five branches of government, Hsiao said.
The ruling and opposition parties would hopefully agree this time, upholding professionalism and considering diverse issues that concern the public, she said.
Taiwan is currently facing a serious constitutional crisis with power imbalances between the government’s five branches, Tsai said in his speech after the announcement.
Many legal and political challenges brought about by agencies involve constitutional issues that should be addressed by the Constitutional Court, he said.
While there has been much criticism regarding courts and trials, the core of the issue is that judges, prosecutors and other judicial staff are under immense pressure, Tsai said.
He would address this and the quality of trials, striving to create a healthier judicial environment, he said.
Additional reporting by Su Yung-yao
Taiwan is stepping up plans to create self-sufficient supply chains for combat drones and increase foreign orders from the US to counter China’s numerical superiority, a defense official said on Saturday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, the official said the nation’s armed forces are in agreement with US Admiral Samuel Paparo’s assessment that Taiwan’s military must be prepared to turn the nation’s waters into a “hellscape” for the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Paparo, the commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, reiterated the concept during a Congressional hearing in Washington on Wednesday. He first coined the term in a security conference last
Prosecutors today declined to say who was questioned regarding alleged forgery on petitions to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators, after Chinese-language media earlier reported that members of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Youth League were brought in for questioning. The Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau confirmed that two people had been questioned, but did not disclose any further information about the ongoing investigation. KMT Youth League members Lee Hsiao-liang (李孝亮) and Liu Szu-yin (劉思吟) — who are leading the effort to recall DPP caucus chief executive Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) and Legislator Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) — both posted on Facebook saying: “I
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has fined Taobao NT$1.2 million (US$36,912) for advertisements that exceed its approved business scope, requiring the Chinese e-commerce platform to make corrections in the first half of this year or its license may be revoked. Lawmakers have called for stricter enforcement of Chinese e-commerce platforms and measures to prevent China from laundering its goods through Taiwan in response to US President Donald Trump’s heavy tariffs on China. The Legislative Yuan’s Finance Committee met today to discuss policies to prevent China from dumping goods in Taiwan, inviting government agencies to report. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Kuo Kuo-wen (郭國文) said
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has fined Taobao NT$1.2 million (US$36,900) for advertisements that exceeded its approved business scope and ordered the Chinese e-commerce platform to make corrections in the first half of this year or its license would be revoked. Lawmakers have called for stricter supervision of Chinese e-commerce platforms and more stringent measures to prevent China from laundering its goods through Taiwan as US President Donald Trump’s administration cracks down on origin laundering. The legislature’s Finance Committee yesterday met to discuss policies to prevent China from dumping goods in Taiwan, inviting government agencies to report on the matter. Democratic Progressive Party
RSS