Measures raising bar for Constitutional Court rulings clear Legislature

Taipei, Dec. 20 (CNA) Opposition lawmakers on Friday pushed through controversial amendments to raise the threshold for adjudication by the Constitutional Court, including a revision that mandates a minimum of 10 justices to hear a case.

The amendments adopted by the Legislature were partly based on a proposal by main opposition Kuomintang (KMT) Legislator Weng Hsiao-ling (翁曉玲) at the end of September, notably the measure setting the quorum for presiding over a case at 10 justices.

The revisions, however, also included additional provisions put forth on the legislative floor only on Friday by the caucuses of the KMT and the smaller Taiwan People's Party (TPP), which hold a majority of the seats in the lawmaking body.

One such provision stipulates that an unconstitutional ruling by the court -- which would affect existing laws -- be backed by at least nine justices.

Current rules do not specify a minimum number of justices required to hear a case. Instead, they simply mandate the presence of at least two-thirds of all sitting justices, with a ruling determined by a simple majority vote.

The Constitutional Court normally has 15 justices but currently only has eight because the eight-year terms of seven of the justices ended Oct. 31.

President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) nominated new justices to replace them, but confirmation hearings were stalled until Dec. 2 by KMT and TPP lawmakers, who have argued that Lai's picks were highly partisan.

Lawmakers are scheduled to vote on the seven nominees on Dec. 24, and unless they approve at least two of them, the amendments will in effect immobilize the current eight-member Constitutional Court.

With only eight justices at present, the Constitutional Court has its lowest number of justices since the introduction of judicial interpretation in 1947.

Another new measure passed Friday states that if the number of sitting justices on the court falls below 15 due to mandatory retirement, resignation, or death, the president must nominate replacements within two months.

The DPP and several civil society groups have denounced the opposition's bid to curb the Constitutional Court's ability to rule on cases.

Speaking on the legislative floor on Friday, Wu Szu-yao (吳思瑤), secretary-general of the DPP legislative caucus, described the amendments as "an act of retaliation" driven by recent Constitutional Court rulings to "paralyze" the court.

She was likely referring to rulings this year that further restricted the use of the death penalty in Taiwan and struck down the bulk of KMT-endorsed measures granting the Legislature broader investigative powers.

Meanwhile, at around 5:30 p.m., the organizers of the rally outside the Legislative Yuan announced that the protest against the legal revisions would continue "until the end" of the floor meeting, which was expected to be extended until midnight after the KMT and the TPP used their majority to pass a motion extending the session.