Academics issue open letter opposing amended constitutional court law

Taipei, Jan. 9 (CNA) An amendment to the Constitutional Court Procedure Act passed by the Legislature on Dec. 20 would impact the court's role as the last resort for people seeking remedy when their basic rights are encroached upon, 90 academics said in an open letter released Thursday.

The amendment pushed through by the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) and the Taiwan People's Party (TPP) will make it difficult for the court to rule laws or regulations in a case unconstitutional, the 90 university professors, teaching staff and researchers in law said.

This is because the amendment requires a minimum 10 justices to preside over each case, and at least nine justices to agree on a ruling that will render laws in a case unconstitutional.

This would undermine the court's ability to provide a remedy for people whose basic rights are infringed by laws and regulations not in line with the Constitution, they said.

The requirement of nine justices is more stringent than the Constitutional Interpretation Procedure Act, which was replaced by the Constitutional Court Procedure Act in 2022, because the abolished act only required two thirds of the justices on a case to form a ruling, whether the matter was found constitutional or not, they explained.

The Additional Articles of the Constitution of the Republic of China (Taiwan) set the total number of justices at 15, including the head and deputy head of the Judicial Yuan.

Currently, there are only eight justices, and the Legislature voted down the nominees selected by President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) to fill the vacancies on Dec. 24.

Calling it a repeat of what happened to another law amendment in May 2024, the academics said lawmakers passed the Constitutional Court bill in December in a reckless manner.

The KMT and the TPP used their majority to pass the Law Governing the Legislative Yuan's Power to expand what lawmakers can do in May, but the Constitutional Court invalidated several provisions in a judgement on Oct. 25.

Lawmakers again failed to observe the separation of powers principle in passing the latest amendment, because the legal proceedings in Constitutional Court cases fall within the Judicial Yuan's purview, the academics said.

KMT and TPP lawmakers have argued that the amendments will ensure more rigorous reviews by the Constitutional Court and avoid future cases from being determined by only a handful of justices.

Currently all the judges on the court were appointed by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).

In a statement released Thursday, the KMT cited the Constitutional Court's Judgment 113-Hsien-Pan-8 made in September 2024 in a case brought by 37 death row prisoners on the constitutionality of capital punishment as one of the examples that raised questions among the public about the objectivity of the court.

In the judgment, the Constitutional Court ruled the death penalty was constitutional only for "the most serious" premeditated crimes that cause death, which the KMT said constituted the de facto abolition of the death penalty.

The KMT also called Premier Cho Jung-tai's (卓榮泰) decision to ask for a revote on the amendment a move by the DPP to maintain control of the Constitutional Court and use it in pursuit of its own political ends.

Lai should listen to public opinion and discuss with opposition parties the nomination of new candidates to fill the current vacancies, not just pick people who meet the needs of the DPP, the KMT said.