Constitutional Court to review Control Yuan's challenge to 2025 budget

Taipei, May 29 (CNA) Taiwan's Constitutional Court has agreed to review the Control Yuan's petition to overturn the 2025 central government budget, which the Legislature passed in January after major cuts by opposition lawmakers.

In a statement issued Thursday, the Judicial Yuan, which oversees the Constitutional Court, said the court had accepted the case brought by the top government watchdog but did not provide further details.

It remains unclear how the case will proceed, as the court currently has only eight justices -- two fewer than the minimum required under the recently revised Constitutional Court Procedure Act to hear and rule on cases.

The amendment was passed last December by the opposition-controlled Legislature and signed into law by President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) in January.

The quorum requirement, combined with the Legislature's rejection of Lai's nominees for justices to fill the vacancies in December 2024, has effectively brought the Constitutional Court to a standstill.

The Presidential Office proposed a new list of Constitutional Court nominees in March, but the Legislature has yet to schedule confirmation hearings.

On Thursday, Director-General of the Constitutional Court Yang Hao-ching (楊皓清) told CNA that the court was still able to accept petitions because the provisions governing that part of the process were not affected by the recent law revisions.

Yang, however, declined to say whether the court can move forward with deliberations or issue a ruling under the new constraints, saying only that such matters were "under the purview of the justices."

The Control Yuan submitted its petition in March, shortly after Lai signed the budget legislation into law, on the grounds that severe cuts to its operating funds had significantly disrupted its ability to function.

According to official figures, the Control Yuan had requested a budget of NT$1.09 billion (US$36.46 million) for the fiscal year 2025, including NT$240 million in operational expenses, which cover the day-to-day operations of the government agency.

But the Legislature demanded a cut of NT$230 million from that category -- approximately 96 percent -- leaving just NT$10 million.

The ruling Democratic Progressive Party's legislative caucus and the Executive Yuan also filed separate petitions earlier this month seeking a Constitutional Court ruling on the 2025 government budget, but the court has not yet said whether it will take up those cases.