The Constitutional Court ruled on Friday that most of the amendments passed by the legislature to expand its powers of oversight over the government’s executive branch were unconstitutional – a major setback for the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). ), opposition parties.

After securing a combined majority of legislative seats in February, KMT and TPP lawmakers drafted amendments to give themselves investigative powers – to subpoena government officials and members of the public to testify and provide documents, under penalty of sanctions – and to hold the president to account. a state of the nation address to the Legislative Assembly and answers questions.

The KMT and TPP said the amendments were a “reform” aimed at strengthening legislative control and access to information, but they sparked controversy as many feared it was a Legislative “power grab,” with lawmakers able to use this expanded power to intimidate and punish. political rivals, and their unrestricted access to documents could endanger national security and individual privacy.

The amendments were adopted in May and came into force on June 26, but the Constitutional Court issued an injunction in July to suspend several parts of the amendments.

Friday’s decision came as a relief to many. However, KMT lawmakers, supported by the TPP, had already launched their “backup plan.” The Legislative Yuan on Monday last week passed a preliminary review of a draft amendment to the Constitutional Court Procedure Law (憲法訴訟法), proposed by KMT lawmaker Weng Hsiao-ling (翁曉玲), specifying that “the total number of sitting judges” means “15” — the total number of seats on the court. Last month, the legislature adopted on second reading another amendment to the law, also proposed by Weng, aimed at raising the threshold for decisions and injunctions of the Constitutional Court to “a two-thirds majority” of the total judges in exercise.

Currently, a judgment of the Constitutional Court is adopted with a quorum of two-thirds of the sitting judges and agreement by a simple majority of the quorum. However, if both draft amendments are adopted, it would require a quorum of two-thirds of the entire court (10 justices) and the agreement of at least two-thirds (seven justices) of the quorum.

The two amendments may not be of great concern to many, but given that seven of the current judges are set to retire on Thursday and the KMT-TPP-dominated legislature has yet to consider the nominees, there are only eight judges remaining. , below the quorum to even hold a hearing.

Serious concerns have been expressed that the Constitutional Court could be paralyzed. If the KMT and TPP took this path, it would threaten the normal functioning of Taiwan’s democracy and constitutional system, because it would deprive the public of their right to a last resort to justice, and it would tip the balance of power. the separation of powers. because there would be no court to handle disputes between government agencies or check abuses of power.

As the highest court, the Constitutional Court plays a crucial role in ensuring that public authorities recognize the limits of their own power. It ensures that even popular majorities cannot pass laws that harm unpopular minorities or undermine the fundamental values ​​guaranteed to all citizens by the Constitution.

The KMT does not appear to care about Taiwan’s constitutional system of government, or intends to cripple it, by refusing to review the proposed annual budget. On Saturday, its legislative caucus even openly ignored the court’s ruling, calling it “unconstitutional” and saying it was “not obligated to comply with the ruling.”

Faced with legislators who disrespect the constitutional system and only want to fire arbitrators (judges) when they lose the game (constitutional interpretation), voters should check whether they are reliable representatives, capable of speaking on behalf of the public, or simply party representatives. ready to sabotage the development of the nation for personal or partisan interests.