TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) appointed Constitutional Court Justice Shieh Ming-yan (謝銘洋) to serve as the acting president of the Judicial Yuan on Friday (Nov. 1).

Shieh’s appointment comes after the departure of the previous president and vice-president at the end of October. This left Taiwan’s judiciary without a designated leader for the first time in its history. 

The Lai administration had selected new candidates to lead the judiciary on Aug. 30. However, lawmakers at the Legislative Yuan have been slow to review and approve the nominees, reported CNA. 

On Wednesday (Oct. 30), the Judicial Yuan held a farewell party for outgoing justices, including the former president, Hsu Tsong-li (許宗力), and former vice-president, Tsai Jeong-duen (蔡烱燉), along with five other justices who resigned from Taiwan’s highest court. The departure of seven justices from the 15-member Constitutional Court leaves the court with only eight justices. 

In accordance with the Judicial Yuan Organization Act, when the leadership offices of the Judicial Yuan become vacant, the president is required to designate an interim president from among the currently serving justices until new leaders are formally approved by the Legislative Yuan. 

The Constitutional Court is currently at the center of a political disagreement between the Legislative Yuan, led by the Kuomintang (KMT), and the Lai administration. 

Last week, before half of the Constitutional Court resigned, the court rejected new measures passed by lawmakers that would have significantly expanded the powers of the Legislative Yuan. Critics of the legislation say it would have hampered the government’s ability to govern effectively.

Further, the KMT-led legislature has also proposed new legislation that would require a full slate of justices to rule on cases, and require two-thirds of the 15-member panel to make rulings legally binding. Under current law, not all members of the Constitutional Court are required to be present to hear cases or make judicial rulings. 

If the new legislation passes, and KMT lawmakers continue to refuse the appointment of new justices in protest of recent rulings, then the Constitutional Court will be effectively neutralized as a judicial body. 

To resolve the issue, the Lai administration will need to negotiate with the KMT, or the eight-person caucus of the Taiwan People’s Party, to ensure that seven nominees for the Constitutional Court can gain approval.