TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Around 600 people gathered outside the legislature on Friday (Nov. 22) to protest proposed changes to the Constitutional Court that critics say may "paralyze" the judicial body.
Civil society groups, a former Constitutional Court justice, lawyers, academics, and members of the public gathered for the protest co-organized by the Judicial Reform Foundation. They said amendments to the Constitutional Court Procedure Act proposed by the opposition KMT may prevent the judiciary from monitoring government abuses of power.
In a statement, the Judicial Reform Foundation restated calls for the proposal to be withdrawn. It also called on the minor TPP to oppose the changes and for better public communication from lawmakers on the issue.
The foundation said that while politicians may criticize the judiciary, it considers the proposed changes a “serious attack on the constitutional system." “Please stand up now and together to prevent the Constitutional Court from being paralyzed,” it said.
The amendments seek to raise the thresholds for Constitutional Court rulings. If passed, a minimum of 10 justices would be required to preside over a sitting of the court and a ruling would require the support of at least two-thirds of the 15 justices (10 votes).
Under the law at least two-thirds of incumbent justices must be present and a ruling requires the support of the majority of justices.

Judicial Reform Foundation Chair Huang Hsu-tien (黃旭田) explained that there are currently only eight justices on the Constitutional Court. He said this is because the KMT-led legislature has not confirmed new justices to the court.
Huang said that if the amendments were passed and new justices were not confirmed, the 10-justice threshold for convening the court would not be met. He said this means the court would be unable to operate.
Huang said the Constitutional Court is an “extremely important” institution for Taiwan. He said it is the highest check on the powers of different branches of government and the ultimate protector of citizen’s rights.
Citing its role in legalizing same-sex marriage in Taiwan, the Judicial Reform Foundation Legal Policy Department Director Lu Cheng-yen (呂政諺) said the Constitutional Court has raised Taiwan’s profile worldwide. He said a functioning Constitutional Court is needed for the future development of Taiwanese society.
Lu said adjusting the number of justices required on the court can be discussed. However, he said any proposed changes should include supporting measures that would allow the court to operate if these thresholds were unable to be met, which the current proposal does not.

KMT Legislator Weng Hsiao-ling (翁曉玲) proposed the amendments and on Monday (Nov. 18) addressed criticism they would make the Constitutional Court unable to function for a long time. She said this would be an acceptable outcome, as preventing the court’s justices from making decisions would be better than allowing them to make bad ones, per SETN.
The Judicial Reform Foundation also called on the TPP to clarify its position on amending the act and reject the proposed changes.
TPP Legislator Huang Shan-shan (黃珊珊) said on Nov. 12 that she opposes the amendments and fears they will prevent the Constitutional Court from operating if passed. TPP Caucus Leader Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) said on Nov. 15 that the party would propose its own amendments to the act.
Engineer (李俊賦) Li Chun-fu traveled to the protest from Taoyuan with his wife and son. “I think the amendments proposed by the legislators will paralyze the Constitutional Court, and we came to the site of the protest to better understand the issue and support the Constitution,” he said.

Li said that if the amendments pass, Taiwan will lose an institution that protects the people. He said he expects more Taiwanese will protest the issue if the amendments are not rejected by legislators and said he will attend future protests.
Taipei freelancer Lin Yu-ting (林玉婷) said she rejects the amendments because she fears they could prevent the Constitutional Court from protecting citizens’ basic rights. She said she also attended a march to oppose the amendments on Nov. 16.
Organizers said they will continue to organize protests outside the legislature if the amendments are not rejected.
