Lawyers March in Protest Against Proposed Constitutional Court Bill in Taipei.

Taipei: Over 100 lawyers took to the streets in Taipei Saturday to protest an amendment bill to the Constitutional Court Procedure Act that critics claim could "cripple" the operations of the Constitutional Court. According to Focus Taiwan, the amendment in question was proposed by the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) to raise the threshold of Constitutional Court rulings, making a minimum of 10 justices necessary to preside over a Constitutional Court, while a ruling would require the support of at least two-thirds of the 15 justices (10 votes). The current law stipulates that at least two-thirds of incumbent justices be present and that a ruling requires the support of the majority of justices. At a press conference on Nov. 12, lawyer Jacob Lin, one of the initiators of the march, argued that the amendment bill would make it difficult for justices to rule on Constitutional Court cases, thereby "crippling" the court's operations and "restricting" the public's access to rulings in cases where they believe their rights have been violated. Before the march officially began, hundreds of supporters gathered with the lawyers at Taipei's Xiangyang Street, shouting slogans rejecting the "crippling" of the Constitutional Court and calling for the protection of the people's rights and defending the separation of powers. Lin, backed by more than 150 lawyers, addressed media questions at a press conference before the march. In response to KMT Legislator Weng Hsiao-ling's assertion that the participating lawyers were mainly supporters of President Lai Ching-te, Lin emphasized that the main point was whether the amendments were unconstitutional. He also criticized Weng for identifying opponents as "flanks" of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) without substantial discussions about the bill's contents. Opposition Taiwan People's Party (TPP) lawmaker Huang Kuo-chang stated on Friday that there should be a minimum required number of justices present when ruling a law unconstitutional, with reference to international l egislation models. In response, Lin noted that those legislations had mechanisms to prevent crippling the Constitutional Court, such as having outgoing justices stay in office temporarily or appointing judges to become justices to continue hearing the case. Lin argued that the KMT's bill did not include such supporting measures, which he believed was a deliberate attempt to disrupt the operations of the Constitutional Court. In addition to the march, participants also gathered near the Legislative Yuan, where scholars and lawyers gave brief talks. Saturday's event attracted more than 2,000 people and 300 lawyers, according to lawyer groups. Former justice Huang Hung-hsia spoke at the gathering, stating she would vote the amendment "unconstitutional" if it were passed and emphasized the importance of balancing powers with the Constitution while keeping the people's rights central.